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Capitalism, Socialism And Energy Politics – Forbes

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Lately, the terms capitalism and socialism have been flying through the social ether, typically inappropriately or as misinterpretations, but mostly as perjoratives. To opponents, capitalism is considered greed-driven and heartless, socialism is seen as autocratic and ineffective. As many have pointed out, it is typical to use the term socialism mistakenly to attack social welfare projects (such as the New Deal), while capitalism wrongly stands in as a metaphor for human behavior (as if socialists aren’t greedy).

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Many of the people attacked as socialists are nothing like them: Barack Obama and Joe Biden have shown no particular tendency towards socialism, and many of the proposals coming from Progressive Democrats are merely about social welfare programs, such as pre-K schooling and child income credits. Unlike the 1970s, no one (nobody serious, I think) is suggesting nationalizing the oil industry or utilities, or that the government build electric cars. Which isn’t to say that much of the Biden plan and the Progressives’ Green New Deal is arguably inefficient if not horribly wasteful (money to the wealthy to buy electric sports cars?), but that doesn’t make it socialism.

Similarly, the taint of capitalism seems to stick to its products in the minds of many Americans. Yesterday’s New York Times Magazine

NYT
had an excellent article on the opposition to genetically modified organisms, which noted that the early products met opposition partly because they came from a large corporation, as if the molecules involved had a homeopathic signature of ‘corporate’ versus ‘non-profit’. And while it is true that corporations and businesses seek money and profits, those in the public sector have their own incentives that can lead them astray, as when some Veterans’ Administration doctors fiddled with records to improve their performance metrics.

Name-calling is popular in today’s angry tribal politics but not useful. If you think pre-K schooling is ineffective or too expensive, say so, don’t call it socialism. If you think that people use too much energy, don’t blame the private sector, blame the consumers.

The oil industry provides many examples of the difference between socialist and capitalist policies. There have been a wide number of national oil companies over the years, and their performance tends to be highly varied, partly reflecting a policy in some places of what the late John Treat called ‘commercialization’. That is, even if a company is owned by the government, it can still behave more like a private company than a bureaucracy.

The arguments for relying on state mineral enterprises, specifically national oil companies, are that they are more attuned to society’s conditions and needs, they allow the government to monitor resource exploitation, and they can have lower borrowing costs, being government entities. The arguments against include excessive autonomy (Petroleos de Venezuela—PDVSA—was often called a state within a state), inefficiency, and corruption. The middle approach, regulated capitalism, has generally worked the best.

A free market ideology can go too far. A colleague once told me the World Bank asked for a study of the petroleum market in Chad, which they thought should be privatized to improve competition. Given that the domestic oil market at that time was 10 tb/d, he could not foresee privatization leading to anything but monopoly. (As BP’s Peter Davies once said, “Monopolies are terrible, unless they’re yours.”)

On the other hand, socialist countries are littered with failing enterprises that government bureaucrats pushed as transformative for their economies. The poster child could be (again) Petroleos de Venezuela) which took over the expiring concessions of several foreign companies’ operations in the 1970s. Twenty years later, an executive commented to me that his subsidiary produced one-half of the amount of oil before nationalization, but had twice the employees. (He didn’t think that was a good thing.)

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Sadly, many have forgotten that it was Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera who, after initially implementing currency and price controls, liberalized the economy and especially the oil sector. A number of private operators bid on and revitalized aging oil fields, raising production over 1 mb/d, which was partly responsible for the 1998 oil price collapse. Subsequently, Hugo Chavez sought to restore the power of the state over not just private operators but PDVSA, resulting in a strike and the firing of half the company’s work force (including most executives and skilled workers). Production has since steadily declined until it is now minimal, as the state can’t pay workers, many of the managers are inexperienced (and hired for loyalty rather than expertise), and untold amounts of money are unaccounted for, justifying the argument that it’s not socialism, but kleptocracy, at fault. (Both, obviously.)

Sadly, the Chavez regime emulated a predecessor, Carlos Andres Perez, president during the 1970s oil boom, in both attitude and policies, despite their earlier abysmal failures. And Mexico’s President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is doubling down on the mistakes of Perez and Chavez, taking a strict ideological stance favoring state enterprise over private, and blaming all the failures of Petroleos de Mexicanos (Pemex) on his predecessors’ reforms, even though they had only been recently implemented. Even sadder, when a consortium of private companies found a large oil field, he has moved to assert state control over its operation, which will chill the investment climate for years to come.

The biggest crime is that this all harks back to Plato, who queried, “Who will watch the watchers?” That we haven’t solved that problem is visible in the need for police reform in many U.S. cities, but also the failure to recognize that neither the public nor the private sector can be completely trusted to act as we wish. No regulation is not a viable condition, but over-regulation can be costly as well, and both private and public sectors suffer from it. (Think of the postal worker disciplined for leaving their route—to save someone from a fire.) Both capitalists and socialists (or those presuming to be such) should recognize that ideology is a good teacher, but a bad master, and try harder to deal with real world problems in a cost-effective way.

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‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

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REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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