Observations of Left and Right

I've heard it said that Conservatives believe that markets are good and people are bad....hence we must trust the markets and lecture people on why they are just not living right.

I've also heard that Liberals believe that people are good and markets are bad.  Hence we must trust people to make their own decisions and talk about the evils of the markets.

Of course both generalizations are pretty silly since markets are really a collection of individual spending choices....you can't have one without the other.

This kind of debate where the left and right simply talk past each other occupy enormous amounts of time in all forms of media.  I find the ignorance on both sides to be more than irritating, it is downright painful.

I'll take two particular issues that are favourites of the right and left respectively......1) Deficits/Debt. 2) Climate Change.

Deficits/Debt

If you listen to the left, monstrous government debts occupy too high a place on the right's priority list.  The fact of large deficits ranks way below in importance behind a growing economy and generous social programs.  The right will howl in disgust that we are spending our children's money and their children's money.

They are talking right past each other and getting nowhere.

Let's have some common sense here.  Let's call deficits by a descriptive name that fits.  Let's call it "Spending Someone Else's Money."  So when we Spend Someone Else's Money in greater numbers year after year, then there comes a time to pay the piper.  It is not true that borrowing money is like taking another bucket of water out of the Niagara River.  There is a limited amount of that water.

When the tipping point of excessive debt arrives (as it has for Greece and Ireland and Portugal), then it is too late to avoid severe consequences.  Like most consequences, the sooner you face up to it, the less painful it is.

Climate Change

Many on the right will tell you that climate change is not a proven fact.  The left will call the climate change non-believers something creative and caustic like "Members of the Flat Earth Society."

They are talking past each other and getting nowhere.

I have a newsflash for those who deny climate change......if you burn all of the oil and cut down all of the trees, THE CLIMATE WILL CHANGE!!!!  Besides that it's really irrelevant whether the earth is warming due to man made pollution or whether it's part of a natural cycle.  It's irrelevant because anyone with a modicum of common sense will agree that pollution is bad.   Let's call pollution something more descriptive like "Fouling someone else's air."

Much as with excessive debt, when the tipping point arrives it is too late to escape severe consequences.  So if some feel that we are not yet at a tipping point yet, then I say "Great, so then it's the right time to reduce emissions drastically so that we don't get to the point of man made climate change."

Generalizations are often unfair since there are many on the left who understand the importance of cutting public debt and there are many on the right who feel very strongly about a cleaner environment.  However they generally get nowhere due to the demogogues on both sides.

As we are in the midst of an election campaign, I'd really love to see our leaders address these issues with a bit of common sense rather than make endless pie in the sky announcements about new spending programs that cannot possibly be met.

There is a solution to both burning issues that is just common sense. When times are tough, we should tighten our belts and not spend someone else's money.....we shouldn't do that ever.  When the government doesn't stimulate the economy in such a way, then people will drive less (or drive smaller cars) and fly less and generally waste less.....and hence foul other people's air less.

Taxes should be raised (perhaps a carbon tax introduced along with a hike in the GST).  Spending should be reduced even in our cherished social programs.  This will reduce our deficits and make for a cleaner environment.  I don't think our quality of life will suffer in the long term since necessity is the mother of invention.  

I won't hold my breath waiting for one of our elected leaders to suggest any of this.