Reality
Check
On
October 31, while the rally for the farmers going to jail was taking place
at Lethbridge Alberta, the CWB was staging a meeting with the media to do
“damage control.” It was obvious to anyone who listened to the
teleconference that Mr. Ritter and Mr. Flaman view freedom as some remote
ideal, that means very little. They obviously need time to reflect on the
past and visualize where we would be right now if our forefathers had not
fought and died to keep us free.
True
democracy does not allow monopolies in one part of the country and freedom
to chose in another when selling grain. The monopoly of the Canadian Wheat
Board gives each farmer an average price for their product by pooling the
returns. This would work fine if the world stood still and everyone
involved had the same size farm, the exact same lifestyle and goal, the
same debt load and no access to any information on marketing or weather.
They could depend solely on the information given to them by the CWB. This
concept would work fine if our input costs and costs of living never
changed. Of course its success would also depend on keeping the cost of
running the CWB to a minimum so returns would be maximized.
Now
lets do a reality check. We chose to live in Canada so that we can have
the freedom to work hard and make money. Canadians are individuals who
have very different and unique lifestyles. This is what makes our country
a great place to live. We can merely exist or we can prosper, the choice
is ours.
We
do not all farm the same amount of land or use the same farming methods.
Our debt loads, education levels and access to information on marketing
are varied. Some people choose to support the status quo, while others
choose to explore other avenues of entrepreneurship. This is an individual
decision, not one that can be dictated by a monopoly like the CWB.
Administration
and general expenses of the CWB have increased from $30 million in 1990 to
$63.7 million in the year 2000. CWB borrowings, which are rolled over
funds required to meet the short term cash needs of the CWB have increased
from $17 billion (yes billion is right) in 1990 to $85 billion
in the year 2000. It does not take a rocket scientist to see that the
expenses connected with the board are out of line with the size of the
corporation.
The
Board’s saving grace is the fact that they can borrow an unlimited
amount of money due to the backing of the government of Canada.
Taxpayers should be very concerned about this. In a monopoly all expenses
are deducted from the pooled income received from grain sales, leaving the
rest to be divided up among the farmers. When fixed inputs of the farmer
skyrocket, CWB administration and fixed general expenses double and grain
prices remain the same or decrease, we know the share that farmers get
from the pooled accounts is bound to go down no matter how well the CWB
markets our grain. This is the reality of the situation. Times have
changed and the system no longer works because of the fixed costs
associated with running a state trading enterprise.
Let
us draw a parallel that any working person can understand if their
employer ran a corporation as a price pooling monopoly. Since they would
be working hard for the good of all, owners would pool the salaries of
Management, Directors and employees and divide it equally, then allow
staff to rejoice in their average wage. Innovative thinking on the part of
individuals would be discouraged through lack of incentive. All expenses
incurred by the owners, no matter how frivolous would be deducted from
your salary before you receive your paycheck. There would be no cost of
living increases, no benefits and part of your salary would be held back
to handle any unforeseen expenses. This final amount may or may not be
given to you twelve to eighteen months down the road. No matter how fast
your cost of living increases, there is no way to enhance your income. Of
course if this is not to your liking you would not be able to leave
and seek employment elsewhere, your only option would be to adjust your
lifestyle accordingly or move out of the designated area which involves
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and a small part of BC. The rest of Canada
still enjoys total freedom.
Of
course this scenario would never be allowed to happen. People would revolt
and demonstrations and rallies would break out in the designated area.
People may even be willing to go to jail in order to stand up for what
they believe in. Does this sound familiar? Most Canadians don’t think
about freedom until the loss of it affects them directly.
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