I’m not sure pissing off bullies leads to fair deals either. I’m thinking Carney isn’t trying to get a good deal, but to avoid a trade war. Hell, Trump could order air strikes on Canada. He did it with Iran. Probably best not to piss him off. $2 billion in tax would be great but the government can also just print $2 billion if they really wanted to.
What makes you think that he won’t further a trade war or drop bombs on Vancouver if we do give him everything he wants? Placating bullies doesn’t pacify them, it emboldens them. Canada should be pushing back against the US and dragging the rest of the world with us in the process. Instead, everyone is just falling in line while Trump walks all over us.
If we’re really lucky, we’ll get to keep some cosmetic sovereignty out of all of this, but I don’t like our chances.
Yes, I would have millions of Canadians suffer to maintain our right to set our own fiscal policy. The alternative is annexation. Have you seen what the US does to its own citizens? Can you imagine what they would do to Canada as a vassal state?
There’s no need to cut trade entirely, simply mirroring their tariffs would be sufficient. If they want lower tariffs, they know what they need to do.
Would I start a war? Obviously not, but I’m not going to fool myself into thinking I’m avoiding one by giving them everything they demand. It has, after all, never worked with any dictator ever in the history of the world. If war is coming, it’s because the Americans want it, and we should all be ready. That means building trade and military alliances with actual friends. I think re-tooling the nation’s economy on a war-footing would be a good idea too, but before we go that far, I think I’d adopt Doctorow’s advice and kill the legislation on digital locks. If the Americans want to treat us like enemies, they should see just what that means. We should “turn off the taps” for oil, gas, and electricity and start encouraging high-skilled Americans to resettle in Canada.
This could be a great opportunity for us: reverse the brain drain and get out from under the US thumb. They’ve demonstrated that there’s no way to deal with them fairly, so now the alternative, albeit the more difficult route, is the only viable option.
The millions of Canadians suffering only works for a time. In the end people will vote away freedom in exchange for a piece of bread. This much has been proven by history. So in any plan that involves the suffering of millions, there has to be a portion that ends that suffering in as short time frame as possible. I’m not sure there is one at the moment. There are some concepts of a plan. I don’t know if we can realistically do this for example without opening up trade with China and only relying on the EU as a replacement to the US. And right now we’re taking a more or less China Bad stance. Perhaps this would change if we get fucked by Trump. Perhaps Carney is using this as a stick in negotiations. E.g. if you fuck us, we’ll have no choice but to do China OK in order to take care of Canadians. Maybe the EU is enough, I don’t know. I just know that the EU themselves are dependent on China in a few areas and we shouldn’t be paying their profit margins to get the same stuff.
It’s a 3% tax on tech companies. Carney did not agree to be a vassal state. He cancelled a would be tax that Trudeau said would take effect today in an attempt to sign a trade deal with the US, something the US agreed to negotiate before end of July. If there’s no deal by then he could always move forward with the tax.
We’re in a trade war - and moving away from the US ina way that will ensure for generations or longer. Carney capitulated to fash. We are Austria in 1938.
I’m not sure pissing off bullies leads to fair deals either. I’m thinking Carney isn’t trying to get a good deal, but to avoid a trade war. Hell, Trump could order air strikes on Canada. He did it with Iran. Probably best not to piss him off. $2 billion in tax would be great but the government can also just print $2 billion if they really wanted to.
What makes you think that he won’t further a trade war or drop bombs on Vancouver if we do give him everything he wants? Placating bullies doesn’t pacify them, it emboldens them. Canada should be pushing back against the US and dragging the rest of the world with us in the process. Instead, everyone is just falling in line while Trump walks all over us.
If we’re really lucky, we’ll get to keep some cosmetic sovereignty out of all of this, but I don’t like our chances.
What would you do? Cut trade entirely? Start a war? Millions of Canadians will suffer over a 3% tax on Facebook?
Yes, I would have millions of Canadians suffer to maintain our right to set our own fiscal policy. The alternative is annexation. Have you seen what the US does to its own citizens? Can you imagine what they would do to Canada as a vassal state?
There’s no need to cut trade entirely, simply mirroring their tariffs would be sufficient. If they want lower tariffs, they know what they need to do.
Would I start a war? Obviously not, but I’m not going to fool myself into thinking I’m avoiding one by giving them everything they demand. It has, after all, never worked with any dictator ever in the history of the world. If war is coming, it’s because the Americans want it, and we should all be ready. That means building trade and military alliances with actual friends. I think re-tooling the nation’s economy on a war-footing would be a good idea too, but before we go that far, I think I’d adopt Doctorow’s advice and kill the legislation on digital locks. If the Americans want to treat us like enemies, they should see just what that means. We should “turn off the taps” for oil, gas, and electricity and start encouraging high-skilled Americans to resettle in Canada.
This could be a great opportunity for us: reverse the brain drain and get out from under the US thumb. They’ve demonstrated that there’s no way to deal with them fairly, so now the alternative, albeit the more difficult route, is the only viable option.
The millions of Canadians suffering only works for a time. In the end people will vote away freedom in exchange for a piece of bread. This much has been proven by history. So in any plan that involves the suffering of millions, there has to be a portion that ends that suffering in as short time frame as possible. I’m not sure there is one at the moment. There are some concepts of a plan. I don’t know if we can realistically do this for example without opening up trade with China and only relying on the EU as a replacement to the US. And right now we’re taking a more or less China Bad stance. Perhaps this would change if we get fucked by Trump. Perhaps Carney is using this as a stick in negotiations. E.g. if you fuck us, we’ll have no choice but to do China OK in order to take care of Canadians. Maybe the EU is enough, I don’t know. I just know that the EU themselves are dependent on China in a few areas and we shouldn’t be paying their profit margins to get the same stuff.
I can’t believe “I would have millions of Canadians suffer” is getting upvotes…never change internet.
Because the suffering as a vassal state would be so much worse.
It’s a 3% tax on tech companies. Carney did not agree to be a vassal state. He cancelled a would be tax that Trudeau said would take effect today in an attempt to sign a trade deal with the US, something the US agreed to negotiate before end of July. If there’s no deal by then he could always move forward with the tax.
We’re in a trade war - and moving away from the US ina way that will ensure for generations or longer. Carney capitulated to fash. We are Austria in 1938.