We’re Not The Government . . . And That’s The Problem

FAIR-TRADE IS WHAT BUILDS FREEDOM – FREE TRADE IS WHAT BUILDS TYRANNY:

Of The People, By The People, For The People – Sounds Good . . . No?

It’s Too Bad It “Ain’t” True . . . Since the Day when President Lincoln Said those Iconic Words at his Gettysburg Address, they have Proven to be Empty, because I am UTTERLY CONVINCED that the People are SIMPLY TOO STUPID, LAZY, SELFISH, GREEDY & IGNORANT to handle the Responsibility of Self Governance.

I’m Watching the Ontario Election Unfold before my Eyes – And In One Simple Word to Describe it . . . DISASTER!

Doug Ford . . . The Conservative Leader, who I Backed with my Vote & Money, is doing a Great Rendition of Silence of the Lambs. Where The Hell is He? Where’s his Booming Voice of Indignation to how the LEFT are Destroying our Province through Nonsensical Legislations after Legislation?

The LEFT are out there Promoting the Sun, the Moon & the Stars-Up-Above . . . all to be Paid for with Other People’s Money – AND THEY MIGHT ACTUALLY WIN!

OUTSIDE OF PRESIDENT TRUMP – WHERE ARE THE CONSERVATIVE STREET- FIGHTERS?

If It Isn’t FAIR-TRADE . . . Who Needs It At All?

As A Canadian, I should be Cheering for Canada over the USABut I Am Not! How can I Cheer for Canada, when my Canadian Government, Bureaucrats, Politicians & “Marketing Boards” Treat Canadians as if we were their Piggy Banks?

Yesterday (May 31, 2018) . . . President Trump Followed-Through on his Promise, which he made to the American People during and since he was Elected to become America’s 45th President . . . To LEVEL The International Playing Field On Trade.

What’s Incredible . . . Is how America’s “Great & Good Friends” like Canada, England & France, have Reacted, almost out of Shock to President Trump’s DEMAND FOR FAIR-TRADE, Opposed to the Joke of Free-Trade, because I don’t exactly know what FREE-TRADE is supposed to mean . . .

Is It Supposed To Mean . . . that Everyone can sell their Stuff to the USA at Cheap Prices, but America Cannot Sell its Stuff to Anyone Else at Equally Cheap Prices?

FAIR-TRADE IS WHAT BUILDS FREEDOM – FREE TRADE IS WHAT BUILDS TYRANNY:

I’ll Give You A Perfect Example . . . Canada, but mostly the Separatist Province of Quebec, which Produces Almost Half of all Canadian Dairy Products, is Strictly Managed through the Canadian Dairy Commission, which is Canada’s National Canadian Milk Board, Inevitably Sub-Managed By The Provinces.

Notice All The Bureaucrats Managing What People Can & Cannot Produce.

This Commission . . . Decides upon every Facet Of Dairy Farming in Canada, from how many Producing Cows a Farmer can Have, to how Much or how Little each Farmer is Allowed UNDER THE LAW to Produce, to who Collects the Milk, how the Milk is Processed . . . AND HOW IT’S PRICED & DISTRIBUTED ON THE RETAIL MARKET.

More than that . . . This Board Decides Who Is Allowed To Operate A Dairy Farm By A Government QUOTA SYSTEM . . . Meaning There’s No Competition Allowed – PERIOD!

IT IS EUPHEMISTICALLY CALLED SUPPLY-MANAGEMENT:

What makes this Obscenity of “Supply Management”, which is nothing more than a COMMUNIST ERA-STYLE-SYSTEM . . . is that this Outrage to Freedom of Agriculture, IS THAT NO ONE – AND I MEAN NO ONE IN CANADA, is Allowed to Commercially Produce even a Drop of Cow’s Milk without having a Government PERMIT (Quota) to do so, Even For His Or Her Own Consumption.

Same Thing For All The Milk Spinoffs . . . But it doesn’t End just there. Canada also has Government Protected “Supply Management”, which Regulates Poultry, Eggs, Pork . . . Etc.

ONTARIO TO THE ATLANTIC COULD – THE WEST TO THE PACIFIC COULD NOT:

Several Years Ago . . . August 1, 2012 – So We’re Only Talking Six Years – Canada, through our then Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, ENDED THE DRACONIAN CANADIAN WHEAT BOARD, which had the Government Monopoly on all Grains Grown from Manitoba to British Columbia.

From The Province Of Ontario To The Atlantic . . . No Such Board Existed.

When I write Draconian . . . I’m Not Being Facetious, Western Grain Farmers who Wanted to sell their own Harvest outside of the Government Board, were in Violation of the Law . . . and were Fined, as well as Having their Agricultural Equipment, Trucks & Property Seized if they were Caught & Couldn’t Pay the Fine.

Some of the Western Grain Farmers WERE ACTUALLY JAILED for Bringing even a Modicum (Token) of their Crop to the USA.

I AM NOT WRITING ABOUT THE OLD SOVIET UNION, China, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea . . . Etc. I’m Writing About Canada.

I’m Not Even Writing About Something that was Law a Hundred Years Ago, I’m Writing About Canada IN THE YEAR 2012, where Canadian Grain Farmers were LEGALLY PUNISHED for selling their Own Grains, which they Seeded on their Own Land, and at their Own Expense, without Selling it through the Canadian Wheat Board.

LET ME GIVE YOU . . . EVEN MORE OF A REALITY CHECK:

A Liter Of Milk In Canada, which is Slightly Smaller than a US Quart, in Cornwall Ontario, which is the Biggest Little City near where Anne & I Live is $2.30. In NY State just Across the River from Cornwall, the Price for a Liter of Milk is $0.87.

For A Family Of Four . . . Who would Consume as many as 2-Liters of Milk Per Day in Canada (which isn’t that much), the cost would be slightly more than $1,600 Per Year. For the American Family, Consuming the same Volume, the cost would be slightly more than $300 Per Year.

“LE PRESIDENT” BRIE CHEESE MADE IN CANADA . . . At Walmart in Canada, the Price is $8. The Exact Same Cheese, at Walmart Just Across The Border In The USA is $4 . . . “Nuff Said”!

CANADA, ENGLAND, FRANCE, & ALL OTHERS ARE FOCUSING ON STEEL & ALUMINUM:

I’m Neither Interested Nor Concerned . . . with what’s Happening in England, France and the Rest of the World vis a vis Trade with the USA. But I do Care Deeply About What’s Happening Between Canada & America.

I Have Traveled Throughout North America, and I can tell you without any Exaggeration, that there are Few Regions in the Continental United States, with the Exception of Alaska, WHERE I HAVEN’T DRIVEN THROUGH.

And When I Write Driven Through, I mean I Stop & Meet the People. I’m Interested in how the People Live, what they Do, how they Think, and how much Different or Alike they are from me.

So I Know Of What I write. And I know that the American Heartland is a Massive Farming Center, with all sorts of Agriculture, INCLUDING A GARGANTUAN DAIRY INDUSTRY, which By & Large, is still Operated as Family Farms, in spite of Everything we hear to the Contrary . . .

And These American Dairy Farmers, like all Businesspeople, want to sell their Produce, Raw or Processed into Canada, Just Like Canadian Producers Sell their Dairy Produce Freely Into The United States Of America . . . BUT THE AMERICANS CANNOT, because the Communist-Style Canadian Marketing Boards, Euphemistically Called Supply Management, Will Not Permit FAIR-TRADE between the Two Countries, any more than the Dairy Board Will Allow Individual Canadian Farmers To Earn An Unfettered Living On Family-Farms.

I would like to Pay almost a THIRD the Price for a Liter of Milk, and about HALF the Price for a Brick of Brie Cheese . . . But I Can’t, because between the Canadian Farmers, the Bureaucrats and the Politicians . . . THEY HAVE THE MARKET CORNERED. And the Consumers at their Mercy.

But It’s Not Just Dairy – There’s Also An Egg Board . . . where in Canada, we pay on average $2.98 Per Dozen Eggs, while in the USA, a Dozen Eggs of Similar Quality costs Slightly more than $1.

But . . . Because Anne and I live so close to the US Border, we cross Once or Twice a Month into America, fill the Truck with US Gas, which saves us $45 Per Tank, which Pays the Cost of the Round Trip . . . PLUS.

My Truck Takes 48-US Gallons of Gasoline. By Canadian Measurement, that’s 184 –Liters. In Ontario, where we live in the Summer, the Current Cost for Gasoline Per Liter is $1.30 (on the cheap). The Math Is Easy. 184 Times $1.30 Equals $240 To Fill My Tank.

When I Fill-Up with US Gas, the Cost to Fill is $150 US, based on the Current Price of $3.11 Per US Gallon in Massena NY. And when Converting US Dollars to Canadian, our Saving is about $45 Per Tank. That buys a lot of Cheese, Chickens, Eggs & Turkeys.

Between Canada & The USA . . . Quartered & Seasoned Raw Chickens are easily One Third to One Quarter the Cost. Frozen Turkeys are also Easily Half the Cost. On Special Commercially Produced Premium Dog-Food (Rachael Ray) “Just Six” . . . we can save as much as $100 Per Bag over a Comparable Canadian Quality.

So If You Were Me . . . Who Would You Be Cheering For?

Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov

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22 Comments

  1. I know I should stop whining at American prices. But paying $3 for gas that was $2 not long ago is wrong, especially considering the processing facilities are still the same, the drilling processes are the same, the transportation processes are the same, etc. What changed?…Laws, regulations, greedy attitudes. It seems to be about two things–the almighty dollar and power to overlord others.

  2. Your description of the canadian “free market” sounds an awful lot like socialism – you can own your own land, machinery, etc. etc. but the government will tell you how to use it and what you can charge for your goods.
    Please, please, migrate to the US. We’re waiting for you. Welcome when you do.

  3. Wow! I have not been to Canada since the 1960’s and am astounded by the prices there which were higher than the USA back then. A real eye opener and it seems that the USA is headed in that direction.

  4. There is only one thing left to solve this and that is for the sheeples to wake up, revolt, retake our houses of parliament and throw all politicians in jail for life and restart from scratch.

  5. Just across the border in Montana I buy 2 lbs of the best 3 year aged cheddar cheese for $5 USD. In quebec it’s $25.
    At quebec’s grab of 35% of the gasoline price I estimate that this highest taxed province pockets some added 8+ billion dollars per year on this scam alone. You don’t here these clowns squacking about this misery on its population. Trumps is making noise on their outrageous gas prices. I can add more!!

  6. Now I understand why I see so many Alberta license plates here in Great Falls, Montana.

  7. Agreed HG I buy all fuel, milk products, poultry, turkey, pet foods, clothing at 1/3 to 1/2 the price of Canadian products in the US: weekly. By the way I also buy the rest as well while I am there. I do however have neighbors who insist they buy only in Canada to support Can. jobs. I’m retired, my money was earned and saved and will now be spent where I get the best value and SERVICE and that is NOT Ontario. By the way sales tax is also lower in NY state.

  8. The fact is, milk quota is sold on the open market, and it’s price is not regulated by the Government. Quota is now trading for about $25,000/cow. A friend sold his 50 cows for $800/each, but $25,000/each for his quota. Milk prices are set using a cost plus formula that doesn’t include the cost of quota! So this just shows how overpriced milk is for farmers to be able to pay this much for quota. Absolutely ridiculous! If Govt is involved you can bet it will be a screw up.

  9. And that is why the BC and Alberta folks shop in Kalispell. Glad they can shop here and save a little

  10. As long as we have a Prime Minister from Quebec we’ll see more of the same! A P.M. from Quebec looks after Quebec before the rest of Canada. And the ROC couldn’t wait to get rid of P.M. Harper! I hope that they all suffer even if I have to as well (but I wasn’t spoiled rotten like a lot of the young’uns). And think of all that lovely debt that is piling up and I won’t be around to pay for!

  11. “Of, by, and for the people” works when people can “think rationally”! (Recent “comments” claim “Average IQ” of U.S. Population is now about 66- please tell me this isn’t true!)Things today are all about “control” and “money”! USA sells products to other countries to keep prices high here in USA or farmers don’t grow crops to prevent having too much, driving prices down! Soros buying lots of “farmland” in Midwest, Chinese own Smithfield pork, Mexicans coming for “Freebies”- thanks to Congress!

  12. WOW, I guess we don’t have it so bad here in the USA…..after hearing about the prices in Canada! Sounds like Socialism run “amuck”!! God bless you Canadians, & DEFINITELY may God Bless PRES. TRUMP, his family, & his CABINET!!!

  13. California is ‘Canada’ in the US its got the highest gasoline price, higest sales tax,and highest income tax. It also has a one party Legislature (sic).

  14. Excellent audit! Speaking of milk: About 25 years ago, I jumped at the opportunity to market a whey-based, all natural, powdered milk product. Until then, whey was so bad tasting, it could only be used as fertilizer. However, the US based company, Pure D’lite, resolved the taste problem. Many dairy farmers actually preferred it to their own milk! The Canadian government quickly created a law that stated; 2 of our ingredients were prohibited when used in the same product. Bye-bye $millions!

  15. Love your reaction, Howard – it’s about the same as mine but we are in reversed roles – I come to Quebec from Texas every year to avoid the summers – about 74 years now… and the changes in my lifetime are amazing – from what you are describing to what has been going on in Quebec! Your editorial has been very informative to me – pretty much substaniates what i thought – i go down to Vermont – 20 minutes to get cheese along with groceries – meat and dairy are the big differences in price, so th

  16. Until recent years I made two month long visits across the seaway each year. I wish we had a Dollarama or Giant Tiger. A year or so ago, I read about changes coming to Ontario which, to me made it a place where I could not live. Even before that, if you owned land through which water passed, you could not legally alter the shore line. 1960, Black Diamond cheese (If I rememer correctly) was very reasonably priced and fantastic. The Royal York(Toronto) was beautiful. That was then.

  17. Now you know why Ontario & Quebec did not want Max Bernier as he was going to resolve the supply/management business! Harry.

  18. When I am fortunate enough to have a job(have been off since last October) I make fantastic money working oil and gas. Then I am taxed at close to 20% corporate as I am a consultant. Then I’m taxed at 50% on personal. We don’t have a sales tax(It’s just hidden)- I pay 1.30/litre for gas. Grocery prices have gone up between 20 to 30% depending what it is. I pay more for fixed fees, than my actual usage of power which has been going out for the past week everyday. Sorry to complain to those in Ont

  19. Great piece Howard. Thanks for defining things the way you’ve done with ag products & fuel costs. Most you’d think would ‘get it’ when seeing your outline. Nope, not the case. U.S. lefties & fence sitters you’d think might wake up to their errant ways from this piece, but Hell no! They’re all just as thick between the ears about socialism vs. capitalism – especially when they get anywhere near a voting booth! NOTHING seems to jar leftists anywhere in the world into rational thinking. Sad!

  20. Howard, I hate to say this…… I don’t think the American sheep will ever wake up. But, the liberals are up and doing their best to make us liik like the fools that we are.

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