Where are all the $$$'s going?

[bucket]

Will the ethics commissioner ever investigate Builder Barbies unaccounted billions at the infrastructure bank?

Nope.....the money is considered spent...they will probably recoup the unspent money eventually to make the books look better...after taking enough to line their pockets for life...

And conservatives are hoping to get their meathooks into the pocket lining as well...

[bucket]

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria
$785,000,000.00
Aug. 3, 2017
Agreement: Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - Institutional Support 2017-2019 (7375800 P002028001)
Organization: Global Affairs Canada
Location: Geneva (Vernier), Switzerland



Why??????????????????????????????????????

[HITTGrapevine]

A National Post article from earlier this week stated, and I will paraphrase, that after the initial round of CERB payments were delivered, there was 10% more disposable income in Canada. This was because the government spent $56B on CERB, when $23B was all that would have been required to cover loss of job income from the shutdown.

Also from earlier this week, Sask. snowmobile dealerships report that sales have been 30% higher, price of lumber has skyrocketed because of more people doing reno's. This summer rec dealers were sold out of campers and ATV's of all sizes, not as many new vehicles sitting on lots. Record setting house sales.

I would say that is where a lot of the money has gone in the last 8 months.

Sad state of affairs in Canada, no doubt.
I don't mean to minimize the seriousness of the disease.
Lots of good families are losing loved ones and grieving losses. That shouldn't be forgotten.
But the government response has been so out of step with reality
So much free money to so many people and companies.
Not denying that some people and small businesses need financial help, but truckloads of taxpayers money are just getting flushed down the toilet unneccessarily.
And when the toilet plugs and the shit runs all over the floor, guess who's going to be responsible for cleaning it up?
eg1) payroll supports that are being abused / accessed by profitable companies
eg2) unscrutinized government spending on contracts that are either unnecessary or will never be fulfilled (PPE is an obvious example, but other goods and services as well. The WE charity scandal is just the tip of the iceberg. Is it any wonder that Ottawa doesn't want to share spending details?)
eg3) government workers and bureaucrats (not all but lots) who are sitting in their backyards relaxing by the pool while receiving a full salary at the taxpayers expense.
The Trudeau government needs a reality check but it doesn't look like any other political party has the will or ability to deliver it.
Pigs at the trough, folks.
And the feeding frenzy will continue for some time yet, I suspect.
There will be a day of reckoning somewhere down the line.
No sure how that will look but rising inflation is a given, IMO
Keep those money presses running at full speed until the bearings burn off ... and deal with the fallout later.
I thought Canada was a welfare state before the pandemic. Don't even know what to call it now.
Basket case?
Haven't been on Agriville for a while, what are the economists in the crowd saying?

[Old Cowzilla]

I think a lot of the money went to pay down personal debt that has been greatly underestimated the last few years. Lots of folks are not really willing to share that info. Sales of toys,boose and drugs going well thou. Daughter lives in T.O. and says downtown was like a ghost town the other night, 3 weeks before Christmas. She says retail has been crushed and will never be the same.

[bucket]

I will say this.....for companies and people that think helping farmers out when there is a disaster out of their control ...take a good long look in the mirror for what has been received during this pandemic...

Many people prior to the pandemic were only 200 dollars away from financial ruin....it took only weeks for some sort of disaster relief to be put in place for the average citizen....

Farmers have never had that kind of response for any disaster out of their control....ever...

And for those of you who think farmers don't matter ...have a good hard look at who put in a good effort this year to sustain an economy....railways are still having a stellar year just by putting effort into moving grain that is treated any other time as fill in work....their profits will come from the efforts of farmers....

one in eight jobs are ag related in the country prior to the pandemic....that ratio has probably moved to one in six...

Now look at the other industries ...that have received billions in support just since the pandemic started...well heeled companies....billions...

What farmers asked for because of the harvest from hell was only 2.5 billion ...a drop in the bucket...they didn't get it...and won't...

And farmers are still arguing the points of agristability 8 years after the last changes were made ....

So for the people that think farmers getting a handout is so bad....have a look in the mirror...because in one year you have surpassed all the money ever given to farmers from government support.

[chuckChuck]

There is a case to be made for targeting more support to small and medium sized farms. But taxpayers are not interested in lining the pockets of very large farms with subsidies that they don't need.

If the goal is to support agriculture, rural communities and create economic growth, then more farmers are better than less farmers.

[bucket]

There is a case to be made for targeting more support to small and medium sized farms. But taxpayers are not interested in lining the pockets of very large farms with subsidies that they don't need.

If the goal is to support agriculture, rural communities and create economic growth, then more farmers are better than less farmers.

Government policy has been to consolidate farms for years if not decades....until it doesnt work....and it won't soon...

Look at large farms that need government help for TFW....continuing on the path will create problems government will be expected to pick up the tab...

Here is some wide angle thinking.....irrigation is supposed to help the economy but it only is viable as long as the government is picking up the infrastructure bill and the operating expenses....so that those irrigating can go do MUD deals at dealerships ....it is phucking crazy...

Buy Local is the current battle cry for governments to help with the pandemic....problem is...there is no such thing anymore and it costs too much to buy local....when the difference on four 4 liter jugs of milk can pay for the gas to go to costco an 1 1/2 away there is something wrong....and then to pay for the trip home on the difference on pet food....its crazy...

Politicians are so far out of touch while they consolidate everything to larger centres to make governing easier...One health district....they look at costs ....its easier to shut down local hospitals to get people to go to the city for their appointments....until it isn't...

communities could be isolated with proper measures but its impossible now because of consolidation...

Now add up the real costs of consolidation when you cant control a pandemic effectively because for years the government has been removing local services with their policy ...government of all stripes should be held account for what they have done by never looking at the costs by playing devil's advocate...


When delivering a load of grain to a terminal has to be done in isolation because of the area the terminal covers....and the costs associated with it...something so simple has become complicated because of consolidation...

[chuckChuck]

Market forces and economics have driven a lot of this change. Many politicians including Liberals and Conservatives have been supporting the hollowing out of rural communities.

There area lot of forces at work and you can't blame politicians for it all. And I dont see much support from farmers when it comes to supporting more government intervention when it comes to pushing back against corporate power.

[bucket]

Market forces and economics have driven a lot of this change. Many politicians including Liberals and Conservatives have been supporting the hollowing out of rural communities.

There area lot of forces at work and you can't blame politicians for it all. And I dont see much support from farmers when it comes to supporting more government intervention when it comes to pushing back against corporate power.

The first bolded comment Market forces.....no such thing big companies live on the government tit and we dont have an actual market in Canada...in farming...if anyone thinks we do ....you are more of a wing nut than I am...

the second bolded comment....Until things don't make sense to some of the BTOs.....who are they going to call???

You see it already the writing on the wall when 40BPA canola is still driving larger farms quietly to RBA in a downsizing or a complete sell out...You can't send 4 550hp tractors to auction from a 3500 acre farm...

Look at guys like Bill Boyd....FFS...the guy scammed money from the government and used government contacts to only end up selling out....with well lined pockets....

Unless the goal of farmers should be to line your pockets and sell out.....

Disclaimer....the only guys with better pictures and videos than supply management used to blackmail politicians are irrigation farmers....my guess is they photoshopped the dairy guys photos....hahaha

[Rareearth]

Chuck and bucket please define a large farm.

Could it be owned and rented land over 2,500 acres ?

[bucket]

Chuck and bucket please define a large farm.

Could it be owned and rented land over 2,500 acres ?

I think farms over 5000 acres just become multiple of that ....if you are 5000 acres the next jump might as well be to right to 10000 ...the equipment and labour dictates the acres...then with the neighbours seeing the growth of your operation it quickly becomes 15000 acres...

Within a farm family these days 10000 would be a large farm but when you break it down to the principles in the operation its typically 5000 acres...

Figure the answer from that ...pretty convoluted....thats a political answer if I have ever written one....just trying it out....

Bottom line its a tough question to answer....

[Rareearth]

It’s a very important question for context.

Romantic notions of child hold growing up with grandma and grandpa, large family get togethers at Christmas, etc
Vs.
Parents (you and I types) today, where children are not married, no children (or grand children), LGBQ, etc

Things change, like it or not,