Democrat strategist James Carville is credited with first saying it in 1992: “It’s the economy, stupid!” Turned out to be a piece of advice that helped Bill Clinton capture the US Presidency.
The maxim still holds true.
Donald Trump re-captured his old job … despite his character/credibility/ethical and even criminal flaws … largely based on the hurt Americans have been suffering under Biden/Democrats when they buy groceries or pump gas or even pay their rent.
The average price of a dozen eggs in the US in 2020, when Biden took over was $1.51; today $3.82; milk was $3.31 a gallon; today $4.02; and lettuce, which averaged $1.63 kg in 2020, now goes for between $1.97 to $3.94.
Hard to buy into a campaign that emphasizes protecting democracy, abortion rights, transgender acceptance, NATO, the Mid East and Ukraine, when you are struggling to feed your kids.
In fact, a CNN exit poll released Wednesday morning showed 67% described the condition of the US economy as “not good or poor”; and, only 32% saw its as “good or excellent”.
Add to that the growing fear of violent crime right across the US; more than 100,000 opioid deaths each year; millions of illegals crowding urban areas (eating up billions of dollars worth of public services, including housing, food support, free education, health care and welfare funds) … and you can see why Donald Trump scored a clear victory.
And there’s a lesson in that for Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government have emphasized the need to fight climate change, addressed First Nations reconciliation, welcomed refugee claimants (72,000 in 2023 alone, plus 469,000 immigrants), and, introduced a national dental care program.
But when eggs cost $4.35 a dozen; milk (4 litres) is $5.95: butter (454 gms) is $6.79 and an iceberg lettuce is $3.99, it gets pretty expensive to feed a family here too!
Not to mention the current median monthly rent for an apartment in Vancouver is $2,829 per month; gasoline is $1.72 a litre, health care is a mess; crime is rampant in too many communities; the Courts are a disgrace; and many Canadians (including Liberals!) feel Trudeau has lost touch with Canadians.
Canada’s next scheduled federal election is October, 2025.
The results of the US vote (the recent BC vote too) convince me more than ever, as I wrote in June ( https://harveyoberfeld.ca/attention-politicians-the-middle-class-is-mad-as-hell-and-not-taking-it-anymore/) , taxpayers want change.
Polls continue to show that for most Canadians, the vote can’t come too soon, and Trudeau/Liberals will go the way of Biden/Harris/Democrats.
Get ready for Pierre Poilievre … despite his flaws.
Harv Oberfeld
(Follow @harveyoberfeld.ca on “X” for FREE First Alerts to new postings on this Blog.)
Will Trump last four years?
Interesting conversation from down South, where there is already speculation that certain “Conservative” law-makers are brushing up on their constitutional law, especially the 25th Amendment of their constitution. The following passage will be of some interest.
“Among potential examples of such unforeseen emergencies, legal scholars have listed kidnapping of the president and “political emergencies” such as impeachment. Traits such as unpopularity, incompetence, impeachable conduct, poor judgment, or laziness might not in themselves constitute inability, but should such traits “rise to a level where they prevented the President from carrying out his or her constitutional duties, they still might constitute an inability, even in the absence of a formal medical diagnosis.” In addition, a president who already manifested disabling traits at the time he was elected is not thereby immunized from a declaration of inability.”
I think imitating oral sex to an audience and incoherent comments at rallies, certainly manifest disabling traits” prior to the election.
I have a gut feeling that Vance (who has very powerful backers) is already boning up on constitutional law, especially if Trump declares war on Iran and/or delivers the Ukraine to Putin.
Just saying, the USA will be going through very interesting times.
(Response: The idea of a President Vance is even more scary to me than a President Trump! h.o)
I should have added, I heard this from a conservative pod cast, which I listen too, (as it occasionally appears on YouTube), in fact the only American pod cast that tries to stick to facts in their reporting.
We have to realize that the true Republican Conservative and not the MAGA Conservative are two completely different animals There is really nothing like this in Canada to compare too.
Can I add to DMJ’s last post showing the number of voters for each candidate. Maybe we are reading the election wrong. I don’t think the question is why Harris and the Democrats lost but why Trump won
As far as I am concerned the Democrats big mistake was Biden seeking re-election. Biden won the 2020 nomination because he was the best candidate to defeat Trump. And he hasn’t been a bad president. Like Obama in 2008 he inherited a bad economic situation. Obama’s administration fixed the financial crisis and Biden’s administration is fixing the inflationary, high interest problem caused by a worldwide pandemic. I am not blaming Trump for anything, but the guy clearly has horseshoes up his butt. He inherited a good economy and is now inheriting a recovering economy and he will take credit for both.
Having said that Biden was old. Everyone knew that in 2020. And he just got older. He should have dropped out, allowing someone younger to take over. And that someone whether Harris or someone else would have had to go through the rigors of a primary to prove they were prepared to battle an election. As it was Harris had three months. One of her problems was not being able to distance herself from the Biden administration. In a primary she could have praised what they had done and laid out a program to continue that improvement. She failed or didn’t have time to show the public who she was and what she stood for. Had Biden said he was not seeking re-election, if there had been a proper primary, the Democrats would have had a battle scarred person – Harris or someone else – to take on Trump.
So that is where the Democrats failed. But as I said, what was it that allowed Trump to win. And here I am not talking just about Trump vs Harris.
He is old, And incoherent. Loose not just with the truth but with actual facts. Biden looked horrible in the debate with Trump but Trump looked equally incapable against Harris.
In his entire life he has never been for the working person, famous for stiffing contractors.
He never conceded the election. He said he was cheated which ultimately led to Jan. 6. That should have disqualified him, but hey, he said in 2016 he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose a vote. So he read his base perfectly.
He has no clue how tariffs work which is the basis of his economic policy.
His immigration policy – and immigration is certainly an important topic – is tinged if not plastered with racism. They are rapists and murderers and eating your pets. For sure fix the migrant problem but what is it with the language he uses.
He doesn’t have much respect for women. I am putting that mildly.
And he is totally transactional. I was listening to a podcast before the election and Elon Musk’s support of Trump was being discussed. According to the podcaster Musk is not a billionaire seeking tax breaks to make himself richer. Billionaires are already rich enough. His theory is people like Musk know how to manipulate Trump by praise. Musk wants to go to Mars. Maybe that is a good idea, maybe not but Musk knows that he can manipulate a guy who likes shiny objects with his name attached to it. Many people involved in AI want as few regulations as possible. Praise Trump and get fewer regulations from a guy who already despises regulations. Add Putin and other dictators to that list.
Trump is an open book, a poorly written open book. And he still won. That’s what amazes me.
(Response: The fact Trump won both disappoints and amazes me. Talk to Canadians and for decades, speaking between ourselves, we (and both Canadian and American comedians) have joked, expressed incredulity and even experienced how dumb so many Americans are …. not only about Canada and the world …but about their own country, their own state, their own news/current leaders and events. But the US also has achieved such greatness in so many areas and has so many brilliant people, educated citizens, warm, welcoming individuals and communities … we had faith that MOST could see through Trump in so many areas. We were wrong … or, Biden (who had described himself as a “transitional” President) blew it, by long overstaying his “best before” date, by failing to adequately deal with rising food/gas prices, the border, crime and even growing public weariness with “progressive” agendas, deserved to lose. Now the world is stuck with the results … and can only hope and pray it won’t be as bad as many fear. h.o)
I do find the recent American election deeply disturbing almost a replay of the German election in 1933………………..and look what what happened in the next 12 years.
But that is not the point I would like to make (god knows there are so many) but we also have to realize that due to the American constitution and their “Freedom of Speech) which from my book is “Freedom to Lie, Libel and Slander”, the American media repeated Trump’s lies; stopped fact checking Trump’s lies and largely ignored Trump’s lies to the point it became, what I call the “Goebbel’s Gambit of repeating a lie often enough, the people come to believe it.”
The top ten pod casts are basically MAGA propaganda machines and the MAGA news or entertainment channels repeat the lies ad nauseam that the MAGA base takes them for truth.
Just look at the traction that “Haitians were eating cats and dogs……………” got in the media and very few offered the fact check that it was a lie!
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
Attributed to Joseph Goebbels. Today, how many people today know who Joseph Goebbels was – the father of modern propaganda. How many people today bother to fact check any news release from a government agency or from politicians?
(Response: Those who know history may wonder if the Ukraine will become the modern version of the sacrifice of Czechoslovakia under the policy of appeasement. I’m hoping the generals Trump pulls close to him will convince him not to cave to Putin … because that will only embolden the murderous, expansionist dictator (not to mention China too!). h.o)
Agree Harvey.. My wife sand I on a fixed income like many Canadians, and when Trump adds his tariffs imagine what costs will be then .. all up … An election federally can’t come soon enough, though it may not help grocery prices etc … but maybe cutting back on wasteful spending will help … get ride of the CBC and turn it into a PBS like TV channel and they have to raise their own money, not getting government handouts …
(Response: Today, in Vancouver, Trudeau uttered what I regard as his “Let them eat cake” moment: he was asked about Canadians having difficulties with the cost of living and he reportedly replied he’s well aware of that .. . and that’s why to help them out, the government had introduced dental care for seniors and families. Dental care? Talk about being out of touch with the DAILY realities too many Canadians are struggling with just to pay rent and buy groceries!!! Maybe he thinks by not having enough to eat, people will get fewer cavities? h.o)
I think we have all read the American election wrong.
Consider the following:
There are 244 million eligible voters in the USA. Donald Trump came away with ~75 million votes, just like he did in 2020. That’s not a majority of Americans. He didn’t grow his base. Whatever he gained in support from Latinos, Black Men, and young men, he lost somewhere else. MAGA is still only ~30% of the american electorate.
The Democrats lost because ~11 million people who voted last time either didn’t vote this time or left the Presidential field blank. That’s the hard numbers of it.
Biden 2020 ~81.5 million => Harris 2024 ~70 million
Trump 2020 ~75 million => Trump 2024 ~75 million
The problem with MAGA is they show up to support their candidate and the Democrats did not.
My take; the US voter would rather have a convicted felon/rapist as president, rather than a black American woman.
This is the United States, reverting back to pre WW2 of racism, apartheid, xenophobic, intellectually dull people who found that lynchings were great sport.
The US economy, the best in the world according to international sources, but not for long because if Trump imposes tariffs, shreds trade agreements, and generally acts has a despotic dictator, their economy will fold like a cheap deck chair.
for Canada and our completely different electoral system, Pollierve will be no Trump, but if elected, he will have to deal with Trump and that may soon doom the Conservatives in a few years time, to the status of Trudeau’s Liberals today.
The big, big problem for Canada is not one of the three main party leaders are fit to be Prime Minister and one of two of these people will soon become PM. Not one is looking 20 minutes into the future; nor one has a “plan B” to deal with the Americans.
(Response: I don’t think the US (or Canada) is anywhere near “reverting back to pre WW2 of racism, apartheid, xenophobic, intellectually dull people who found that lynchings were great sport.” What we’re seeing almost universally among whites, blacks, Latinos, Asians etc is just a reversion to “basics” … jobs, housing, grocery prices, crime fighting and respect for flag and country. Until those are doing well again, any progressive agenda will flop. It’s populism, because as I have blogged before, people are mad as hell and don’t want to take it anymore … as Eby found out and, barring a major turnaround, Trudeau will soon too! h.o)
The Democrats in the US should take a long introspective look at their own practices and operations. Biden was/is way too old, slightly daft and his fumbles are well documented. Harris anointed without proper primaries etc., well that did not work out at all.
The US is very sexist, this simple fact seems to escape the Democrats thought processes. Just like Hillary found out, the hillbillies will not vote for females, this simple fact eclipsed many other thoughts on voting day, will it sink in to Democrats minds finally?
Up here in “progressive BC”, and “Peoplekind” Canada, we seem to have idealistic goals, many “special interest” groups who get far too much attention, and the majority of the masses still do not care about the mostly single agendas of the aforementioned “special interest” groups. The outlier is, “progressive peoplekind” politicians who bend over to cater to the “special interest’ groups in pursuit of a few (usually less than 3% of the electorate) votes. Never have so few with very narrow perspectives garnered so much attention. The masses can go on without any special attention, a concept which is fairly new and not well conceived. Now we see populist PP rolling in to take advantage of the complete disregard shown for the average voter and their concerns, don’t blame the opportunist, blame the delusional who alienated the masses in pursuit of a few “special interest” votes. The squeaky wheel got the grease but the axle it is attached to has seized up because it was ignored while greasing the whiny wheel. Simple cause & effect logic often upends idealism and unattainable goals, the law of “unintended consequences” respects no dogma and no idealistic goals, a reality Canada’s “Progressives” are ignorant of, as are the moderate “Progressives” in the USofEh.
Democrats now have to relearn mass appeal, the current crop they have is soundly rejected, time for a reset with clear & effective leadership, the current Drumpf crew will leave a smouldering mess, get ready for the inevitable clean up. Canada’s “Progressives” are as delusional and ignorant as the Democrats, something which will usher in regime change up here in under a year. Trudeau, Singh & Dame Lizzy May are all selling fear and offer zero real relief for the average citizen, only Eby’s last minute change of course on drugs & crime preserved his gig, but he’ll soon forget and get back to serving his mentors, Visionless Vancouver. Progressives whine about populists, but refuse to admit the many failures of their “progressive” agendas. Populists just wait for the inevitable failures of societal meddling and then pounce once the luster begins showing tarnish.
BTW, PP engaging the “hard right wingers” is part of his goal to ruin any chance of Mad Max Bernier having any real effect like O’Toole learned the hard way, letting the “Progressives” choose between Trudeau, Singh & May only furthers PP’s cause. Soon we’ll see the semi-united right eclipse the fragmented leftist minority, a history lesson learned by the right because of Bernier & Preston Manning. History does tend to repeat itself until a major epiphany causes correction, ask Singh next year this time how propping up a weak minority govt. goes after the “unwashed” get a say.
(Response: I believe Trump’s election will help Poilievre/Conservatives score a victory here in Canada, especially if in the next 10 months, the Republicans succeed on several issues we are also facing here. But I’m not sure, despite his tough talk, Poilievre would do any better than the Liberals did in trade negotiations. h.o)
Gilbert, I’m sure you think you’re correct in your statements regarding abortion. However, given your name, I’d conclude you are male and the last time I checked males did not give birth, if they were humans. Its not a child. Its a fetus. Once a fetus becomes a child, when it can survive outside the womb, governments don’t really care about those tiny humans. In Ontario a child in care dies every 3 days. How many children don’t have enough to eat. Governments don’t care enough about them to provide adequate housing or schools for them. don’t know what the stats are right now for child poverty in B.C., but when el gordo was premier, B.C. had the highest rate of child poverty in Canada for 5 consecutive years. What do governments do about children in the sex trade? Not dam much.
In the states where abortion has been banned or so severely restricted doctors won’t perform them unless the woman is actually half dead, the death rate for pregnant women and women giving birth has increased and as to babies, well the death rate for them has also increased since they banned abortions. .
During the American election 7 states voted CHOICE.
In one area the last hospital which deals with abortions will be closing. That means women will have to travel 800 miles for one. If you miscarry and are bleeding or part of the fetus is still in the womb doctors will not abort the remains for fear to being jailed. Then women die. Driving long distances while bleeding out simply results in deaths of women. We will check with you when its some one you care about who dies.
Don’t know if the Dems said trump was Hitler, but I’m good with it if they did. Trump is Hitler like. Obviously you haven’t heard what trump said about non european descent people, how he refers to people who are Hispanic.
I do recall a parade in the U.S.A., Charlottesville, where men carrying torches where chanting, “Jews will not replace us”. trump’s response was something along the lines of “there were very fine people on both sides”. Trumps statements and actions lead me to conclude he is a racist. Lets not forget his actions regarding the young black men in N.Y. who he continued to accuse of murder, even it was well known they did not murder anyone.
Give Trump and his gang a year or two and then we can write again on how the U.S.A. is doing. Trump has said he will have 10 Million undocumented people and deport them. There are more guns in American than people. Wonder how that is going to turn out. Its been reported the Five Eyes organization is a tad nervous regarding trump and his inability to keep confidential information out of his bathrooms.
If Canada were to elect some one like trump we could count on our health care as it is disappearing, national parks being sold or opened for mining, dental plan scraped , transfer payments stopped, child benefit payments stopped.
Its interesting, people complain about the cost of living, but have you looked at the increase in income of the billionaire class?
I thought it was hilarious when the Democrats claimed Donald Trump was mentally unstable, but there was nothing wrong with Joe Biden until the debate. The voters weren’t fooled. Kamala Harris got about as many votes as Hillary Clinton did in 2016, so it’s obvious that Joe Biden benefited a lot from the pandemic.
Kamala Harris was too far to the left for most Americans. She didn’t pick Josh Shapiro because he’s Jewish and the anti-semites in her party would have been upset. He’s also very intelligent, far more than she is, and she’s very insecure, so she chose Tim Walz, a man who was very happy to visit China many times after the Tiananmen Square massacre and who is also very far to the left.
The Democrats obsession with abortion was incredible. How can we call killing the unborn child a right? Just because the unborn child is silent should not mean that it deserves no protection. Lying about abortion by saying that Donald Trump was going to pass a national abortion ban was truly a sign of desperation. The media forgot to mention that both Kamala Harris and Tim Walz voted no the Infant Born Alive Protection Act. That’s a truly radical position that shows absolutely no respect for the newly born.
Saying that Donald Trump was Adolf Hitler was also a sign of desperation. It was also an insult to all Jewish voters. It’s a fact that many of them voted for Donald Trump.
Other positions that Americans rejected were critical race theory, cultural marxism (erasing symbols fo the past), carbon fees, sex change operations funded by the taxpayer for illegal immigrants and prisoners, open borders and taxes for unrealized capital gains.
I’m so glad that the American version of Justin Trudeau was defeated. Unfortunately, Justin Trudeau remains in power, but surely even he must know that his days are numbered. If he had any integrity, he would have resigned by now, but of course he refuses to do so.
(Response: It has become very clear that voters in all the democracies want governments to get back to the basics: supporting the economy, providing health, education, policing, roads, bridges, hydro, defence, social security, welfare services and, more recently, protecting the environment. Other objectives may be desirable, even laudable … but only AFTER governments have secured the basics. At this current time of high inflation, crime etc. politicians who understand all this and work FOR the people will survive elections: those who insist on pushing their own minority-focussed ideology ON the people will continue to endure defeat. h.o)
Before the US election I talked to a few people that I deal with through work in California.
All business professionals, educated, male and female.
They were ALL voting for Trump.
I was surprised.
One lady explained, ” Harris is like Trudeau. Her work in San Francisco created a disaster. The city is a filthy shambles of total anarchy.”
They were all disgusted by Bidens( Harris ) policies.
If think a lot of them didn’t vote FOR Trump…the voted AGAINST Biden/Harris….
I call it the anti-vote where the incumbent is tossed out and replaced with who ever for one term.
(Response: It’s complicated. As I had indicated, I voted Conservative in BC’s election; I’d probably (unenthusiastically) vote Conservative if a federal election were held today …because, like so many British Columbians and Canadians, I feel the incumbents have squeezed, squeezed and squeezed taxpayers, but have done a terrible job of providing basic services and keeping us safe. However, I would not have voted for Trump… find him personally quite disgusting. But if he does close the southern border to the huge flow of illegals who simply disregard laws/procedures, if foreign criminals get deported and if the economy rebounds …and he does not abandon the Ukraine/Israel … I would be happy. h.o)
Besides the economy being the most important thing that the democrats missed, I think the insane amount of virtue sigalling and I suppose political correctness and just plain indecision on the protests on college campuses with all its violence, vandalism anti Semitic goings on across the country that was almost virtually allowed to carry on didn’t help the Harris and the democrats either. I noticed much deflecting, and avoiding any direct steadfast leadership on these subjects. They did seem to stress and gulp at over trying to grasp for the right words to so as not offend anyone as was with border security also. Harris didn’t seem to be able to nail these subjects down just like not being able to connect to the kitchen tables in American homes. Oh my God, how could they miss it all so badly. A very weak Biden leadership this time around was the clincher.
(Response: I haven’t seen any analysis of this yet, but based on conversations I’ve had with Americans I know, I sense a lot of them were fed up with the chaos/violence/anti-Semitism they have seen by pro-Palestinian and even pro-terrorist supporters they’ve seen on campuses and on their streets as well. Some had even burned American flags! The Muslim vote … especially in Michigan is particularly worth examining: no doubt many Muslims abandoned the Democrats, but the radicals apparently voted third parry or stayed away …they did not vote Trump. (They know Trump has been even a stronger supporter of Israel than Biden … brought about the Abraham Accord, moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, approved annexation of the Golan Heights and said nothing against expansion of settlements in the West Bank and Trump even BANNED Muslins from five countries from entering the US!!). So which Muslims did vote Trump? I suspect it was those Muslims, who like most other Americans, just want a better life for their families and worry about the cost of living etc., and believe Trump will provide that, and maybe even they silently agree, but don’t dare say, that a two-state solution can only be achieved IF the terrorist groups are first obliterated! Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows! h.o)
Yes, I’ve had it with the progressive values and never ending attention and funding to the various groups that view government as chumps with cheque books, which they are only to happy to facilitate as it doesn’t take any hard decisions to give them what they want when they want it, exacerbating the mayhem and shorting the services that the folks need who pay for the progressive values, then live with the consequences of those values – no – go streets in every community across the land, health care shortages etc. etc.
The high cost of living despite the ineffective hand wringing and hot air brings increased revenue to the various levels of government on anything that is taxed, any chance on spending that increased revenue on things that matter.?
The best summation of the U.S. election where trump increased his numbers in nearly every demographic compared to previous elections and which applies to our situation politically in B.C. and Canada for many of us, was from Bernie Sanders when he said words to the effect: “ The working class left the democrats because the democrats had left the working class”
Rant over
(Response: What a great line: “chumps with checkbooks”!!! 🙂 I’m going to add that one to my list … applies to every level of government these days! It seems so true so often, because so many advocacy groups/lobbyists/activists have been so highly successful at milking the public purse. I just wish, whenever each and every group demands a few million here, several million there … or more, for whatever new support program that the media would ask each and every time : “And where should government get that money? Raise taxes even more? Which ones?” That would be Harv-style journalism ..that viewers (or listeners or readers) would appreciate. h.o)
I have talked with a number of groups that are always looking for more and more taxpayer dollars for their “good” progressive causes. I always ask if you get that extra million or more dollars how do you measure success. Thats when the big push back happens and the you don’t understand and this is too complex and can’t be measured.
Always amazes me they get the $ and those “chumps with checkbooks” never ask for any definition and metrics to monitor success for the $ given.
And for the chumps big press release showing what great job they are doing in support some cause.
(Response: You can rarely tune in the news on radio or tv without hearing/seeing some group pushing for millions of dollars in new funding for some cause. Even if they are worthy, how much more can governments demand out of taxpayers’ wallets … when so many are struggling to pay rents and buy basic groceries? It’s about time the media started asking those demanding more or new funding…Where will the government get that money???? h.o)
And as important how are you going to spend that money and how do we know it was spent wisely and that we got value for those $ vs other programs / things those $ could have been spent on. Or would they have been better left in the taxpayers pocket.
(Response: Those who push for public dollars for their own pet causes couldn’t care less if the money would be best left in taxpayers’ pockets for them to decide how/where to use it. The problem is politcians who respond to the squeaking wheel …especially when we have a complacent media who seem happy to promote any and every individual or group asking for more, more, more …without even questioning which taxes they would raise to pay for it! h.o)
It was interesting that as soon as it was announced the NDP would be forming government, the next thing on the news was the small business association was asking for money in one form or another. They said they needed government money to stay in business. That is about all you hear from them and the restarant business, the government needs to financially support them. So whatever happened to free enterprise?
Do they not understand the money they want has to come from taxes and as some have pointed out, people are about taxed out. Small business keeps on about how they are important to the economy and provide jobs, etc. The problem is the jobs they provide aren’t paying as much as people need to meet the demands of the current cost of living.
Small business may want to take a reality check. Surrey needs more school, hospitals in rural areas don’t want to keep closing ERs, we need affordable housing for working families, seniors need affordable housing, we need more hospitals, medical staff, teachers, infrastucture, etc. If my taxes are going to go up, I’m O.K. with that because money is required for services the government provides, but to pay taxes so small business can continue with their hobbies, not so much. Yes, If you can’t make a go of your business, its not a business, its a hobby and I’m not interested in paying for it. Yes, the cost of doing business has gone up but people have fewer dollars to spend on non essentials and that is what most small businesses provide. How consumers spend their money has changed. The retail industry has changed. I can recall when individual shops were crowded out by malls with chain stores. Then we see malls closing and chains going bankrupt. Even the types of malls being built now are different from the closed in buildings we used to have.
We see shuttered shops all over. Its a fact of life. One of the big influences has been Amazon. Before that, one cause of small businesses closing was when Walmart started to expand. I can remember 60 minutes covering how the business section of small towns in the U.S.A. were closed up because Walmart had opened a huge store which sold everything for less. Local businesses could not compete.
I can recall when home depot opened their first big store in Nanaimo, 5 small lumber yards went out of business. They couldn’t compete on pricing.
Lately I’ve been reading about a number of resturants in greater Vancouver closing. Their customers aren’t there any more and when they are, they spend less money.
With high rents and mortgages people don’t have a lot of extra money for non essentials.
As to who has the money in our society, well go check how big the increases for billionaires are. There was something in the news not so long ago advising Galen Weston (Super Store, etc) had increased the amount of money he had and went up a notch in the order of the billionaires. If small business doesn ‘t have the money and the working middle class doesn’t have the money, some one has to have it and given the lists of billionaires and the amount of money they have I see it as a transfer of wealth from the middle working class to the billionaire class. The billionaire class is also expanding while the middle working class is shrinking.
Yes Harvey, it was a lot to do with that American grass roots in the home and around the kitchen table economic hardships and sufferings of the people and families. I think the mainstream media as usual were MIA for the most part. The focus just wasn’t there enough where it really counted. I could say the blindness and stupidity was hard at work, but out of touch would suffice. It’ll happen here in Canada. Trudeau and the blind cow towing media are missing it also.
(Response: It’s not that most Canadians (like most Americans) don’t care about refugees, the homeless, druggies, mentally ill, minority issues etc. etc. BUT, when you are hurting and can hardly pay your rent, feed your growing kids or buy them clothing … and feel the government squeezing/taxing you more and more to push these other groups, you will vote for change, even if Poilievre/Conservatives (or Trump/MAGA types) are not your ideal. And it’s about time our media started reporting/reflecting the majority view …instead of pushing the minorities/ethnic views and issues. Or their viewers/ratings will drop even more! h.o)
As a co worker said to me, “Where’s MY free apartment ? I have worked 40 years, paid hundreds of thousands in taxes over that time and I get nothing but more more more taxes. But a drug addict gets nurses at a safe injection site. The homeless get picked up off the street and sent to housing. … Where’s my free stuff?”
Voters are enraged everywhere and Trudeau and the NDP only need to call an election to discover …they are no different from the rest of the “appeasement cadre”….
They will be gone gone gone.
(Response: I still wonder …and the media are too afraid to find out … How many of those getting free housing (and all kinds of other services) in Vancouver, Victoria, Surrey, Abbotsford etc are actually from there? Municipal taxpayers … suffering under above-inflation tax increases year after year … should not have to also pay to provide free housing and services to freeloaders from other areas of the province, the country or even other countries! Send them home …or the province and/or federal governments should provide for them. h.o)
A bit of a rambling rant here…
I’m always intrigued, if not confused by inflation. Almost every purchase I make from a bottle of ketchup to home insurance to a new printer is more than double what I paid four years ago. My weekly/monthly grocery bill has tripled, even with me being more selective, shopping more bargains, and simply doing without.
My son’s monthly mortgage payments are up 30% and rentals in the building next door are up 150%
Yet the brains tell me inflation decreased to 1.60 percent in September from 2 percent in August of 2024, and Not Sure says it was 8% in 2022. That litre of orange juice I bought on sale for $1.00 two years ago is $3.39 today and rarely goes on sale.
This is a global issue and not one that can be directly attached to or blamed on any one government. It’s just that those in power at the moment are to blame because blame must be placed somewhere, and they are the most convenient targets.
Trump made hay with the catch phrase; ““are you better or worse off now, than four years ago?” while Harris refused to distance herself from Biden policies. She also chose the wrong running mate and got caught up in feel good Oprah moments.
Bypassing Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, cost her that battleground state and we might have seen a different outcome. Shapiro is young and could have ascended to the democratic thrown in 4 or 8 years. Tim Walz down home, aw shucks, golly gee Forest Gump persona, only went so far.
Now the world leaders who mocked and scoffed at Trump, have lined up to kiss his hand and other parts, and that is scary. He will now be a global bully and we in Canada will just roll over.
How will Eby, Trudeau, Poilievre and Rustad, react when the illegal immigrants start flowing across our porous border, or Trump decides to come get our water? They won’t.
This piece about thousands of dollars walking out the door weekly, is a real-life experience, which the beat cops and Justice Ministers react to by saying: “we understand your frustration, pass the Pule.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/10856703/gourmet-warehouse-crime-complaint/
(Response: You are correct: prices are way up, well beyond inflation. Why? Well, this is how one Canadian fiscal research institute, Canadians for Tax Fairness, explained it: “In 2023, corporations raked in $644 billion in pre-tax profits, 54% higher than 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, and over double the average profit levels of the pre-pandemic decade. If an increase in profits was entirely explained by inflation, profit margins, that is, the total profits of firms divided by their total revenue, would stay the same. However, pre-tax profit margins increased significantly during the pandemic. In 2021 and 2022, the average pre-tax profit margin was over 12%, and it remained at 10.7% in 2023. Between 2010 and 2019, pre-tax profit margins averaged only 8.1%.” You can read their full analysis here: https://nupge.ca/2024/corporate-profits-up-by-54-since-before-the-pandemic/#:~:text=Pre%2Dtax%20profits%20remained%20high,of%20the%20pre%2Dpandemic%20decade.
Or just check the annual reports/profits reported by the major grocery companies, oil corporations …up, up, up and, check the annual increases of taxes/fees etc imposed by municipalities on not just new construction but existing residents and businesses too. No wonder voters are “tossing the bums out” in so many jurisdictions. h.o)
Inflation has dropped….but they forget to mention….prices haven’t …..
They MUST call an election in 11.5 months.
I just want to say that showing price increases in isolation does not tell the whole story. If inflation is 5% then on average the price of stuff will go up 5%. But so should our wages. The problem is that wage increases are a reaction to inflation, not the other way around because we can’t predict an inflationary cycle, especially one that was caused by a worldwide pandemic.
If you signed a contract in 2020 for a 6% increase over 3 years (the inflation rate was about 2% a year back then) you would have lost ground when inflation started creeping up in 2021 and then ballooning to 8% in 2022. But now inflation is decreasing and workers will be getting catch up increases. I did some googling and what I understand is that wages are outpacing inflation over 2023/24. And interest rates are coming down. Things are getting better But it didn’t come fast enough. 2024 was not a good time for an election.
Right now I am pretty sure that the Conservatives will win next year’s election and if it were held right now it would be a slaughter. I think Trudeau (and Singh) are hanging on in hopes that inflation and interest rates continue to trend down and next October there isn’t the same kind of anger out there.
(Response: The problem for most people (not government workers) , as I’ve noted before, is that prices have been going up … not just eggs, vegetables etc. but municipal taxes especially, as well as gasoline, repairs, prescriptions etc at a much higher rate than inflation… or their paycheques Otherwise, not as many people would be struggling so much to make ends meet, are cutting back on groceries, dining out, entertainment and so many are now forced to frequent food banks. The ballot box is about their only effective and legal way of protesting …or getting even. h.o)
I think liberals (Democrats) throughout the world have generally lost touch with the masses, especially the middle class. The items that are near to their liberal left-wing hearts such as gender identity and providing drugs to addicts are not that appealing to the middle class.
While the middle class (at least in Canada) is somewhat liberal leading, they are not stupid. They see long waiting periods for doctors, long waiting times for operations, criminals with an open-door policy in the court system, money wasted for years on programs going nowhere (Downtown East side folks?). tons of money shifted to First Nations with no real accountability, increased prices on groceries (somewhat thanks to carbon tax which jacks up prices on everything under the sun), jobs that barely pay the rent let alone can buy a place these days, immigration that is sky high, etc. And who are they going to blame for all of the above? The Liberal/NDP coalition and rightly so. Trump isn’t much of a prize but he offered hope to those who feel disenfranchised, just as Poilievre is pushing all the right buttons. Did you notice that the Trump party used Poilievre’s “common sense” wording lots? That is what we are missing in this country. I hope come election time, the right decision is made and Trudeau is booted out for good. He earned it!
(Response: I agree. I’m not sure why/what happened, but the center left parties (Liberals, NDP) seem to have been highjacked by intellectual activists/extremists who cater far too much on those on the fringes of society … ignoring or at least downplaying the working, middle class taxpayers who used to be the prime focus of their attention. And now, they’re paying for that at the polls. h.o)
Total agreement Harvey.
Trump is a boorish clod with megalomaniacal aspirations…but Harris???
Droned on and on and on about Black Lives matter, women’s rights, trans rights, everyone’s rights
As Right leaning party’s everywhere are taking power.
I dare say ANY of the Liberal elite in the PMO’s office or Cabinet haven’t been to a grocery store to buy food or fill a gas tank in a long long time.
Trudeau was born into money and will never have to worry about food or shelter.
The Left’s message of tolerance and catering to every special interest group is tanking with public opinion.
The majority is tuning out.
I suspect that Trudeau and Singh will stick doggedly to their agendas…going down in political flames.
They deserve what is coming.
(Response: I’m confident most Canadians support justice, human and civil rights, but let’s keep it real: I believe millions of Canadians think some of First Nations’ demands for $$$ are a huge scam, the emphasis on SOGI, DEI, trans issues has gone too far and Canada’s war on climate has claimed too many innocent victims, while ordinary working taxpayers/families are suffering/struggling. Too bad the mainstream media don’t have the backbones to tell these stories, until AFTER the next election, when Trudeau/Liberals are defeated! h.o)
I’ll toast to that. I’m fed up to here with all of it. And on the American front, as much as I dont have any love for Trump himself, I’m amazed, not really appalled, but amazed at the victory on all fronts. The voters spoke and I respect that. I feel It’s quite simple really, they went for the strong horse and not lame duck.. Like the Americans, Canadians are most likely going to put thier money down and pick their strong horse, and god bless them for that. I see no other choice given the grave challenges of our changing world. There’s no place for weak indecisive leaders in it.
(Response: The election of Trump may have greater impact in Canada than the media and pundits realize: will pontificate about that in tomorrow’s blog posting. 🙂 h.o)