I tried, I really did. I tried to ignore Flaherty’s bragging over the weekend and before that I tried to ignore Harpers hubris early in the last week. But unfortunately I just can’t take it anymore because some nice fellow conjectured:
Now, with exquisite timing, the IMF has popped up with its views on the Canadian economy. And if this report (“Canada is better placed than many countries to weather the global financial turbulence and worldwide recession”) doesn’t vindicate Harper’s speech, I’ll eat it, page by crunchy page.
Yes but Harper went much further than that he said that Canada would be the first out of the recession. When I heard that little turd on the radio I chuckled and paid no attention after two minutes: yadayadayda. But then I had to listen to a full weekend of CBC overnight with all the public broadcasters from around the world endlessly cycling Flaherty’s flatulence: the Canadian regulatory framework is the solution to all of mankind’s problems (boy would they have had egg on their face if they had a majority and changed that regulatory framework to how they and the banks would have wanted it).
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But let us put Harper and Flaherty on the same page. Canada, by their logic was last into the recession because our financial system was sound and by extension that is the reason we will be first out of the recessionary gates. Seems like good logic dont it?
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No it is bad logic and here is why. Let us assume there is not any problem with the Canadian financial system (as in the massive liquidity operation between the banks and the state is just a technical operation: the healthy banks just need lots of liquidity right now ). But that begs the question of why Canada fell into a recession in the first place. If it is not related to our financial system then it must be related to Canada’s relative subordination within the hierarchy of the advanced capitalist world. That is we entered the recession later than the others because we had to wait until the egregious problems in global markets manifest a dynamic in which even our superior banking system could not save us.
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How then does Canada recover before everyone else? We are price takers not price makers and until prices are made we are simply a lady in waiting. Explicitly stated: we are not in a recession because of our banking system; it therefore follows that the relative health of our banking system has nothing to do with when we exit the recession. To reduce again: you can’t have it both ways.
Oh and Dan I will take that action
Relentlessly Progressive Political Economy 