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The Wall Street “Meltdown” – Canada & the US: “Should We Laugh or Cry?”

Author: Louise Tremblay Matchett (NDP)

30 Sep

I just watched Jon Stewart’s comments on the US “Meltdown”. I laughed, I could not help it, not because the situation there is funny, especially for the average middle class citizen, but because I could laugh, feeling like “I certainly do not live in a rose garden” , but I live in Canada…

I am a lucky Canadian. I do not have any risky investments. I only stand to lose on the value of my house and as for my credit? Maybe I am feeling glad that it may become harder for me to live above my income… And no, since I have never worked for a large company which offered any pension plan, I am not any more worried about how and what I will retire with than I did before the great “Meltdown” on Wall Street.

Do I worry about my retirement? Yes! I have only my Canadian Government pension and please let whoever the government becomes next, not blow that away with imprudence based on a risk factor in the markets…

I am also a lucky Canadian because in spite of the fact that I am not rich, I have healthcare which I do not have to pay a minimun of $400 per month to have. I also do not take this for granted, every time I vote… I only hope other Canadians will not vote to have an ultra capitalist, privatized economy where your healthcare insurance company dictates what your healthcare will be according to your specific coverage and what they will allow.

I worked really hard to get my education as an adult student with no subsidies, but in my opinion education should be free for all students who are serious. This would make up for what we, in North America , are not doing by leading the way in technological innovation in world green development.

We are still in a good position in Canada to make Canada stay more like Canada and we should do this. We are not an ultra-capitalist society or economy. Karl Marx wrote before the corruption of socialism by communism, that eventually capitalism would reach an advanced state and ultimately would sow the seeds of its own destruction.

I think we are beginning to see this prophesy come true. It would be nice to see a more balanced planet, in general, one in which we all prosper and survive. Perhaps we are seeing signposts that this might just happen afterall.

Filed under: Economy, Louise Tremblay Matchett (NDP), Trade, Youth and Students

2 Responses for "The Wall Street “Meltdown” – Canada & the US: “Should We Laugh or Cry?”"

David September 30th, 2008 at 9:53 pm 1
I also feel lucky to be a Canadian. For me the argument about health care is pretty simple. In 2008 is healthcare considered a luxury or a necessity by the Canadian public? I believe the majority think of it as a necessity. If that is true then it goes on the side of public responsibility. I do not like closed shops, however. If doctors want to be outside the system and build their own hospitals etc. then they should be free to do so. But no public on Monday and private on Tuesday. And I doubt there are many on either side of the political spectrum that think the current system isn’t a hodgepodge of the worst aspects of socialism with the worst aspects of capitalism. The remnants of a political compromise from the birth of the system. It would be nice if we could have a discussion about reform without hysteria.

As for Marx? The only people I know who have any faith in Marx are those who have never read much of his writings. Reading Marx is a punishment all in itself. Terrible writer.
Darwin O'Connor October 1st, 2008 at 5:30 am 2
“I worked really hard to get my education as an adult student with no subsidies”

Assuming you went to a public university or college, your tuition fees only covered a fraction of the cost of your education, so you received substantial subsidies.

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