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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Thomas Walkom: Jim Flaherty misguided on economy but at least he’s not nuts (in The Toronto Star)

"This new Jim Flaherty at least understands that, to use his word, the global economy is “uncertain.”

"And for that, I suppose, we should be thankful.

"What Flaherty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper fail to understand, though, is that this isn’t a temporary state of affairs. ...

"Harper’s Conservatives are continuing ... with their scaling back of old age security, their antipathy to regulation, their attacks on trade unions, their refusal to expand the Canada Pension Plan and their determination — still undiminished — to get government out of the economy in the long run.

"What they fail to understand is that capitalism on its own doesn’t work. Corporate CEOs may not want the state involved in the economy. They may hate unions. But they need both if they are to profit. That is one of the great contradictions of our era."

Full article: Walkom: Jim Flaherty misguided on economy but at least he’s not nuts.

Or as Michael Parenti says, "Capitalism doesn't work unless supported by socialism".