Stealth Climate Lockdowns

[Squaretail]

Definitely I wouldn’t impose a Heinlein dreamed scheme of limiting suffrage to “citizens” as you propose, which would only further to concentrate political power in the few deemed “worthy”.

I would start with raising the minimum wage, and make sure it scales with the cost of living.

I would encourage policies which encourage or mandate stakeholder management of corporations instead of the current prevalent shareholder model. Estate taxes would be on the table. Increasing capital gains taxes, and eliminate loopholes to avoid them. Proposed wealth taxes seem reasonable. Increase corporate taxes, reduce personal income taxes. Stop a lot of corporate subsidies and bail outs. More tax incentives to small businesses directly tied to an increase in job creation. Regulate utility and energy prices.

Just for a start.

[rookiepilot]

Definitely I wouldn’t impose a Heinlein dreamed scheme of limiting suffrage to “citizens” as you propose, which would only further to concentrate political power in the few deemed “worthy”.

I would start with raising the minimum wage, and make sure it scales with the cost of living.

I would encourage policies which encourage or mandate stakeholder management of corporations instead of the current prevalent shareholder model. Estate taxes would be on the table. Increasing capital gains taxes, and eliminate loopholes to avoid them. Proposed wealth taxes seem reasonable. Increase corporate taxes, reduce personal income taxes. Stop a lot of corporate subsidies and bail outs. More tax incentives to small businesses directly tied to an increase in job creation. Regulate utility and energy prices.

Just for a start.

Lets look at these:

Regulate energy prices? Drilling disappears. Like rent control, no new rental stock is built. Projects were canceled, same would happen. Has already happened. Major shareholders will lynch any company that aggressively drills for energy now. Not happening.

Cap gains taxes raised in a country that doesn’t attract investment capital as it is? Good luck with that. Capital will abandon Canada.

Estate, wealth taxes? The grey retired voting block will freak out completely.

End Corp Subsidies? You mean like the new bailout loan that won’t ever be paid back, of Air Transat? Or only non aviation subsidies, cause air is “special”?

Raising minimum wage? How do you stop companies from removing workers and putting in self serve screens? (As is widely happening).

Your turn.

[Squaretail]

Regulate energy prices? Drilling disappears. Like rent control, no new rental stock is built. Projects were canceled, same would happen. Has already happened. Major shareholders will lynch any company that aggressively drills for energy now. Not happening.

First, oil isn’t the only kind of energy we are talking about and second, the shareholder model is part of the problem. Stake holders should be involved. Canada in particular used to have a crown corporation involved in oil and gas development. Perhaps that needs to be the case again, if energy development needs to benefit Canadian stakeholders as opposed to foreign shareholders.

Cap gains taxes raised in a country that doesn’t attract investment capital as it is? Good luck with that. Capital will abandon Canada.

Maybe, but your arguements thus far are why these policies won’t benefit the investment class, rather than what would benefit the younger starting class. I personally think such policy would stabilize the housing market. A benefit to those starting out.

Estate, wealth taxes? The grey retired voting block will freak out completely.

Unless you explain to them that you’re not coming for their farm. The estate tax in the US affects only a small percentage of the extremely wealthy. And they can avoid it. Encourage people to spend money when they’re alive rather than horde it so we have a class of people who don’t work.

End Corp Subsidies? You mean like the new bailout loan that won’t ever be paid back, of Air Transat? Or only non aviation subsidies, cause air is “special”?

Did I say that air was special? Yes those kind of bail out loans should end, at least without heavy strings attached, and in no circumstances should bail out or subsidy money end up in any kind of management bonuses or stock buy backs.

Raising minimum wage? How do you stop companies from removing workers and putting in self serve screens? (As is widely happening).

This just shows your limited knowledge of the working world. The self serve screens aren’t reducing the need for workers. Maybe go work a shift at the local store to find out. In spite of these automated devices, there is still hiring going on in every place that has them. Wages are cheap it’s the smallest part of any operation where labour is involved.

The main point here though is I believe there is arguable government policy to address the problems, not dramatic social upheaveal.

[BigQ]

Interesting article making a case for reduction in the use of fertilizers in industrial agriculture:

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/0 ... e-possible

.

Farmer here. I'm 120% all about regenerative agriculture and getting the world off of synthetic fertilizers.

But if you cut nitrogen fertilizers by 30% in 8 years, you WILL see widespread worldwide famine, and in North Americans' case at least, an increase of the cost of food from about 9% of total spending to a minimum of 20%.

This NEEDS to be a 10-15 year process minimum, and our agriculture will become very ruminant animal-heavy. The land currently farmed with synthetic fertilizers cannot take a cut of fertilizers without an even greater (proportionally) loss in productivity.

Interesting. I read the articles linked from the article I put up and would like to read more about this. It looks like it 's going to be a matter that will be drawing more & more attention coming up. Have any links to share to help with a wider perspective?

Thanks -

Here's a couple that I found using presearch.
https://www.northridgefarms.ca/father-v ... ughter.htm

https://regenerativeskills.com/timothy- ... al-inputs/

There is a fair amount of material in the permaculture and regenerative agriculture circles. The basic tl;dr premise is that synthetic NPKs completely skew the microbiology of the soil through the overfeeding of certain bacteria to the detriment of others. These others, then take a very long time to recolonize the ground after application. The fertilizers are also delivered in the form of salts, which penetrate the soil with rain, but then desiccate it in times without rain. The salts permeate at many layers of the soil, "salting the land" to the point of a reduction of yields starting from year 2.

A plot of land that is used to synthetic NPKs needs to be recolonized with the proper bacteria ratio, needs to stop being tilled (tillage is estimated to kill 50% of living bacteria and protozoa in the soil, releasing a large amount of nutrients but to the detriment of long-term bacterial colonies). The fastest way to do this is through the application of compost teas. That compost tea needs to be made from perfect or nearly-perfect compost. Any compost badly made will destroy yields for YEARS. So, naturally, great compost is very expensive, and thus compost tea applications is not "on the radar" of farmers that are "barely making it", or, in the case of North American farmers who average the ripe old age of 67, they don't have a long term vision.

[geodoc]

Farmer here. I'm 120% all about regenerative agriculture and getting the world off of synthetic fertilizers.

But if you cut nitrogen fertilizers by 30% in 8 years, you WILL see widespread worldwide famine, and in North Americans' case at least, an increase of the cost of food from about 9% of total spending to a minimum of 20%.

This NEEDS to be a 10-15 year process minimum, and our agriculture will become very ruminant animal-heavy. The land currently farmed with synthetic fertilizers cannot take a cut of fertilizers without an even greater (proportionally) loss in productivity.

Interesting. I read the articles linked from the article I put up and would like to read more about this. It looks like it 's going to be a matter that will be drawing more & more attention coming up. Have any links to share to help with a wider perspective?

Thanks -

Here's a couple that I found using presearch.
https://www.northridgefarms.ca/father-v ... ughter.htm

https://regenerativeskills.com/timothy- ... al-inputs/

There is a fair amount of material in the permaculture and regenerative agriculture circles. The basic tl;dr premise is that synthetic NPKs completely skew the microbiology of the soil through the overfeeding of certain bacteria to the detriment of others. These others, then take a very long time to recolonize the ground after application. The fertilizers are also delivered in the form of salts, which penetrate the soil with rain, but then desiccate it in times without rain. The salts permeate at many layers of the soil, "salting the land" to the point of a reduction of yields starting from year 2.

A plot of land that is used to synthetic NPKs needs to be recolonized with the proper bacteria ratio, needs to stop being tilled (tillage is estimated to kill 50% of living bacteria and protozoa in the soil, releasing a large amount of nutrients but to the detriment of long-term bacterial colonies). The fastest way to do this is through the application of compost teas. That compost tea needs to be made from perfect or nearly-perfect compost. Any compost badly made will destroy yields for YEARS. So, naturally, great compost is very expensive, and thus compost tea applications is not "on the radar" of farmers that are "barely making it", or, in the case of North American farmers who average the ripe old age of 67, they don't have a long term vision.

Heh BQ,

Thanks for the TL:DR bit and the links. A short peruse has me interested in compost tea now. Interesting. Even having lived in various places nominally off the grid, I'm a city boy, but how food happens is fascinating (maybe horrified fascination per U. Sinclair's "The Jungle" and the more contemporary "Fast Food Nation") . I'll settle in with those links and learn something.

As an aside, about 20 years ago I flew a group from a couple US foundations to Yakima WA for a tour of a couple farms in the area. One I remember most was growing hops and has a wild-ass elaborate watering and fertilizing, (insecticide?) set up - all drip. The system incorporated gawd knows how many valves, pumps, sensors, telemetry and miles of tubing and controlled by what must have been some very specialized software. Anyway, it saw to it that water and fertilizer was introduced only in the areas and quantities necessary, besides measuring who knows what other parameters. Very impressive. In the intervening 20+ years I'd imagine that these systems have gotten further yet.




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