Right in the Centre - A Greek tragedy

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Published on Wednesday, July 8, 2015

By Ken Waddell

The Neepawa Banner

There will be some who say the comparison is extreme. Fair enough. But to counter that complaint, there are hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people in Canada that don’t understand the comparison and how it could affect Canada, or more specifically Manitoba.

The comparison is the Greek tragedy that is unfolding and the situation in Manitoba. Greece can’t meet its loans and bond payments. They are basically out of money. The unemployment rate is 25 per cent and pensioners can’t cash their cheques. The banks have been closed sporadically so withdrawing money is nearly impossible.

How did Greece get this way? Greece has been a volatile country for many years. During WWII they had the distinction of fighting in that war and staging a civil war at the same time. There are factions within Greece that really don’t like each other. After WWII, they started setting up more and more socialist governments. The government tried to do everything for everybody and provide early retirement to boot. The retirement age in Greece can be as low as 45. Many retire long before 60, which is ridiculous. The Greek leaders are very stubborn and the Greek unions are beyond stubborn. There’s political corruption and the Greek economy isn’t that robust at the best of times. Greece has been deeply scarred by socialism and the dogged determination of socialists who feel that the only answer to socialism is more socialism.

Greece may be propped again up by the other E.U. countries or it may turn to Russia for help. It’s doubtful if the country will go bankrupt but that is exactly what the European bankers deserve, as they have lent loads of money to prop up Greece when the flow should have been stemmed years ago. The situation is now so bad that people could lose everything, people could starve. Greece has moved from what was an uncomfortable position a few years ago to what is an untenable position now. What no one wants to talk about is that tanks could roll into Greece again. It’s happened before. Germany and France especially cannot afford to let Greece fail totally, their own banking systems would suffer a terrific hit with yet unthought of ramifications.

So the comparison is extreme but in Canada we have relatively strong economy. That’s mainly because we have had a few strong provinces. Ontario, Alberta and BC have carried the rest of Canada on their backs. Manitoba hasn’t been a net contributor to Canada in decades. If it weren’t for federal bail-outs Manitoba would have been bankrupt a long time ago. Saskatchewan was the same way but now is strong but with potash and oil being fragile, they could fall back as well. Ontario is floundering and will likely go through the same “rust-belt” effect that swept the industrial United States. Rust-belt means mile after mile of locked up inefficient factories typified by rusting fences, roofs and walls. It’s a very discouraging scene and Ontario is going through that and Alberta may well be on the way. 

Neither Greece nor Canada can avoid all the pitfalls of the world economy. The basic problem is that government and unions feel they can ride out tough times by basing the economy on government spending. Let’s face it, anywhere from a third to a half of Manitoba employees and businesses are now dependent on the government. Just sit down some night and add up all the people who have their pay cheque come from the government and it’s scary.

The problem in Greece, in Ontario and in Manitoba is that we have waited upon our governments to do everything. On a more local basis, it’s not the job of government to host events like Canada Day or to build ski hills. It’s up to the people. But it’s doggone hard to do any of that stuff when the government, federal, provincial, municipal or school boards, need so much of our money to do their thing.

On the whole, Canada will likely never get as far down the troubled road that Greece has, but the signs are there that we have already travelled part way. We have two elections soon, a federal and a provincial one. While far from perfect, the conservative party at both levels is our only hope to stay away from the Greek tragedy.