Canada Posts First Trade Deficit In 32 Years

Hewers of wood and drawers of water. Eventually, it has to catch up.

I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner. High commodity prices were the only things keeping us in a surplus situation for the last couple years.

Aw, c`mon guys! Free trade is good! Remember? Drop certain barriers and foreign investment rules. Allow the foreign takeovers. Let them shut down our manufacturing! Let the US multinationals control our oil! And allow corporations to sue all levels of government for lost profits! Corporate rights over human rights! Now what`s wrong with that? I say Exxon-Mobil for Prime Minister! Hello, Canadian Council of Chief Executives, waddya got to say now? Still defending the thievery?

Well, it's come home to roost. We spent some $550 million more importing in December, than we collected in exports -- and we have nothing to make up THAT deficit, except what? -- dig up yet MORE minerals, oil, cut down MORE trees? Is this what the political parties mean by "shovel ready"?

It's like Jared Diamond wondered in his book: COLLAPSE -- what (do you suppose) the Easter Islander who cut down the last useable tree thought while he was doing it?

The global system is going down, and not for the first time. It was a no go from the beginning, given all the gross inequities contained within it, in light especially of the declining strength of organized global labour, and commensurate with that, the steadily diminishing purchasing power of the global masses, of relatively recent Neocon years, with the miracle resurrection of "unregulated capitalism". All of which occured, of course, as a consequence in large part of the destruction of the post WW2 regulatory regime that had been imposed by labour militancy and socialist ideas integrated into capitalism, as a consequence of the last Great Depression. All of which has historically been cyclically endemic to capitalism.

Once a generation of the masses dies off, that has lived through and learned the lessons of one of capitalism's major "depressionary" collapses, the lessons being, of course, the imperative of the working class to organize and engage in constant class war with the system's rulers, and to develop a social, political and economic vision of their own, supplanting that of capitalism at some point, the lesson is soon forgotten by the ensuing generations, once a new cyclical uptick begins. (Typically, resuscitated back to life by a world, or at least major war... war time imposed labour disciplines and the cycle of war destruction endlessly creating new demand for replacement war production, ad nauseum. All of which still serves to put money back in the (previously unemployed) masses pockets, and killing many of them off fighting the ruling class cause, which in turn creates new demand for consumer goods. And the next long wave cycle, with episodic "recessionary" cycles still occurring within it, starts anew, with everyone having forgotten the crucial lessons of capitalism's history, as I have quick and dirty described it. The working class hence proceeds to forget its own history.)

Breaking this, what has been described as the Kondratieff (Kondratiev) Cycle of capitalism, has proven incredibly difficult across the succeeding generations of the working class. And Rick is right, of course, we may just be destined to suffer the fate of the Easter Islanders first, before there is a chance to bridge the gap of historical memory, such as will allow for effectively dealing with capitalism once and for all, and, at least, launching a new social, economic and political evolutionary alternative.

One can expect that this, to here, endlessly repeating cycle of capitalism will continue, until some generation, now or in the future, gets its shit together soon enough, moves fast enough, and with enough militant determination to make the final break with capitalism and the class system altogether. Or until the planet is consumed into its endless, greed driven growth,development and collapse maw, whichever comes first. Enter the Easter Island final solution.

Coyote

I think we will be an added chapter in Diamond's book......

It appears we really are not capable of learning to anticipate. I believe the current term to describe this is called "results based". When the disaster happens, you know its real then, and not just a figment of some nutbar's ramblings. But of course, it's then too late...............

Dave Ruston is dead on. He can see into the future. This is the only way to go for us. We aren't big enough to be on our own. If we were a company we would have been swallowed up a long time ago.