We are living lives of debt and deficit in a global economy that has been devastated by an insidious disease, civil unrest, and political turmoil.

The cost of COVID-19, both in terms of dollars and souls, has yet to be realized, and in the midst of this pandemic we are having a federal election in Canada. The estimated cost of next Monday’s election is $610 million; that’s $108 million more than the election we had two years ago and surely (like most government expenditures) that estimate could rise.

After almost 20 months of pandemic spending, we have become accustomed to the high costs of running this country (it is expected of us) but we truly have to ask ourselves where they money is coming from.

As we know, increased government spending was necessary to keep this country’s economy moving. I have no problem whatsoever with the programs that were created as we initially moved into lockdown; in fact I applaud the current Liberal government for quickly loosening the purse strings and supporting this population (on so many levels). The pandemic spending was proposed, and carried, by a minority government supported by opposing parties

This election is untimely, the fourth federal election in 10 years, especially since Canada is well into the fourth wave of COVID and cases are once again climbing. It’s not really a good time, especially as government initiatives were largely moving ahead of, or moving past, partisan politics.

So now we have to choose, again, which party to support and live with the greatest likelihood of another minority government. Our next government will have its hands held to the fire as we, presumably, at some point, will enter a period of COVID recovery.

It will cost a lot more money to get our heads above water, particularly as Canada’s net debt as of last April went over $1 trillion for the first time ever. The deficit announced for 2020-21 was $354.2 billion. The largest deficit Canada has ever posted was $55 billion in 2009 (and don’t we all remember the 2008 financial crisis?) The projected deficit for the current fiscal year is $154.7 and, as I said a few paragraphs up, ‘most government expenditures” could surely swell up.

So we know the taxpayer in on the hook, but how will this be managed? More importantly, which political party will manage it best?

Aside from the left or right wing ideologies, some parties are abhorrently opposed to running deficits (but still do), while others are more tax-and-spend. Then there are those who will cut spending for the sake of cutting.

Cutting spending is not the answer. Given the platforms of the major parties, it is acknowledged that any government will have to spend its way out of this pandemic and do what it can to stimulate growth and encourage consumer spending and, hopefully, job recovery.

To continue to fund its efforts, governments will have to go easy on the low and middle-class (which, it seems, proportionately becomes the greatest tax base). It is time to tax both high-earning Canadians, the ultra-rich, and big corporations to ensure they pay what is now deemed as fair.

This is not the time for austerity. Tax those who are able to pay because a lot of us, quite simply, are not.

 

Boundaries
we come to know, and believe.
Tried, tested, often failed.

How can we reach out if we don’t know
how far we have gone from stranger
to acquaintance. Or lovers.
Former to later.

Boundaries seemed not to matter.
Overwhelmed, still and again,
self-doubt and denial I am unable to confess
even to myself.

And you.

We may long for the same things
in different places
Boundaries undefined.

We may never know who we are
and still we see.

Beyond this naked ambiguity, we clutch our breath,
gobsmacked at the power or potential
of what could happen.

Love, acceptance,
expressed, received.

It is not logic that takes us
where we want to go, but
emotion that pulls us along.

We see in others
what we want to see.

We look past boundaries
when this sense of unknowing
is all that you know.

 

© 2018 j.g. lewis

What if today were simply today?

What if the residue of all those yesterdays had been washed (or sandblasted)
away and you were able to manage the equilibrium you often desire, but so
infrequently find. Balance takes time.

What if today you just did what you needed to do (or more) without the
struggle that routinely interferes with the best-laid plans?

Intention and progress are two different things. Only one will truly get results.
Think about it.

Intention is only thought.

Initiative involves effort.

There are a great number of yesterdays to account for, each one a step along
the path you have been creating.

This is a personal journey for each (and every one) of us.

Similarities are possible.

You should always determine your own route.

You are the one who chooses your destination, no matter how many people
can(or will) influence your direction.

It is always a decision.

At times, the instructions provided might be invaluable, yet (in so many ways)
they may have stopped you from making the choices that would have greatly
influenced your outcome.

Faults (or fluctuations) are easier to recognize in hindsight.

Do not look back on all those yesterdays. Be content with today.

Tomorrow may (or may not) offer new opportunities.

What if?

© 2021 j.g. lewis

 

yesterday
       today
was
      tomorrow
             I had so much to do
      things I had put off
   consciously or
unconsciously              it mattered not
         I was determined to get them
Done
   one (or all of them)
by
   one
done             today
when it was tomorrow
           it seemed easier
           it seemed manageable
           it seemed as if there would
be time
           when today
                        was tomorrow
yet as tomorrow came,
            as it always does
            as yesterday lost hold of
the hours and
its way
and tomorrow just happened
        anyway
it seemed
                                  as if
           time had passed me by
                                  as if a day;
                       today or any day
slipped off the calendar
falling like a rose petal or
            disgraced politician
into the basket of days misspent
or wasted
days which promised more
                     but delivered less
tomorrows do that
they never quite live up to
today
                   and all too often
                           become a yesterday

© 2014 j.g.lewis

 

Hello September,
such a surprise to see you before me,

not even a rumour of your impending arrival.

           So unlike the ninth month

to simply arrive unannounced,
as your usually-reliable predecessor will often
drop subtle hints;

the chill at night, even a warning of frost at times.
We often stop and admire those early sunsets with
that melancholic mood you feel
                   when the end is near.

August seemed to drag its heels, this year,

as summer instead gave us this unrelenting heat
by day, and all those sweaty nights. Night after
night, days without rain. No reminders
                      of what time it was.

One month seemed to become larger than intended,

flowing right into the next.

September usually stands alone.
Now it arrives without a rest,

and I just notice.

 

© 2021 j.g. lewis