Wed1002
next week Wed1004
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After the recent flurry of truly exceptional evenings, Wednesday Night is
back by popular demand in its usual format.
Topics this week may range from the U.S. Defense initiatives and
(appalling) Environmental policies to the calculation of need in our health
care system - an imperfect and under appreciated science, according to Dr.
Mark Roper who will be among us. No doubt there will be the inevitable
discussion of the Fed rate. Perhaps the Italian elections. On the eve of
the Court challenge to the Mega-Merger, we would also be interested in reactions to the brochure received today and entitled "De nouvelles villes dans un monde nouveau. We like the sub-title "Bien se renseigner pour se
faire une juste idée". Has anyone attempted to get an English version?
Whatever the topic, we look forward to your participation.
David and Diana Nicholson
Chris Goodfellow MBA on Gold & Money
sooncome Calendar
Wednesday Night Salon # 1003
May 23, 2001
INTRODUCTION
The surprise referred to in the invitation was the lack of any formal agenda, however, a welcome surprise was the presence of Dr. Michael Oliver, Ph.D. Michael was affectionately introduced by Diana Nicholson as former President of Carlton University, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, former president of the United Nations Association in Canada, participant in the Peoples March at the Québec FTAA summit and in this week’s conference on the future of the NDP organized by Dr. Des Morton – and avid bird watcher!
GLOBALIZATION
The Québec City F.T.A.A. summit is well past, the only residue being a few court trials. The media have moved on to other scenes of violence and the price of gasoline continues to rise while the President of the United States of America urges North Americans to produce more petroleum, increasing illness and death caused by greenhouse gasses, eroding the environment, while accelerating the depletion of a non-renewable resource. Is the price of fuel too high, or is Mr. Bush just being friendly to his long-time friends in the Texas Oil fields? Is the spirit of conservation of the 1974 oil crisis dead?
Has free trade created global industrial monsters that thrive in the international arena where there are no rules, in a manner that laws in their home country would prevent them from doing?
There are certain facts that appear clear. Means will have to be created to take into account local concerns while preventing supranational piracy. Rules will have to be created to prevent the crossing of the fine line between concentration and monopoly. Although some have hinted that this line has already been crossed in the oil industry, the facts do not bear out this hypothesis.
The recent elevated cost of fuel appears to bear little relationship to any perceptible decrease in supply. Even with Iraq under-production because of sanctions, there are no shortages at the fuel pump, nor at the suppliers of heating fuel. The energy portion of the Gross Domestic Product is lower than it has been historically, leading some to recommend an increase in fuel prices in order to stimulate conservation. This hypothesis assumes a fuel market that is quite flexible, which does not appear to be the case at this point. North Americans are still buying Sport Utility Vehicles which were originally introduced in order to get around conservation legislation.
England, where gasoline prices exceed twice the level in Canada, still consumes that commodity at a high level. In different Canadian provinces which have a varying level of gasoline prices, consumption does not appear to be a function of price. It is probable that the best solution would be an increase in the price of gasoline, with the additional revenue dedicated to improvement of convenient, frequent, comfortable inter-city and city public transportation. Those who recommend the construction of more highways and bridges have forgotten or are unaware of the well-documented fact that increased automobile traffic varies directly with the ease of highway access.
AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As our faithful scribe prepared to leave, David (the chair) once again called everyone’s attention to the magnificent sculpture in the front hall – the gift of the Bercovitz family to Wednesday Night on the occasion of the 1000th – and expressed his regret that the Wednesday Night table could not support it as a permanent centerpiece.
Click for the
see also the 1000 Scrol by Herbert and Miriam Bercovitz
QUOTES OF THE EVENING:
- "... once you accept the ubiquity of the oligarchy, competition disappears."
- "It is not just normal supply and demand economics. Geopolitics are much more important than geo-economics in oil prices."
- "Increasing price will encourage conservation (only) among poor people."
- "The question should never be (asked), ‘Do we have enough energy?’ - if we do, we are only perpetuating the problem."
- "We have to think in terms of global rules."
- "Today, problems are transterritorial. When more and more decisions are being made by business, what is the role of parliament? The whole ... (concept) of sovereignty is changing."
- "When there is no noise, there is no (or little) change."
- "International diplomacy involves conciliating differences in opinion within the country"
Notes by Herb Bercovitz
Edited by Diana Thébaud Nicholson
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