tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.comments2021-08-20T10:19:19.386-07:00Political-Economics as God's StewardPolitcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-77688266187988522222021-08-20T10:19:19.386-07:002021-08-20T10:19:19.386-07:00Hello everyone
We are traders and producers of tr...Hello everyone<br /><br />We are traders and producers of tropical products such as cashews and soybeans ...<br />We offer a direct partnership with producers and agricultural associations, which amounts to buying ten times cheaper than the price on the international market.<br /><br />Email: Hinviroland@protonmail.com<br />Whatsapp: +22967160036<br /><br />We remain available for any other information.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07841306714944003206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-9069852561208463452018-10-29T15:52:15.879-07:002018-10-29T15:52:15.879-07:00As to who is my neighbour, strangers living is a m...As to who is my neighbour, strangers living is a muslim country I do not consider my neighbours. That implied that I don't have to deal personally with the issue of how to treat or approach them, being so far away.<br />Well, so much for being in my comfort zone.<br />We bought some equipment on the farm that was ordered in Spain. To put it all together the company in Spain sent a technician to oversee the installation. It was decided that Jenny and I would host this gentleman. That should not be a problem. We always like meeting new people.<br />Surprise!!! This technician is a muslim, born in Marocco, working in Spain. Hence we now have a muslim guest, a neighbour in biblical terms, that we have to treat as Jesus commanded us. Actually, we are having a good time with him. He speaks Arabic, Spanish and French. We speak Dutch and English.<br />In comes Google translate. We speak to the phone and it instantly translates it out loud in any desired language. It's not perfect and at times makes hilarious sentences but over the whole, we can communicate.<br />Sunday we had the great debate: why do we go to church and why are muslims the way they are: moderate, militant, ISIS, anti-jewish. It was an interesting debate. I prayed the Lord's prayer in French, reading from a sheet, so he could understand it. We printed the prayer in Spanish and French and it stays on our supper table for him to read along.<br />It gives a whole new meaning to the concept of how to approach muslims. We are on day 5 and he will be here about 4 weeks so we can cover a lot of terrain before he leaves.<br />If there are interesting developments related to this topic I hope to post again.Jack and Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02130207786748607240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-55608002194268997412018-10-05T17:43:24.426-07:002018-10-05T17:43:24.426-07:00Thanks Jack for your comment. The conclusion of my...Thanks Jack for your comment. The conclusion of my post was to ensure that those Muslims who wish to practice violent parts of their culture are weeded out. Your example is interesting but the question is still how to weed out those strangers that "will do harm" not all strangers. Didn't Jesus expect people to accept the disciples (strangers) into their homes when he sent them out? The OT is also replete with concern for the "aliens".Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-39190042329884190592018-10-04T16:37:45.382-07:002018-10-04T16:37:45.382-07:00All of the above sounds reasonable IF Islam is con...All of the above sounds reasonable IF Islam is considered a religion.<br />When Islam is considered to be a mix of culture, tradition and religion, a position held by several people, I am not so sure we should be that amicable towards Muslims.<br />One of the conditions for immigrants should be dedicated integration into Canadian society. Traditional Islam culture clashes with Canadian culture; they appear on many front to be incompatible.<br />Loving your neighbor as yourself is a given, it is a biblical command, but to invite a stranger, who is not your neighbor, into your house who will do harm to your house is irresponsible and not a proper use of the text in the Bible.<br />Just my thoughts.<br />Jack VanderveenJack and Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02130207786748607240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-795003701933480722017-03-02T08:41:02.202-08:002017-03-02T08:41:02.202-08:00John - a couple of additional thoughts.
A few thin...John - a couple of additional thoughts.<br />A few things about Canada Post’s operation are blatantly unfair or immoral.<br />– As not everyone has access to door-to-door delivery, no one should. I totally agree with your comments on this.<br />– It is morally reprehensible that the Government of Canada uses monies collected by force, to compete with the very people they collected the monies from. While Canada Post may claim the right to first class letters, they should not be allowed to compete in the parcel industry. This is in direct completion with other taxpayers. (This of course applies to several other crown corps as well.<br /><br />You are certainly right about the requirement of taxpayers to fund delivery service to areas that private enterprise cannot or will not provide service. This not only applies to Canada Post but also to cell and TV service. <br /><br />A solution to this may be to morph Canada Post and CBC into an agency that only provides these services to remote areas. Of course they would not have to actually provide the service but would look after making sure the service is provided, be that by subsides to private corps as you suggest or other means.<br /><br />It should be noted that civilization did not end when the butcher, the baker, the milkman and the Doctor no longer made house calls. Neither will it end with the abolition of door-to-door service. These people that may have difficulty accessing mail service if it is not door to door, still find ways of going to the doctor, getting their prescriptions filled, getting their groceries etc. While this is an inconvenience and care must be taken that these people do indeed have access to all these necessities, it is not a valid argument to sustain door-to-door delivery.<br /><br />Community boxes have worked well in many communities for decades. Much of rural Alberta has been serviced by post boxes for years. This has been through a combination of community boxes and boxes that are physical located in the post office. <br />Canada post may keep the sorting for now but all delivery to boxes should be privatized and limited to the amount of routes any one contractor is allowed to have. These contractors should be allowed to contract directly with business to provide flyer and junk mail service. This would prevent duplicity of handling and billing making for a more efficient system. As well it could cover most of the cost the contractor incurs thereby limiting the cost to the taxpayer.Bob Boersemahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08880788243125089149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-27235584797182458002016-11-08T13:59:45.316-08:002016-11-08T13:59:45.316-08:00Thank you Wade.Unfortunately, the minimum wage is ...Thank you Wade.Unfortunately, the minimum wage is also a negative influence on employment. Please see my "Does the Minimum Wage help the Poor?" at http://johnmboersema.blogspot.ca/2014/01/does-minimum-wage-help-poor.html. (or via the Topical Index of Posts. The same applies to the currently advocated "fair wage". I don't believe that The government should implement such a concept.<br />There may, however, well be a concept of "fair wage" that a Christian employer should pay (not the theme of the blog). I have, so far, not found any Biblical backing for such a concept. The Bible does say that wages must be paid but there is, in my opinion, no indication of what that wage should be.<br /><br />Your second question is also important. Some Christians defend the right or necessity to refuse to pay taxes for specific purposes, e.g. defense. I think, this view should, however, be rejected. As former Dutch parliamentarian, A.J.Verbrugh has written:<br /><br />In this way one invites everyone with an half-anarchistic concept of freedom or who is enchanted with limitless self-interest, to take justice into his own hand through tax avoidance or evasion... But also those who have conscientious objections to, say, the defense program of the government, may not be a “tax-refuser”. For, they cannot say that by satisfying his tax obligations he supports defense. By paying tax, one assists the government only by making it possible to, in general, pay all expenses. Which specific expenditures the government then incurs becomes the responsibility of the government and not that of the taxpayer.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-21309796565466523392016-10-26T19:45:03.089-07:002016-10-26T19:45:03.089-07:00Thank you for outlining so clearly the types of ta...Thank you for outlining so clearly the types of tax and benefits or constraints that come with them. Specifically when it relates to corporate tax the popular inclination is to offset a rise in personal income tax by deflecting to corporations - as per your comments also above, How does one effectively communicate that corporate taxation and payroll taxes ultimately hamstring a corporation's ability to be an employer, Alternatively, it could turn them into a reluctant employer. I would balance this with the concept of a 'fair wage' and or a minimum wage. Is there a place for this or ultimately will the market determine a fair wage?<br /><br />Secondly, on a totally different note, from the Christian knowledge that the government has the inherent scriptural right to tax its citizens, is there any point when the funding decisions of a government allow for tax revolt or refusal to pay? In the current trend of the government to fund controversial practises such as 'medical proceedures' that are designed to end life at the beginning or end of the life cycle, Immigration poloices that are biased against Christians, support of human rights commissions that overrule the rule of law and seek to suppress freedom of expression, just to name a few. Is there ever a point where Christians should withhold their tax payments and be able to justify it? Just a question I have heard and really feel ill-equipt to answer.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />WadeAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17349268783642102290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-90484850639129237942016-10-26T19:26:48.513-07:002016-10-26T19:26:48.513-07:00Thank you for the sussinct review of the two argum...Thank you for the sussinct review of the two arguments. I find myself agreeing with you almost entirely. Oversimplification of economic systems in relation to theology is an interesting endeavour. Bringing your grasp of the economic system to the arguments makes the oversimplification of the articles very evident.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17349268783642102290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-16060879488866355432015-03-27T07:47:41.923-07:002015-03-27T07:47:41.923-07:00Please let me know what you think of this post by ...Please let me know what you think of this post by adding your comment.Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-36559043942143487262015-01-26T08:13:13.027-08:002015-01-26T08:13:13.027-08:00Thanks for the comment Henry. Actually, I would sa...Thanks for the comment Henry. Actually, I would say growth is not primarily the result of increasing population but is necessary to accommodate the increasing population.Once the damage has been done, that is also part of desirable economic growth. A job in reconstruction is as worthwhile (perhaps more so) than any other.<br /><br />Your comment overall is consistent with my final conclusion. "Let us, then, responsibly seek to counter the negative effects of growth and seek to repair the damage done to creation in the past. The result may well be a lower growth rate". <br /><br />The issue is how to best deal with carbon dioxide output. Will get back to that eventually.Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-89997379191490243802015-01-21T14:23:57.633-08:002015-01-21T14:23:57.633-08:00There will obviously be growth in economic activit...There will obviously be growth in economic activities as a result of increasing population and affluence. Unfortunately, God's creation groans in many places throughout the world as a result of human activity. The kind of growth our economic system is primarily based on is driven by fossil fuels, which result in a significant increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere leading to climate changes. I know, there are some who deny this, but recent severe weather events and melting Arctic and Greenland ice have been attributed to human-induced changes. I know this will create economic activity in terms of reconstruction, flood control, etc., but is that the kind of economic growth you would desire?Henrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-81744710695909415432014-12-04T07:57:45.759-08:002014-12-04T07:57:45.759-08:00As usual, your comments are invited. You can also ...As usual, your comments are invited. You can also comment privately tojohnboersema@rogers.comPolitcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-73366557377614064802014-08-11T08:31:33.013-07:002014-08-11T08:31:33.013-07:00I received the following comment:
You might be int...I received the following comment:<br />You might be interested in Lean healthcare. Industrial engineers applying manufacturing principles to reduce hospital wait times and improve efficiency.<br />...Last year I spoke to an American lean consultant in healthcare and he said Canada was way more challenging because the non-profit nature led to less incentive to be more efficient.<br />Looks like the proposed research centre should also include a Lean engineer. Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-87932813537883976722014-08-11T08:29:41.894-07:002014-08-11T08:29:41.894-07:00I also received the following:
"Our hospitals...I also received the following:<br />"Our hospitals are run by Doctors and big bucks. Our government listens to both too much. The previous comment is on the right track. Behind the scenes it is very little about efficiency and wait times. If you asked the nurses and the folks in the pews and of course the engineers ;-) there could be a far better system."<br />Sounds like the proposed centre should also have a representative of the nurses & other "pew members" and an early research project should be a large survey of nurses & other employees. Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-6230818645133698892014-07-30T12:45:09.747-07:002014-07-30T12:45:09.747-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-50612613765438873102014-07-30T10:24:51.027-07:002014-07-30T10:24:51.027-07:00As usual, your comments are invited.As usual, your comments are invited.Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-10082652698876023322014-02-07T05:35:13.765-08:002014-02-07T05:35:13.765-08:00As usual your comments are welcomed. If you have l...As usual your comments are welcomed. If you have learned something, please share with your friends.Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-4272152322558501112014-01-24T03:48:05.826-08:002014-01-24T03:48:05.826-08:00As always, your comments are invited.As always, your comments are invited.Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-26594225224982147052014-01-23T13:49:00.841-08:002014-01-23T13:49:00.841-08:00Feel free to post comments.Feel free to post comments.Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-57527126552894171272014-01-22T06:51:40.548-08:002014-01-22T06:51:40.548-08:00We could and will continue this debate for ever. I...We could and will continue this debate for ever. I will get back to some of your points in the future. However...<br />Of course, taxation has nothing to do with free enterprise. It is a necessary part of even a "limited" government. Jesus said, Pay to Ceasar what is Ceasar's". The real questions relate to how much and what kind of tax. I see no principled reason why tax cannot be used to achieve certain desirable goals that are within the governments necessary task (e.g. control pollution). Tax the "bads"; not the "goods"--like employment (all payroll taxes have a negative effect on employment) or corporate tax (which has implications for investment and subsequent employment).<br />In my view, rather than legislating the decreasing use of water for mineral extraction, it would be better to put an incrementally increasing tax on it to get the same effect.Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-59479386837782982252014-01-21T20:24:28.984-08:002014-01-21T20:24:28.984-08:00While I have not had sufficient time to firm this ...While I have not had sufficient time to firm this up, I believe that I am leaning toward thinking that "buy Local" is indeed a Christian principle. Not to save the world, but on the bases of good stewardship. Of course it is likely that you will come up with some good points that might change my mind.<br /><br />That of course leaves me to figure out my remaining responsibility to my "neighbour".<br /><br />One thing I am quite convinced of is that taxation has nothing to do with free enterprise and is probably opposed to it. It may still be a necessary evil but should not be used for social engineering purposes.<br /><br />It is highly improbable that making the polluter pay will not drive revenue possibilities out of the country. Other then redundancy, taxation and wages are the leading cause of lack of competitiveness.<br />There may be room in free enterprise for small and progressive legislation to curb some forms of pollution and this would be much better then taxation. An example might be rather then taxing oil carbon emissions, legislate out the use of water for mineral extraction incrementally of a 20 year period.FBBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-80418048527641796582014-01-21T19:29:33.940-08:002014-01-21T19:29:33.940-08:001. Regardless of who's fault it is, is it resp...1. Regardless of who's fault it is, is it responsible to put resources into that situation? Typically anything we buy from other then "local" is through brokerage houses, which we have no control over. Do you have some ideas on how we could "buy local" from our distant neighbours?<br /><br />2. A developing nation seldom has the luxury of "multiple areas of specialization". At best we could hope for one or two exportable products that as d.c. we could buy from them. To help discussion, maybe you could name a few countries that need our help in this way and some of their products that we could buy. It doesn't make sense to teach them to fish if there is no fish in the pond.<br />3. I'm looking forward to that blog ;-)FBBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-67283699248754065232014-01-21T13:56:41.066-08:002014-01-21T13:56:41.066-08:00Your comments are welcomeYour comments are welcomeJohn Boersemanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-17681480379624556132014-01-20T09:11:16.718-08:002014-01-20T09:11:16.718-08:00My major point was that we as Christians should no...My major point was that we as Christians should not automatically jump on the "buy local" band-wagon. We must consider neighbour love towards third world countries. We must also do this on the basis of good stewardship which generally points to the free market and free trade. We must also recognize that the Bible is not a handbook for economic action. Our Christian position must be derived mainly from basic Christian principles. On this basis, I think we can derive certain preferences for taxation but that's for future discussion. "Making the polluter pay", doens't necessarily drive the polluter elsewhere--although it may. It may drive up prices so that everyone buys less (less pollution) and may provide incentives for the "polluter" to look for alternative manufacturing methods. Of course, it must be done judiciously--it's a direction only. For example, we certainly cannot add a major "green" tax if the U.S. (our major trading partner) does not. But, we could add a little one and work with the U.S. towards them doing the same thing.Politcal-Economics as God's Stewardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195195978088619861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373810304102663236.post-90304467398231100052014-01-20T08:51:26.696-08:002014-01-20T08:51:26.696-08:00Thank you for your thoughtful comments. You raise ...Thank you for your thoughtful comments. You raise a lot of points. It just shows that it is impossible to cover every aspect at once. Let's debate.<br /><br />1. You are right that frequently "the benefits seldom get to the people we would like to see benefit from it." But, is that the fault of trade of government mismangement and corruption in the poor countries?<br /><br />"If buying from poorer countries were to have any great effect, we would need to develop a completely different way of doing global commerce." I don't think there is a completely different way. I think its free trade plus incremental efforts to ensure that some of the benefits do reach the poor<br /><br />2. I am by no means recommending monoculture. Specialization of labour as individuals certainly hasn't meant that within a country there is only one person doing one thing. There are many teachers, many doctors, many bakers, etc. The reality is that trading countries (such as the Netherlands) have historically produced and traded a variety of products. I would speculate that failed monoculture in developing countries has come, not from freely developed trade, but from misguided foreign aid, providing subsidies and an monopoly privileges.<br /><br />3. You are right that "when a corporation gains control" bad things happen. Monopolies are a "failure" of the free market that governments must deal with. But, that's the subject of a future blog.<br />John Boersemanoreply@blogger.com