Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Wonders of the Free Market

Hooray for the Tories!
Defence Minister Peter MacKay visited Quebec's flood zone along the Richelieu River on Wednesday, as residents brace for a long cleanup, which they will have to do without any help from the military.

[..]

The Quebec government has released an exchange of letters with Ottawa, where Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the military would not help with the cleanup.

Toews suggested that the military's role includes placing sandbags to protect property, but not picking up sandbags to clean up.

Toews also explained that the military should not stay behind because, if it performed any cleanup work, it would be competing with the private sector.
Now that flood victims have all that extra water they can just sell it to pay for water cleaner-uppers.

22 comments:

mikey said...

I'm unclear on what precisely is the value that military forces bring to storm cleanup. Is it merely that they consist of a WHOLE BUNCH O'DUDES that can be commanded to go to a particular place and pick up rubble?

Because I don't see any other inherent value in armed forces for that sort of thing. Are they supposed to shoot the water? Because the Canadian Land Forces showed excellent judgement when they told the Queen she was welcome to stick that useless piece of shit SA-80 up her arse and they build their own M-16/M-4s in a joint venture with Colt Canada. So at least for them, shooting remains a viable option.

But frankly, I don't think it would do a great deal of good, and once the sun has been out for a couple days the water will go away all on it's own anyway...

Substance McGravitas said...

It's the policy of Canada's armed forces to support disaster relief efforts within the country, so yeah, what they can do is lift sandbags and clean shit up, which is not a small chore.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

i see mikey's point, if the Gov't is funding the cleanup either way. If they can pay a WHOLE BUNCH O DUDES to go pick up the place, it works just as well.

But here's where it doesn't work as well; mobilization speed and ability to do what is necessary, including the horrible things that a private company wouldn't touch. Military, it seems to me, is more able to deal with all the various things that might come up, without having to re-negotiate a contract.

Also, Private industry insists on profits. So it will inevitably cost more and the contractors are more likely to do things cheaply or easily, rather than correctly, in order to maximize those profits.

Plus, sometimes that water NEEDS shooting. Fucking wet.

Substance McGravitas said...

Right. Our army men are easy to move around and tell what to do, quickly. It has not yet been shown that the government will do much help with cleanup.

Also, if Toews had said that soldiers were moving out, mean but fine. Adding the market-fairy bullshit was necessary insofar as Toews needed to prove that he was bananas.

mikey said...

Number one reason why mikey is better than the market:

mikey will do nasty shit in exchange for food as well as money.

Brando said...

Also, Private industry insists on profits. So it will inevitably cost more and the contractors are more likely to do things cheaply or easily, rather than correctly, in order to maximize those profits.

WHY DO YOU HATE FREEDOM?!

Dragon-King Wangchuck said...

Is it merely that they consist of a WHOLE BUNCH O'DUDES that can be commanded to go to a particular place and pick up rubble?

From the link:
"It's been a month," said Mayor Jacques Desmarais of Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu. "People are exhausted and there's still work to do — cleaning, inspections and different types of activities.

"I think it's important enough that the military stay here to help people through."


So, yes. Incidentally, while flood levels have receded recently, their three-day weather forecast is rain, rain, rain.

Smut Clyde said...

Since you can pay people in the private sector to go overseas and shoot people, doesn't the very existence of the army constitute a form of unfair competition with private enterprise?

Dragon-King Wangchuck said...

Weather forecast link for nearby Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

Smut Clyde said...

In terms of the reaction from the rest of Canada, does it make a difference that it's Quebec that's been left in the poo?

Are they supposed to shoot the water?

IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR CALIGULA.

Substance McGravitas said...

Substitute "West" for "rest" and yes it is important. Also the Prime Minister's riding is in Calgary.

Kathleen said...

those sandbags sound like they are competing with the free market. perhaps they should be shot.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

perhaps they should be shot.

mikey?

Substance McGravitas said...

Shooting sandbags sounds a little dull for him.

Mandos said...

"In terms of the reaction from the rest of Canada, does it make a difference that it's Quebec that's been left in the poo?"

Yep. One of the priorities of this government is to pander to a certain kind of retrograde Western populism that deeply resents Quebec and wishes it would leave or at least learn to "speak white".

That's because they don't want to pander to the OTHER parts of that populism, which are Paul Ryan stupid and could immediately passed and put into effect in this Parliament under the Canadian system.

The downside, in Canada, of winning complete control of the government, is that the bluff is now called. The called bluff will now be satisfied by pooing on Quebec.

Substance McGravitas said...

My Tory friend was certain after the election that they'd just throw money around like the Liberals would, but this kind of out-of-the-gate nonsense does not bode well.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Shooting sandbags sounds a little dull for him.

perhaps he can opt for using one of his many edged weapons.

wv is, I shit you not, unsand.

Mandos said...

Oh, they'll through money around all right.

Reform(tm) politics has always been about substituting one set of clients (Toronto-MTL establishment) for another (Calgary oil). Reform-a-tory politics has been about fusing the interests of these clients. The corporate welfare will flow fast and free. The human welfare will not.

It's just that, since Quebec had the temerity to vote orange this time and not dark blue, there is further excuse to poop on it.

mikey said...

NO!

If you shoot sandbags, the sand leaks out, and pretty soon some self-important asshole will come by and notice their rather flaccid and deflated state, and demand that you get up and go out in the sun and fill up a bunch more. It's like a perpetual stupid machine powered by the powerless.

Leave them be, sez I...

Dragon-King Wangchuck said...

Well yes and no. The shitbag assholes who think teh Quebeckese deserve this for voting SOCIALISM are cretins and braindead morans so wev.

But, teh West is sort of a flat part of Canuckistan, and they can empathize with flooding. I think this may have some repercussions even back in Cow-gary. Then again, I've always been an optimist.

Mendacious D said...

The west is flooding, too, and not just the prairies. I wonder if southeastern BC will get the same snub...

Smut Clyde said...

once the sun has been out for a couple days the water will go away all on it's own

Also, bleeding always stops.