Climate of injustice

 A response to a letter in The Low Down, Sept 14-20, 2022 titled "Together for climate justice"

I am responding to the seemingly endless demands by the La Peche Coalition for a Green New Deal to forcefully implement policies to combat the gas of life - carbon dioxide. It is sad to read so many letters based on ignorance of science, economics and most of all a proper ethical framework.

For over 20 years I have closely followed the evolution of scientific knowledge about our climate by reading many books written by eminent scientists and subject-matter experts and keeping an eye on many of the thousands of studies connected to the Earth's climate. Long ago I could tell from a broad review of the literature that climate alarmism was based on distortions, bad statistical and scientific methodology, and most of all bad ideology. The premise that the Earth is a delicate nurturer best left untouched by man's activities is contrary to the nature of human life, which is to apply reason to the challenges of survival in a naturally dangerous and deficient environment. Humans thrive only by reshaping and improving our world. I have come across thousands of studies and many basic facts of reality that directly contradict the idea that there is any kind of climate crisis and anyone who does a broad reading of the literature would easily find the same. I encourage readers to see for themselves, perhaps starting with the recent book "Fossil Future" that provides an irrefutable case and moving on from there for those who want more technical information.

Economically, fossil fuel energy presently makes up more than 80% of the world energy supply and is always the best and preferred way for poor countries to solve their problems of starvation, disease and suffering. Three billion people have less energy than a typical refrigerator and have a massive need for more energy. Alarmists almost always ignore the massive benefits of fossil fuel energy and focus only on the manageable side-effects, like focusing only on vaccine side-effects and ignoring the benefits. Wind and solar may have a small role to play in generating electricity but due to their intermittent, dilute and unreliable nature they are spectacularly unsuited for economical grid-scale power, plus require massive mining projects mostly in third world countries and dictatorships, leading to horrible pollution problems. A call to end fossil fuel energy is a call for the continuation of uman suffering for the billions of people who do not yet enjoy our level of energy capability and te mass murder of those who would lose the life-giving energy from fossil fuels we now enjoy. 

Politically, a call for a green new deal is a call for fascism, as few populations will voluntarily choose societal suicide for very long. Witness the dramatic policy reversal in the UK when it became clear that mass suffering would quickly result from the loss of reliable, cheap energy. If all state coercion and subsidies was removed from the energy market and humans were free to produce and trade, I know there would be almost no wind and solar infrastructure built and human progress would leap forward.

Ethically, the right framework is one of respect for human rights: your right to peacefully pursue your own values and to keep the product of your work. It is unethical to lie about the state of scientific knowledge in an effort to achieve power over the lives of others, unethical to call for the destruction of a safe, cheap and reliable energy system that sustains the lives of billions of people with no viable replacement in hand, unethical to cry for the use of political force against billions of innocent people trying to live in peace. The right ethical path is one towards an objective assessment of reality, the recognition of the ability of individuals to think for themselves and to produce values to trade with others and a government whose function is to protect our rights and never violate them. We have a long way to go but a move in the right direction would be a good start. It begins with every individual thinking.

Financial illiteracy in the press and in society as a whole

While Ottawa east opinion writer Brynna Leslie belittles the importance of financial literacy, she exemplifies it in her opinion piece. It is clear she has not sought any professional advice, nor did the CBC Radio economics reporter she refers to. If they had, they might have learned some of the following basic financial principles.

She likely would have learned that you don't "make some good money in interest." Interest is a payment in return for borrowing your money and interest is normally a part of what is left over after the borrower has made a profit using your money. The source of wealth creation is ownership of the means of production, meaning businesses, companies, shares, stocks or whatever name you prefer to give them. With financial literacy she certainly would not have labeled the source of all wealth as "junk."

She could have learned how important it is to match the time horizon of an investment with a suitable investment type. Earning interest through a bank is suitable for short term goals because there is little fluctuation, but is spectacularly unsuitable for longer term goals because of the inherently lower returns of fixed income investments, especially one inflation is subtracted.

She could have discussed how growth investments fluctuate, but with diversification and prudence the probability of a negative outcome decreases exponentially with time. An advisor would have shown her how important it is to have patience and to understand the fluctuating nature of investment markets and coached her to avoid making mistakes of timing and selection.

With advice, she would have understood the difference between saving and investing, earning interest versus earning profits, and thus embraced the crucial incentive to save and invest - the pursuit of wealth accumulation and creation through rational self-interest.

If she was financially literate or rational enough to seek help from a financial advisor, the economics reporter Leslie refers to would have never dared advise her own daughter to "blow her pocket money on Cheezies" instead of learning about investing and personal financial independence, then reported it to the world.

The state of financial education in our schools is nothing less than a travesty and a moral outrage - testimony to the awful result of government monopolies.  Ask yourself the same question I do when I start a conversation about finance with someone I know little about: "in your primary, secondary, college and university education, how many minutes of instruction were dedicated to the understanding of critical, real-world personal financial principles?"  The usual answer is... zero.

What percentage of high school graduates are not only expected, but required by law to file annual income tax returns once they have their first job, which is usually before graduating from high school?  100%.  What percentage of these graduates is even remotely familiar with the structure and principles behind income tax? The answer is scary - for all of society.

Brynna Leslie's column is testament to the failure of our education system to prepare students for reality and the failure of our society to value financial education. Until such time as the subject is embraced (and even more so if it ever is), financial advisors provide an essential service to their clients and create enormous value in society.