All Those Government Conspiracies Are True In A Bad Economy

Less than a month to go now as Canada rolls out new taxes for two of its provinces and increases the taxes on a third province. All of this is a big cash grab to help pay for the huge bailout packages given out to the banking and automobile sectors last year. The timing is very bad as it happens to be at the worst time to roll out new taxation, since the whole country is still reeling from the recession, and likely about to go down for the second time in two years. Some claim this is further evidence that the government is run by a race of lizard like aliens who do not have our best interests at heart, and who are actively causing an economic downturn for their amusement.

Once burned twice shy. With the recession going into it's second year, trust of any kind is at an all-time low. With governments, banking and insurance companies failing the very people they are supposed to serve, there is little confidence any more. There is a lot of fear in this recession, where people are afraid to risk what little they have left. There is a lot of suspicion when it comes to anyone who is trying to sell something, be it an idea a product or service.

The state of Arizona, in a revolutionary announcement yesterday, celebrated the outsourcing of the last remaining full-time position to Bangalore India. Other jobs were sent overseas to places including China and the Philippines, the Governor announced, from the state legislative building, now located in Shanghai.

Over the past year, state revenue collections have dropped dramatically, creating large budget gaps for many states. At least 30 states and Washington, DC are making budget cuts specifically targeting K-12 education. The long term impact is the creation of a country of morons.

In several provinces across Canada, consumers are getting the provincial tax incentive on wide screen TVs bought after January 1st, as part of a push to get consumers over to the new technology.

The time that many people fear is soon approaching. Due to the bad economy last year, many people have not been able to put away enough money to pay their taxes this year, and so there is a scramble to find enough money in time.

Despite protests, the government is moving to contain the swine flu pandemic by fencing off the entire state of Iowa. National guard are stationed at all roads in or out of the state, and all flights are grounded. Amtrak passenger trains are ordered not to stop as they cross the state, and Greyhound buses have to detour via Minnesota to avoid the quarantine area.

The H1N1 swine flu pandemic is growing worse at an alarming rate, helped in part by the bad economy. The numbers of hospitalizations for H1N1 and also H1N1 related deaths are increasing from one week to the next, and are soon to exceed the levels reached in June when the first wave of the pandemic was at it's peak.

The H1N1 vaccine has been harder to produce than expected. Even now, after several delays, only limited quantities are being made available. This means not everyone who wants or needs the vaccine will be able to get it. Governments and health authorities have come up with a priority list to decide who lives and who might die. No surprise that economic factors are used to determine those priorities.

Just as we are getting some positive reports of the recession easing off, plans for economic recovery may be scuttled as governments scramble to prepare for the coming global pandemic. Equally disturbing are the reports that a strain of the virus known as H1N1-B, has mutated and crossed over to poultry.