Conservative party to abolish Canadian Wheat Board monopoly, despite 60% of wheat farmers and 51% of
37 replies, posted
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;32280787]So what exactly is the [I]reason[/I] they're abolishing it?
I'm pretty sure they didn't wake up one day and "Oh, lets get rid of this for the hell of it, it'll be funny!"[/QUOTE]
The Conservative party wants to privatize everything, they're basically putting ideology ahead of what the people want.
[editline]14th September 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Contag;32283589]It allows farmers to get a higher price for their goods, which translates to a higher cost for consumers.[/QUOTE]
Do you have a comparison of grain costs in Canada vs. elsewhere? (For the consumer)
I looked but couldn't find anything.
[QUOTE=StealthArcher;32270990]EDIT: And anyway, private companies. [b]BC[/b] Ferries anyone?[/QUOTE]As a resident on one of British Columbia's many islands serviced by BC Ferries, I can atest to how terrible they are. Raise prices by $0.50 a week for ten weeks? Good idea!
Farmers are a dying breed doing one of the most important jobs on the planet. We should be doing more to protect them.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;32276320]I don't think many people in the thread know how the CWB works (yawmwen and lankist...)
They're not a true monopoly (they're actually a monopsony)
They're the only [i]buyer[/i] of wheat and barley, there are many sellers
Their impact on the consumer is nil
It's worth noting that abolishing wheat boards was attempted before with disastrous results
[release]After the dissolution of the early board in 1920, farmers turned to the idea of farmer-owned cooperatives. Cooperative grain elevator operators already existed, like United Grain Growers, which had already been started in 1917. In 1923 and 1924 the wheat pools were created to buy Canadian wheat and resell it overseas. The Alberta Wheat Pool, the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, and Manitoba Pool Elevators quickly became giants in the industry and displaced the private traders. However they did not hedge against falling prices (instead relying on provincial government guarantees), and during the price collapse of 1929, they effectively went bankrupt. The majority of farmers did not want the private traders to return, and now it also seemed impossible for them to own their own marketing companies, so the idea of a government marketing board was revived. The Australian Wheat Board was created in 1931, which may have been a partial inspiration.[/release][/QUOTE]
That's why I asked, [i]what's different about this monopoly[/i].
[QUOTE=yawmwen;32294591]That's why I asked, [I]what's different about this monopoly[/I].[/QUOTE]
[I]monopsony[/I]
Say it with me now.
[QUOTE=Megafanx13;32294681][I]monopsony[/I]
Say it with me now.[/QUOTE]
"Members of the Canadian Wheat Board have voted in favour of keeping the board's [b]monopoly[/b] over western wheat and barley sales in Canada even though Ottawa wants to abolish it."
It said Monopoly, Zeke said Monopoly. Why is it wrong for me to assume that it was a monopoly?
[QUOTE=Zeke129;32271543]Public support
If farmers didn't want the CWB I wouldn't support it[/QUOTE]
So you support monopolies spawned from the dictatorship of the majority but are averse to monopolies which grow from willful consent?
Quite naive.
[QUOTE=Strider*;32294992]So you support monopolies spawned from the dictatorship of the majority but are averse to monopolies which grow from willful consent?
Quite naive.[/QUOTE]
This is a natural monopoly. It's not one set up by a dictator, it's one that protects our food sources. Yet you all assume that anything with the word Monopoly in it (besides the board games) is a bad thing. This "monopoly" protects the food sources of Planet Earth.
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