Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowboy89
Are Albertan's clamoring for the return of ALCB liquor stores?
Public grocery stores would be essentially taxpayer subsidized employment and contracts to private businesses. When you factor in all the sub-commercial things mentioned in that video ('Living wages' as defined by the NDP, mandatory union participation, Dictating where food is sourced from, Putting stores not where it makes economic sense but rather markets where private interests abandoned and combine it with the lack of accountability to the bottom line that plaques most government run enterprise and there would be no hypothetical profits left to distribute if the goal was also to undercut private grocery store pricing. Rather it would be the opposite, it would require massive taxpayer subsidies to keep afloat year after year.
When put that way there's probably more effective public tools at achieving the goals laid out than the boondoggle of creating a massive government run enterprise. Like just give poorer people money for food. It would be more effective and cheaper than blueprinting and creating from scratch a government food distribution network and stores.
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The idea that government run enterprises are inefficient is always a talking point but barring total corruption, they typically provide services for people that private enterprise isn't conserved with. It's kind of the Canada Post or Library thing. We don't have these things because they are meant to be profitable money makers. We have these things because they improve conditions for Canadians.
Would it be taxpayer subsidiary of groceries be essentially what you describe?
Yes.
Is that a good thing?
Yes. Because it takes money away from enterprises like Loblaws that in turn tax shelter their profits and buy up every independent grocer out there.
It keeps the industry accountable at a time when five corporations own just about every grocery store in the country and find loopholes to avoid paying tax on their profit.
The market has its place, but
- food
- water
- shelter
- heat / electricity
- firefighters
- health care
are just basic human needs and we cannot have capitalism controlling food.
Our tax dollars SHOULD subsidize them. Even if they lose money.