Andrew

@oracles_studio @MeghanMcCain Create federal non-partisan elections organizations to do the districting and enforce election laws. It's not difficult to do but it's difficult to start since the state/federal Democrat and Republican parties have a vested interest in keeping the current power structures

@MeghanMcCain Serious question though, how ought we to draw districts?

I hate all gerrymandering and it should be illegal. Full stop - it's awful when democrats do it, it's awful when republicans do it. American citizens have their voices and representation robbed of them.

@messputt @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend You know that for a fact? That without the 1990s CPP reforms that taxes would be lower today and it would've all turned out alright? Damn, I guess I ran into Nostradamus on twitter. Talk about an argument rooted in wild assumptions and bad faith.

@andykinzie @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend CPP taxes would be lower today if the CPPIB didn't exist. In 2025, taxpayers gave $22B to the CPPIB over and above the cost of CPP benefits. That's a huge tax burden on workers, and provides exactly zero benefit to pensioners.

Over the past 12 months, Canadian governments, investors, pension funds, corporations, etc. have increased US bond holdings by 27%, or 100B USD. Why are we increasing our financing of US government debt at a time when the US government is so antagonistic towards Canada?

@messputt @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend Complain about the CPP all you want, is there room for reform? Sure but there's really no room to argue for a return to PAYGO or solely using domestic treasuries. You want to reform something and manage increasing tax burdens? Then fixate on OAS and increasing expense from there.

@messputt @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend So the CPP tax is lower than estimates 30 years ago, 10 years past the estimate date and you're saying that's no good? And the prevalence of pension plans in private workplaces has fallen by 50% in the past 50 years, making people definitely less reliant on CPP in the future?

@messputt @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend PAYGO was estimated to be 2-3x higher than that by now. You've created this fantasy hypothetical where we'd do Paygo, we'd be paying premiums like it was the 90s still, pensions only buying CAD treasuries, and yields from said treasuries somehow not coming from taxes

@andykinzie @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend CPP taxes are currently 11.9%. We're already paying high taxes, and all that surplus has gone into the CPPIB. Without CPPIB, our taxes would be lower.

@messputt @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend It's objectively false to argue that Paygo worked great, I'm assuming that you're older based on this argument because you wouldn't have had to shoulder the increasing contribution rates this system would've placed on younger generations to ensure that the pensions stayed funded

@andykinzie @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend Remember that public sector pensions are largely funded by contributions - ie, taxes. More domestic growth generates more taxes which pays for more pensions. Taxing more to generate a big surplus for an investment fund is nonsensical. It just reduces growth and raises costs.

@messputt @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend We moved away from Paygo because the country's demographics couldn't sustainably support that model of funding. I think you and I are aligned in that we want greater investment in Canada and the success of our country. We're not aligned in government dictating investment usage.

@messputt @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend For sure man, the Canadian Treasury environment is definitely the same today as it was in the 90s, with 10yr rates of return around 1% and yields below 4%. Yeah, that will definitely fix the pension underperformance Mike was originally referencing at the start of our thread...

@andykinzie @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend Before the pension reforms of the 1990's, public pension funds were only allowed to buy govt bonds. The system worked great. Govts had ready access to capital, pension taxes were low, and business investment was higher. The pension reforms reversed all that. RETVRN.

@messputt @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend Hahaha, best of luck with that, our conversation ends here if that's what you've been driving at all along. Politicians would never make politically convenient decisions motivated by near sightedness, right? Or lobby efforts would never dictate where capital gets directed, right?

@andykinzie @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend Public sector pension funds should only be allowed to buy government bonds. That way taxpayer dollars are under the control of democratically elected officials. Govt can then invest in things that we need or cut taxes.

@messputt @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend How does a pension fund invest in boosting domestic capabilities if the domestic firm isn't attempting to increase productivity? Unless your suggestion is that we should mandate a form of corporate subsidy for Canadian firms? Sounds efficient and totally not ripe for absuse.

@messputt @Leur201 @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend How exactly does "investing" in Canadian companies help them increase their productivity by purchasing shares in domestic firms? Unless you're buying at IPO, you could be buying shares of a CAD company from a Chinese investor for all you know and that money is still leaving?

@messputt @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend What is this take? Let's just stop investing?

@andykinzie @MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend How about let's not have our pension dollars go towards complicated gambling on foreign credit markets?

@sleep_magnets @oliveegger The support you're lending to this administration for their characterization of a gun carrying citizen is constraining your rights. What's to stop another admin from using the same logic to justify control over where and how firearms are carried?

I think that's a side effect of playing the media game. They're afraid to take the next step. And you're right, not taking the next step erodes freedoms. Same reason we have hate laws, DEI, etc. Fear of the media. Fear of calling it what it is. I guess you could say I agree with your concerns, but rather than losing support, we need to support the proper response. Or freedoms will continue to be constrained.

This is where you start losing people bc what do you mean?? Is everyone who conceal carries implicated in a plot to inflict maximum damage??

@MikePMoffatt @JimBeamMyFriend I like you but what are you talking about here? We're talking about credit strategies and you're replying with some sort of trite chirp about using passive investments for credit exposure? In an asset class historically known for a heavier OTC method of trading??

@JimBeamMyFriend You mean the professional investment mangers who consistently underperform the market?

@ElectrikRich @TerryMoran So UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand, etc. as the list goes on? You know what countries typically don't do mail in? Democratically dubious countries like idk Russia?

@TerryMoran He means legitimate countries of significance

Today, Trump declares: ‘We are now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting. All others have given it up because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED.” He is, as usual, lying. 34 countries allow some or all voters to case their votes by mail. idea.int/data-tools/too…

@cincy_pj @TristanSnell I think most people tend to forget with hindsight how scary March 2020 was, the circuit breaker to halt trading was triggered 4 different times in March 2020 due to the market declining so quickly

@TristanSnell Are we not including 2008? It was so bad they had to suspend trading. Don’t like what Trump is doing but just want to be fair to history

The 8 worst days EVER for the Dow — all of them under Donald Trump −2,997.10 - March 16, 2020 −2,352.60 - March 12, 2020 −2,231.07 - TODAY −2,013.76 - March 9, 2020 −1,861.82 - June 11, 2020 −1,679.39 - YESTERDAY −1,464.94 - March 11, 2020 −1,338.46 - March 18, 2020

@antipharmagirl @Acyn Why would domestic producers keep their prices significantly lower than tariffed products? They can raise their prices by 24% and still be lower. Tariffs aren't going to do what you think they will, this is interference with markets that were already operating efficiently.

Of course in the short term it increases prices, but then market competition in theory will cause US consumers to move towards Cheaper US Made products. So I someone is car shopping and a ford focus is made in Mexico and a Toyota Corolla is made in the US, the Toyota would be cheaper and the consumer would purchase that option fueling American growth. It also in theory, causes the non American made product to move production back to US for lack of demand and higher overall costs.

Fox Anchor Brett Baier: President Trump insists U.S. manufacturers will be protected because tariffs will be paid by these countries. But, it's not quite that simple. The companies responsible for importing a product are the ones who physically pay tariffs.. They are usually US companies

@RussCote @smilerz91 @JStein_WaPo But tariffs can't replace income tax in the long run, if tariffs work and bring production back to the US then tariff revenue should fall to $0 eventually if there's no longer importing happening

@smilerz91 @JStein_WaPo A) why? B) why?

Newt Gingrich on tariffs: Trump is really “increasingly convinced of the McKinley Model: High tariffs lead to massive capital investments in the U.S., leading to high-paying jobs ... I assume this will be a two-three year transition where we’ll all have to adjust"

@buddyperdue @JDForrest129 @AP Because the other countries want to ensure that their citizens only buy domestic products, so the counter tariffs make buying American less attractive. It's an endless cycle of pain where ultimately the consumer loses by paying higher prices to protect domestic industry.

@JDForrest129 @AP But all those smart Democrats told Trump that Americans pay the tariffs, so why are those countries angry if they don't have to pay???

BREAKING: President Donald Trump's new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China kick in, sparking retaliation and triggering fears of a wider trade war apnews.com/article/trump-…

@SwinginFriars11 @Marqrk1 @blivystn @run_bull_ @EricLevitz Tariffs make no sense for most countries in the modern era, including the USA. US soft power has been built on having economic leverage over others enforced by military power. Many American jobs only exist because they can get intermediary parts and labour for cheaper elsewhere.

@Marqrk1 @blivystn @run_bull_ @andykinzie @EricLevitz Wut? Why is this thread full of retards? Punching someone back as a retaliation hurts the person getting punched. It doesn't affect the bar or other bargoers... Unlike tariffs in the example.

This is strange since the President of the United States assured me that American consumers do not pay the cost of tariffs