those job creation numbers seem slightly exaggerated. 17,000 construction jobs? really?

see, it's probably calculating spin-off jobs and keynesian multiplier effects. the right may be broadly clueless on economics, but the left simply does not understand that keynesan theory assumes a closed economy and collapses under the reality of free trade. that is absolutely imperative to address.

i don't know how many construction jobs the plan would create. that part is valid. the rest is using a 20th century model for a 21st century economy, and needs to be re-examined to take into account the consequences of living in an open, global economy.

if we want this kind of analysis to work, we need to get rid of free trade.

if we want to keep free trade, we need to leave keynes in the past.

there's no middle point. it's a hard choice.

you can have multiplier effects or you can have free trade. you cannot have both.

experience is good and all. but the economic policies of the continent were entirely shattered by nafta. and while it may seem like good politics to reassure voters of steady hands, the liberals really need to be looking forwards. what worked in 1995 will fail today.

www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-liberals-infrastructure-deficits-1.3206550

Cayyce
....conventionally 1.5 to 3.0 multiplier, is that consistent with your understanding?

Jessica Murray
the multiplier effect relies on forces, like tariffs, to contain things within boundaries as they spread. an open economy doesn't reverse the idea of a multiplier, but it distributes it outside of the country.

let's look at what actually happens in 2015 when you hire construction workers to build a bridge or a road or a monument to the people that built the monument or whatever else - although we have plenty of infrastructure issues, and arguments about holes in the ground and bridges to nowhere as "make work" are currently not well utilized. there's plenty of things to do.

first, chances are the worker has some debt. credit card debt. maybe some loans. a student loan, maybe. that's likely to be the first issue to be dealt with. and, the numbers suggest that this is a pretty big issue right now. so, you have to acknowledge a lot of it gets eaten by the banks right off the bat - it's as dead as an economic driver as debt repayments.

but, if you stick with it, that goes away, eventually - or is at least minimized. and, we're all better off with less people in debt.

so, our construction worker has made positive movement on their debt. what's next? a trip to walmart, of course!

and, where does the multiplier from spending at walmart come from?

the theory suggests that spending at the local hardware store will lead to further purchases from the local hardware supplier, will allow them to expand production, which creates more jobs and etc.

in reality, spending at walmart does not help local suppliers. walmart will not hire more workers, they'll make customers stand in line longer. it may increase production, but production is out of the country.

rather than a multiplier effect, we should be talking about a vacuum effect: all of the money that we print gets sucked out of the country.

in order to get that multiplier effect back in place, there has to be barriers in place that keep the circulation local.

it's free trade or multiplier effects. you have to pick one. you can't have both.