Last week, Economy Shoe Shop owner Victor Syperek complained to Chronicle-Herald reporter Remo Zaccagna about the hole in the ground over on Argyle Street, the approved but unbuilt convention centre complex, which has become a cesspool overrun with rats.
Zaccagna went on to interview developer Joe Ramia, who admitted that he has no tenant for the “financial centre” part of the convention centre complex, which is why nothing positive is happening on the Argyle lot.Â
This is a wonderful metaphor for Nova Scotia’s economic development strategy, which too often leads directly to a rat-infested cesspool.
See, after two decades of deregulation, the invention of complex derivatives —financial side bets like Collateralized Debt Obligations and Credit Default Swaps—and the creation of global capital markets with no controls whatsoever, the world financial industry was booming, at least on paper, and our local mucky-mucks decided to hitch our economic horse to the continued growth of the false economy of derivatives. Halifax would be “the next Singapore,” they promised; big banks would set up shop downtown and hire Dal Business School grads to shill bullshit Triple-A rated bonds to pension fund managing schmucks in Ohio, or wherever.
All that was needed was a nice taxpayer subsidized office tower, and so Ramia stepped up to the plate offering just that as part of the convention centre complex—and the city, provincial and federal governments agreed to subsidize Ramia’s centre for $383 million over 25 years, valuing Ramia’s contribution at $500 million.
Interestingly, the day after Zaccagna interviewed Ramia came news that the giant investment bank MF Global had, against all financial regulations, simply stolen $600 million of clients’ money and bet it in the derivative market —specifically, MF Global was betting the proposed European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund bailout of banks lending to the government of Greece would be a huge success. Whoops.Â
And yes, MF Global connects back to the Halifax convention centre: MF Global was created and run by Jon Corzine, one of the most insider-y and connected people in the entire global financial industry. Corzine was a former US senator and served as chairman and CEO of the world’s largest financial corporation, Goldman Sachs, and so had been re-writing and gaming the rules for derivatives and influencing government-backed bailouts of financial firms for 30 years.
Of course Corzine bet that European banks would get bailed out—that’s what the corrupt financial industry forces upon corrupt governments. Just in the last few years, the “recapitalizations,” off-market accounting, emergency no-interest loans and other forms of bailing out of giant banks has totalled over $10 trillion. So making those bets on European debt made absolute sense to Corzine, and if he needed to steal some customer money to shore up the bets for a few days, who’s going to be the wiser? Too bad for Corzine and his suckered customers that the Greek people and a busted investment class had other ideas.
Which brings us back to Nova Scotia. I don’t know if Ramia will figure out a way to lure a tenant to his financial centre, but I do know this: If some big financial or insurance firm does move in, it’ll be thanks to gigantic government bailouts somewhere along the way.
National governments long ago gave up sovereignty to the financial industry, so it’s not inconceivable that, say, a British insurance company sets up offices in Halifax thanks to tax forgiveness in London. There’s no doubt at all that our local mucky-mucks will insist that the new tenant get millions of dollars in on-going “payroll rebates.” When I asked premier Darrell Dexter directly if he was prepared to subsidize a tenant for the financial centre he scoffed, telling me that “is a ridiculous question.” We’ll see.
Still, to this day, even in the face of an imploding global financial industry that is once again plunging the world and Canada into recession, our mucky-mucks continue to look at failed policies of shovelling the real money of taxpayers into the false economy of the global financial industry.Â
And this, and exactly this, is why the Occupy Nova Scotia encampment at Grand Parade is entirely relevant. This shit has got to stop.
This article appears in Nov 10-16, 2011.
You are right. This has got to stop. So go occupy somewhere that inconveniences the developers, the banks, the 1%. Why have a bunch of tarp shacks on municipal property? The only thing that the mobile campground is doing is drawing attention to the debate on whether they should be allowed to stay there or dispersed. I say disperse them. Time to take the ‘tents’ down and go back to wherever this bunch brought them from..
I like the part about Dexter and the Trade Center, they may have the sod turning a few days before the 2013 election.
http://www.omers.com/investments/Our_Inves…
OMERS – net assets $53.3 billion
OMERS – 45% of members are CUPE
and : http://www.omers.com/pdf/OMERS2010COMBINED… read page 46 for extensive description of their investment in derivatives.
“Prior to joining TMX Group, Mr. Fotheringham served as the Vice President, Derivative and
Quantitative Investments, with the Ontario
Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).
The notional value of the derivative portfolio under
his management exceeded $6.0 billion and cash
quantitative based portfolio assets exceeded $3.0 bil-
lion. Mr. Fotheringham was also a senior member of
OMERS’ Investment Management Committee and
Global Tactical Asset Allocation Committee, where
he assisted in the development of the Fund’s asset
allocation strategies and risk management initiatives”
Looks like public sector pension plans in Canada have very heavy investment in derivatives.
Joe Blow– Canadians are deluding themselves that the financial meltdown doesn’t involve them. It ain’t just public pension funds– although it’s certainly that as well– it’s most of the private plans out there, and, I’m convinced, the banks themselves, albeit through 3rd parties. When this thing blows, and it will, Canada will hurt plenty.
Tim – the EU intends to levy a tax on transactions which translates into a tax on the financial sector in London.
” We have to be realistic and truthful to our publics about who pays this tax. There is not a single banker in this world who is going to pay this tax. There are no banks who are going to pay this tax. The people who will pay this tax are pensioners, with pensions. They are taxpayers through their governments because they have to raise money on through sovereign debt auctions. This is not a tax that is paid for by bankers or banks. I am all in favour of taxes that are paid by bankers and banks that is why I have introduced a bank levy in the UK paid for by banks and their shareholders. A financial transaction tax is paid for by the end beneficiaries of financial transactions and that is pensioners. So if you want to go and introduce a big tax on pensioners that is the end result. But at least be honest about who pays this tax. “
source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbys…
Tim
please they are the 1% the real 99% does not even care about the left latest pet project
and they are not even the 99%. I wonder if I could camp out in The Coast offices? or Camp out at the homes of these hippies? and show them the real 99% really is? Tim could I camp out on your front lawn to protest the 1% saying they speak for the 99% when they do not?
I can understand why these hippies can not get jobs when there are a lot of help wanted signs out there? They are too busy smoking pot and most of the people who are protesting are professional protesters who are paid by unions and other hippie groups to protest. Wait! Protesting is their job .
I wonder why The Coast can not view how the real 99% really fells? no it not your hippie friends or the Occupy movement. I can not wait until City Hall kick these hippies out and make them pay the $5000 of the real 99% taxes paid for to move these hippies.