Tax Reduction: Political Contributions

One of the most patriotic things you can do is reducing your taxes.  Yes I mean that – let me explain: This prevents the tax revenue from growing as fast and helps to prevent the various governments from getting as much of a taste of your money as possible.  Because once they taste it they will never let it go, and will deploy this money into more wasteful programs.  Wasteful spending can’t grow as fast if the tax base doesn’t.  See, I like my logic.

Political contributions are a decent way to reduce your taxes.  But of course you do have to have a particular political party that you support and it is real money that you are giving.

I have some more research to do on this topic, but it appears that you can contribute a few hundred dollars each year and receive a decent tax credit.

Some links that I have used for research:

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Gardening, Fruit & Nut trees, Chicken, Animals, and Preserving

Book Review: The Backyard Homestead

The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!

I recently purchased the book The Backyard Homestead by Carlene Madigan (ISBN-10 1603421386 / ISBN-13 978-1603421386).  I found it to be a great introduction on the various fruits, nuts, vegetables, animals, and other items that you can have yourself; even in your urban backyard.  This is a great book to keep around for getting ideas for next year’s garden, figuring out how to preserve your harvest, and even giving me some ideas on how to incorporate animals into your food sovereignty plan.

Also, if any friends, family members, or spouses are reluctant to explore producing their own food, this is a great book to leave laying around for them the possibly pickup.  Covering most topics that a backyard homesteader may want to research, this book does make things seem quite simple and accessible to most people.

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In The News: Harper Prorogues Parliament Again

As a Canadian who is interested in personal sovereignty, you may be someone who votes for the Conservative Party by default.  I suggest you rethink that because they stand just as much for the expansion of government as the Liberals and socialist NDPs.  But perhaps with a bit more of an elitist and corporatist flavour than the other two.

For the fourth time during his tenure, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has prorogued the federal parliament.  This time, it was to prevent having to answer questions over senate expense account scandals.  This scandal involves inappropriate expense account claims by Mac Harb, Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau, and most recently Pamela Wallin.  The short version of the story is that these senators expensed hefty travel charges for activities that were unrelated to the Senate.  We’re not talking $5000 here; some of the figures I’ve seen thrown around are of the $100,000 order.  Just more examples of government misspending our money.  Thankfully, it is a continued topic of debate whether the Senate is still relevant and worth the cost, or if it should be abolished.

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Equipment to help with Self Sufficiency

Knowledge, experience, and attitude are the most valuable assets you can have when it comes to being self sufficient.  However, owning some equipment or stocking up on some supplies can speed up the process and makes things a lot more enjoyable for you.

This list is a live document and I will make additions from time to time.

Here are some good lists of equipment, tools, and other supplies that I have found online:

Hand Tools and Homestead Gear

Basic Tool Kit

Intermediate Information on a Basic Tool Kit Part 1  /  Tool Kit Part 2

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Components of Personal Sovereignty

There are many components of personal sovereignty that lead toward greater freedom and independence.

To me, they can be grouped into four pillars.

Thought Sovereignty

You have to think for yourself.

Almost everything you read contains a hidden agenda, marketing spin, or outright misdirection. The ability to research an issue, analyze the facts, and reach your own conclusions is one of the most valuable skills you can develop.

As Canadians, we like to assume people generally have good intentions. That’s a good quality, but it doesn’t mean we should stop asking questions. Always consider what someone’s agenda might be and what’s in it for them.

People without thought sovereignty are often called sheeple. They simply think and do whatever the television networks, advertisers, fashion retailers, politicians, or governments tell them to do.

Food Sovereignty

Nothing makes us more dependent on others than our food supply.

The average Canadian buys nearly 100% of their food from a grocery store. Unfortunately, I have to include myself in that category.

Growing a garden is one of the best steps you can take toward greater independence. From there, the possibilities are endless. Raise chickens. Plant fruit trees. Learn to preserve food. Produce what you can.

Food sovereignty isn’t just about saving money.

It’s about knowing where your food came from, improving its nutritional value, and becoming a little less dependent on the modern food system.

The food you eat also affects every other pillar. Better food improves your health, reduces medical costs, and often requires you to think more critically about what you’re consuming.

Financial Sovereignty

Debt is financial cancer.

It destroys marriages. It traps people in jobs they hate. It quietly replaces freedom with monthly payments.

When it comes to debt, just say no.

Maintain control of your finances.

Don’t automatically put every dollar into an RRSP simply because your bank tells you to. There are certainly times when RRSPs make sense—especially if your employer matches contributions—but they aren’t the only way to build wealth.

Resist the movement toward a cashless society where every dollar can be monitored, controlled, or switched off.

Hold some cash.

Own silver and gold.

Invest in assets that produce long-term value, whether that’s efficient equipment, farmland, houses, productive land, or your own business.

Most importantly, think for yourself financially instead of blindly following the talking heads on television, the salespeople at your bank, or the bureaucrats in Ottawa.

If you’re interested in building more financial independence, you’ll probably also enjoy my article on Foreign Real Estate Investing for Canadians.

Health Sovereignty

Being Canadians, most of us have never known anything other than government-run health care.

I’m neither a lover nor a critic of the Canadian system.

It’s adequate.

By that I mean it’s generally very good at testing, diagnosing, and treating illness.

Where I believe it falls short is prevention.

The medical industry doesn’t make money from healthy people. Pharmaceutical companies don’t promote healthy living—they promote treating illness after it appears.

I believe your health is ultimately your own responsibility.

Eat well.

Exercise.

Stay active.

Learn about nutrition.

Prevent disease wherever possible instead of simply assuming medicine will solve every problem later.

Canadians should also understand that healthcare options exist outside our borders. Sometimes looking elsewhere is the best decision for your own situation, which is why I’ve written about Medical Tourism for Canadians.

Final Thoughts

These four pillars are the foundation of personal sovereignty.

I’m nowhere near perfect myself. I work on all four every day, and I expect I always will.

Personal sovereignty isn’t something you achieve overnight.

It’s a direction.

Every skill you learn, every debt you eliminate, every tomato you grow, every dollar you save, and every independent decision you make moves you one step closer.

After writing much of this article I listened to an excellent discussion by Jack Spirko on The Survival Podcast (Episode 985: From Pawn to Personal Sovereignty). I found it extremely inspiring, and if these ideas interest you, it’s well worth a listen.

Do you agree or disagree with these recommendations?

Are you working toward greater personal sovereignty yourself?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Getting started with Hunting

My Plans for Getting Started with Hunting

Even though I grew up in the country on a farm, raising and harvesting our own meat and poultry – I am slightly ashamed of saying that I have no experience with hunting.  I have never had a problem with hunters, and always wished that I had those skills.  But that seems to be the problem with hunting, most people who hunt were raised by other hunters (father, uncle, grandfather).  But these days you will find older non-hunters, such as myself, becoming interested in learning about hunting and then going out to the field or bush themselves.

I consider hunting to be an essential skill for anybody seeking personal independence and self reliance.  Not only are you harvesting natural resources that you did not have to feed or raise yourself, but this is also likely the healthiest meat that you can find.  Naturally bred, antibiotic and hormone free, non-GMO fed, natural spring watered, free-range, organic meat – Almost the way that nature intended for us to eat.  No factory-farmed meat can compare to the health benefits of consuming this natural resource.

Below you will find some of my initial thoughts on getting started with hunting, along with some of the information that I have gathered.

Hunting is an important part of the Food Pillar of Personal Sovereignty

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In the News: Toronto Power Supply Vulnerable

Toronto, the jewel of Canada.

Maybe this is an “In the News” category or a “Lessons Learned”

Recent storms in Toronto broke the one day rainfall record there.  Previously held by 1954 Hurricane Hazel at 121mm, the storms on Monday 08 July 2013 dropped 126mm of water.  Flooding roadways and overwhelmed storm drains are one issue, but the real problems that arouse involved the power grid.  Two major hydro power transmission and distribution centres were knocked offline due to the storm, which left hundreds of thousands of Torontonians experiencing rolling blackouts or even completely without power.

The real story here is the degraded electrical infrastructure in Toronto.

Disasters and major events could cause failures to the transmission system and lead to voltage instabilities or problems with electrical supply.  In this instance, the two transformer facilities were completely flooded out.

There is more than enough electricity generated in Ontario to feed the hunger of the city.  However, bringing that power to the city, then distributing it is problem.

A report referenced in the story shows that power generation within the Toronto region has declined rapidly since 1985.

This means that our nation’s largest city is completely dependent on the rest of the provence for its power generation needs.

With so many people not assuming responsibility for themselves and building up their own backup power capabilities, events like this will continue to occur.  A smart residential generator salesman would be capitalizing on this.

Read the full Global News article here: Toronto Power Supply Vulnerable

Though Toronto is unlikely to be a hotspot for people interested in self sufficiency, it is likely that events such as this will prompt some residents to realize that they are responsible for their own well being.  If this is you and you are beginning to explore self reliance: Bravo and Welcome!

If you are reading this, please consider getting an inverter for your car that could power some of your 120V items at home.  A standalone generator would be a follow up step after that.

Perhaps this is just another story show how government has no place being involved with highly technical corporations.

The leaders are voted in and out all the time.  Priority is given to short term results, not building long-term infrastructure.

 

The sign is basically a speed limit sign with a strike through; much like a no smoking sign

Speed Kills Your Pocketbook

How speed kills your pocket book

I live in the Vancouver area and recently viewed the video that takes a deep look at vehicle speeds, road safety, police ticketing, and how the media puts a spin on a story.

A major conclusion that is reached is that people drive with a speed that is reasonable for the road’s design, the weather and light conditions, and the capability of themselves and their vehicle.  The only reason that the white speed limit signs play a role at all is because they are afraid of being ticketed.  I have always been of the opinion that people are better off concentrating on the people and traffic around them, and having to watch their speed while looking out for the cops is dangerously distracting.  While reading this you will notice that I also agree that speed kills your pocketbook.

 

A case for speed limits

As pointed out in the video, there are times where some of the speed limits make sense.

School zones, tight urban streets, narrow residential streets with children nearby, and downtown access routes with heavy rush hour congestion.  Speed bumps are effective at this as well though.

It also makes sense that the speed limit could be higher for a dry road in day time, and then changed for nighttime, fog, rain, or other dangerous conditions.  Say a speed limit of 130, 140, or 150 km/h on the freeway during a dry day, but dropping to 120 at night, 110 when wet, or 80 when it is foggy.  You don’t have to have fancy digital signs to accomplish this – all it takes is some static signs and education.

 

Different roads need different limits

The example in the video is a perfect one.  Marine Drive is a well engineered and constructed road.  Three lanes in each direction, smooth surface, and wide curves – sounds like a 70 or 80 road right?  Nope its speed limit is 50 km/h in Vancouver, exactly the same as many narrow, crowded routes heading to and from downtown.  There is no comparison between the speeds I drive and my safety on the tow roads.  I don’t remember driving under 70 on Marine, unless weather and traffic dictate that it would be smart to do so.  But Main St is a different story, with cross roads, traffic lights, cross walks, merging busses, right turners, left turners, parallel parkers, pedestrians, and probably a dozen other road hazards.  My speeds on this street vary from 30 to 60 for the most part – hitting 80 on here would be reckless unless it was closed off to the public as part of a movie set.

 

Perhaps different speeds for different vehicles is a part of the answer

I have worked hard in my life and am blessed to have purchased a nice car.  I have also owned old pickup trucks, rented cheaper cars, and driven heavier shop vehicles.

There is no comparison between these vehicles when it comes to brakes and stopping distance, handling, tire quality, weight distribution, or all around effect on the safety of myself, my passengers, or drivers and pedestrians around me.

Why then, should I drive them at the same speed or have the same speed limit enforced.  My sports sedan can stop in 1/2 or 1/3 of the distance that my old pickup or shop trucks can.  Conversely I could probably drive 40km/h faster in my car than in the truck, and still stop in the same distance.

Some roads do have different speed limits for cars and transport trucks, and I applaud this.  But these are typically on freeways where stopping distance is less of a worry than on city streets, biways, or highways.  The practicality of different speeds for different vehicles is, admittedly, difficult to enact – but in this day of traffic police knowing everything about us from their laptops anyways, this is certainly worth discussing.

 

Are speeding fines just revenue generation for the police?

I can’t be the only one who thinks that some speed limits are enforced to help fill the gaps in police budgets.  A sort of involuntary user funding.  This is the most likely reason I can think of for the continued existence of the Marine Drive 50km/h zone.  In fact, in the video you will see how the Vancouver Police Department brags about the number of people it catches on Marine Drive during speed blitzes.  During the creator’s research, not a single car was going 50, in fact I believe that the average speed was around 70.  So when then does it seem that the speed is more intensely enforced on Marine than on Main?  Is it to dissuade speeders or is it to generate revenue?  A police car sitting by the road is just as effective at slowing down cars if traffic safety is their real desire.

 

My opinions on speed and safe driving

I have lived and driven in Germany and other parts of the world.  Travelling at 180 on the AutoBahn is not a big deal there.  The cars are made for it, the drivers are trained and experienced with it, and the roads are properly designed and constructed.  Oh and 180 is just a suggestion, some will drive at 150, some at 200.  People drive within their ability, their car’s capability, the traffic, and the weather conditions.  Signs slow people down when necessary, and this condition-induced limit is enforced.  Did I mention that the accident and fatalilty rate is much lower there than here?  The video presents the specifics figures – and they are significant.  My personal experience is that I feel much safer on a two lane Autobahn at 170 than I don on the #1 or 401 at 120 – because I am paying attention to my driving, as are others, and none of us are bored out of our minds and daydreaming due to the artificially low speed for the driving conditions.  In fact, I find that the only thing I am looking out for on those highways is a police car, because I really don’t feel like contributing to their slush fund.

Read the engineers’ speed recommendations, they are unilaterally more capable at setting them than politicians, civil servants, and others who just happen to find themselves in that position.  The recommendation that I saw was to set the speed at the 85th percentile speed of a large sample group.  Well I think that’s a reasonable place to start.  Just try it and watch the results, debating and predicting does little compared to real world results.  If the traffic is going to drive that speed anyways, then this is the prudent thing to do.  If this equates to 70 on Marine, then so be it.  In fact, removing the 50 signs and changing to 70 would increase the safety on the road, since it would limit the possibility of people driving 20km/h below the flow of traffic in fear of the police enforced driving tax.  Irrationally slow traffic is one of the most dangerous obstacles that I encounter on the road – especially when they stay in the left lane.  This causes other drivers to step on their brakes, pass on the right “undertake”, tailgate, or perform a number of other driving maneuvers that are much, much more dangerous that ‘speeding’

The sign is basically a speed limit sign with a strike through; much like a no smoking sign

Germany’s “No Speed Limit” Sign

 

You can view the “Speed Kills You Pocketbook” video right here:

 

Interested in more?

In support of the movement to raise speed limits on some roads, there are education & petition websites for BC and Ontario – please visit them if you want to learn more or to let this voice be heard.

Sign the BC Petition

Sign the Ontario Petition

Do you have an opinion on speed limits?  Have you received a ticket due to an unreasonable speed limit?  Are police in your area hiding to try and catch ‘speeders’ just in the name of revenue generation?  Or is your opinion different – I’d like to hear it as well.  Please comment below.

 
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In the News: Quebec banning religious garb

I am a minarchist and fully support personal freedom and liberty.  The government has no place in regulating or banning our clothing: whether it is for religious, political, or ANY other reason.  There should be no state supported religion – all countries and states should be completely secular.

 

Recently, the provincial government of Quebec, led but the Parti Quebecois, revealed their plans to ban wearing religious outfits or symbols by those in public service.  This specifically mentions turbans (worn by Sikhs and others), Islamic headscarves, Kippas (Jewish caps), and others.  I think this action is wrong.  Now, I will never go on a parade promoting these items, but I am not offended by them at all whatsoever.  In fact, I can admire a person secure enough in their religious beliefs to wear such obvious symbols of their devotion.  Essentially, if it is not causing us harm, hindering our freedom, or standing in our way of progress with our own life – then it is none of our business.

Currently I live in a multi-cultural, international city, I think it would be boring if everybody looked the same and wore the same clothes.  Different people, different languages, different foods, different cultures, and even different clothes make for a well-balanced society.

I think this is just a case of the provincial government creating sensationalism and wasting more money in an area where they have no right to be meddling.  Thankfully all of the opposition parties in the province do not support the ban.  But why is this even being discussed?  Why does the provence think that this is an area that they even have a say in?

Read the entire Globe & Mail article here: Quebec Reveals Religious Symbols to be Banned from Public Sector

As an aside, as much as I am the biggest fan of personal liberty, I do not endorse enforcing separate laws on separate groups of people (i.e. Sharira law), wasting tax payer money on translation services (if you don’t speak English or French – that’s your problem), and any sort of minority quotas or affirmative action.

These are all forms of government interference and/or waste.

What are your thoughts on Quebec banning religious garb?  Does this affect you?