An invitation to Canadians to rethink capitalism, democracy, and community—together

Would you join us in our blog, The Business of Questions?

This blog explores the real root causes of the stress, mess, struggle, debt, and worry that so many Canadian voters and consumers now live with every day. These reflections are shared by two ordinary Canadians:

• a common man from Ontario, and
• a retired United Church minister from the Prairie provinces.

Our aim is not only to raise funds to build a community-based centre that provides things Canadians need—but currently do not have. Our deeper goal is to lead by example.

Because “not only” is believing.

We cannot continue on the path we are on. It is not affordable for the 52% (or more) of Canadians living paycheque to paycheque, often in or near poverty. And it is not sustainable for taxpayers or donors either. This reality affects not only Canada, but much of the Western world.

So the real question becomes:

What are we going to do about it?

Too often, the hardships faced by ordinary people have been created—or made worse—because the majority of voters and consumers have left solutions to others. Somewhere between the era we nostalgically call the “Good Old Days” and today, we lost our way.

We lost:

• our sense of priorities,
• our focus on necessities, and
• our ability to think and act for ourselves.

As a result, many young people—and many ordinary Canadians—no longer believe they can achieve the North American dream that once felt within reach for so many.

Instead, we increasingly leave solutions to:

• the wealthy,
• elites and entitled interests,
• think tanks and “experts,”
• politicians, and
• a small minority of the electorate.

Today, roughly 25% of voters increasingly shape decisions for the remaining 75%, telling the rest of us how to live, how to think, what to value, and how our money and taxes should be spent. This is how capitalism and democracy currently function in our “troubled nation.”

Tim and I cannot speak for you—but we can invite you to think with us.

Because our current systems of capitalism and democracy are no longer working for the good of all.