FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| VIEWPOINT From mild Januarys to work-stopping snowfalls in March, Calgary may be one of the few places that should welcome and thank El Nino. At the very least, El Nino gives anyone cornered by ranting millennium-freaks a convenient non-apocalyptic explanation for the array of natural disasters that have plagued our little planet of late. With a few notable exceptions in the leisure industry, the strange truth about the way we look at the modern world is that El Nino and its natural disasters are good for the economy. In the twisted world of economics, there is little room for human suffering. As a social science, it attempts to use logic to understand the complicated and often irrational nature of human enterprise. Good economists recognize this flaw. The modern politician, the economist's half-witted disciple, does not have the same discerning view of the dismal science. Politicians somehow believe they are elected to take care of the economy, and that government policy can make booms out of busts. Unfortunately for them, more often than not, the economy takes care of politicians. Just ask Jean Chretien. An economic upturn re-elected his government despite a flood of biblical proportions. A buoyant economy has enough magic in it to turn Liberals into deficit-killers and Ralph Klein into a contender for federal politics. As for natural disasters and their place in the economy, Calgary's recent record snowfall is a shot in the arm for tree-trimming companies, towing companies and the auto-body industry. When the snow melts, all those folks who clean and fix Calgary's flooded basements will also enjoy an economic windfall. Every natural disaster in the industrialized world has the same dynamic. Someone has to pay for the party, but all those wonderful economic indicators that make mayors proud and get premiers elected go up. The ice storms that devastated Eastern Canada in January are the economic boom of February and March. All the work stoppages caused by the ice hurt Canada's economy in January. Now the work needed to repair everything is pushing Canada's economy forward again and keeping those sacred economic indicators rolling in the name of progress. If the glow from such an economic shock can continue in Quebec, it could even help the Parti Quebecois defeat Captain Canada - Jean Charest - and set the stage for yet another referendum. This charming little economic dynamic does not work everywhere. Most countries do not have the economic resources needed to rebuild quickly after a disaster. The UN and industrialized nations might send money to help a developing nation cope with the immediate effects of the disaster, but then they are left to deal with the long-term rebuilding on their own. Without the cash to recover, in most of the world natural disasters are economic as well as human. Calgary and Alberta have the money to prosper from anything El Nino can throw at us. We also have the resources to profit from other people's misfortune. Countries need oil, gas and wood to rebuild from their own disasters, and that can only put more money into this province. Human suffering can be awfully good business for the industrialized world. Just be glad you do not live south of the equator. |