Bank of Canada Updates For Y'All

The Bank of Canada decided to keep interest rates at the same level of 0.75%. Can't say I blame them. I even predicted it. If the oil plunge tapered a bit and things looked like they were stabilizing, Poloz wouldn't “shock” markets with an interest rate cut. Tells investors that Canada isn't doing eh-okay. And we're not doing eh-okay, but don't tell the world that. They still look at our 2009 performance as the gold standard on how to do financial crisis. But 2015 (or 2016, 2017, etc.) may not be so forgiving for Canada. Our fiscal situation is a little worse than it was in 2009 and our oil/real-estate bubble has been inflated beyond recognition. Thanks Fed. You see what happens when you quantitative ease? You see what happens?

But that's not the Bank of Canada news everyone was talking about this last week. Central bank manipulation of interest rates causing malinvestments that set the economy up for a bust? No no, the news was all about “Spocking” the five dollar bill.

I guess Leonard Nimoy died and so fans took to defacing Laurier on the five dollar bill. Now I don't know what's more pathetic. That the classical liberal Laurier is on a central bank fiat note. That the man who said “Canada is free and freedom is its nationality” and promoted a decentralized federation, is on a paper that stands for the opposite of those things. And that generally people don't know this. They have more knowledge of Nimoy than Laurier and probably wouldn't object if Nimoy replaced Laurier as the permanent figurehead on the five dollar bill.

I don't know if that's more pathetic or what the Bank of Canada said: “Writing on a bank note may interfere with the security features and reduces its lifespan. Markings on a note may also prevent it from being accepted in a transaction,”

You know what interferes with a bill lifespan the most? It's decreasing purchasing power. Now bear with me, I know it doesn't look like it's any smaller. We're still using nickels from 1985 for crap sakes. But the lesson here is that the value isn't the actual money itself. It's what the money buys. What may prevent a banknote from being prevented in a transaction is its lack of purchasing power. But I digress, that's actually a reasonable quote coming from an official BoC source.

This is what grinds my gears: “Furthermore, the Bank of Canada feels that writing and markings on bank notes are inappropriate as they are a symbol of our country and a source of national pride.”

Fuck off. Leonard Nimoy inspired millions, if not billions, by his portrayal of the half-Vulcan, half-human Dr. Spock. What has the Bank of Canada done? Slowly impoverish a generation with its absurd monetary polices? The Bank of Canada is an inappropriate symbol of our country. It should be regarded as a source of national disgrace. Not to mention the five dollar bill dishonors Wilfred Laurier.