WTF is “Productivity & Competitiveness”? —

 💸 WTF is “Productivity & Competitiveness”? — Breaking Down the Carney Budget

Mark Carney’s 2025 federal budget just landed — a massive C$280 billion plan over five years.

Here’s how it’s supposed to be divided:
🏗️ C$115 billion for Infrastructure
⚙️ C$110 billion for Productivity & Competitiveness
🪖 C$30 billion for Defence & Security
🏘️ C$25 billion for Housing

That second line — “Productivity & Competitiveness” — is the one that raises eyebrows. 🤨
What does it actually mean?

---

⚙️ The Fine Print

In government-speak, it often includes:
💰 Corporate subsidies (“innovation incentives,” “green tech funds,” etc.)
🏭 Industrial handouts for battery plants or data centers
🧑‍💻 Upskilling and automation programs (sometimes code for layoffs)
🚀 Export promotion and deregulation campaigns

In real life? It means billions going to big business, not the communities that actually create value every day.

---

🏡 What We Could Do Instead

What if those C$110 billion went into people-centered productivity?
✨ Universal Basic Income so no one falls through the cracks
🌱 Community gardens and local food networks
🖌️ Creative spaces and co-ops that make art, culture, and innovation accessible
🔥 Indigenous-led land and climate projects restoring ecosystems and knowledge

That would make Canada truly competitive — not in profits, but in care, resilience, and imagination. 💚

---

🤔 Reflective Question:

If you had C$110 billion to make Canada more “productive,”
what would you invest in first?

---

#MarkCarney #Budget2025 #BasicIncome #CorporateWelfare #HousingCrisis #ZipolitaWrites #CanadaPolitics #FutureOfWork