How Conservatives Use Economic Panic to Protect the Rich
Conservative scare tactics are made to manipulate, distract, and divide. If you’re busy freaking out over manufactured issues like dangerous bike lanes, unreliable electric cars, or a stranger’s pronouns, you’re not thinking about what you deserve as a citizen. You’re not demanding affordable housing. You don’t look into why billionaires are dodging taxes while you drown in grocery bills. You don’t notice that your healthcare is being chipped away by privatization while CEOs collect bonuses for slashing services.
It’s a formula that rarely varies: pick an easy target, scream that it’s a threat to you somehow, and hope you’re too stressed or exhausted to think it through. What infuriates me is that most of it has absolutely zero impact on your day-to-day life. Yet, way too many people get caught up in the fear-mongering created by the politicians, lobbyists, and corporate mouthpieces who benefit from your distraction.
The economy’s not collapsing because you recycled a Starbucks cup, the Liberals aren’t stealing your car, and no one is hunting your children with drag queens.
Scare tactics work because they’re loud, emotional and repetitive. They are specifically crafted to protect wealth and power, especially the corporate, white, and male versions.
1. The Carbon Tax Will Destroy the Economy
A true Canadian classic. Pierre Poilievre and Doug Ford frequently criticized the carbon tax, claiming it was bankrupting Canadian families, as if it were the root of all economic suffering. They acted like it’s some kind of financial apocalypse designed by sadistic environmentalists with a grudge against rural drivers. The truth? The carbon tax imposed a price on pollution and provided most Canadians with a rebate. Eight out of ten households got more back than they paid.
Who benefits from this panic? Pierre Poilievre got huge mileage out of his “Axe The Tax” election campaign. Oil and gas companies, obviously and the politicians and lobbyists who are bankrolled by them. It keeps the fossil fuel industry safe from transition and lets conservative leaders pretend they’re fighting for “the little guy,” while making sure nothing changes. In reality, the carbon tax had minimal effect on your cost of living and a massive effect on holding polluters accountable, so naturally, they wanted it gone.
Have you seen a significant reduction in costs (groceries, gaz, etc) since the carbon tax was removed?? I haven’t.
2. EVs Are a Liberal Plot to Take Your Car
I’ve already tackled this one in my first article, so I won’t dwell. But I want to remind you: no one is coming for your car. Melissa Lantsman’s breathless emails about being “forced” to buy an EV are pure fiction. What we’re really seeing is a slow transition away from gas vehicles, for the sake of the environment and our lungs. The only people threatened by EVs are oil executives and the politicians desperately clinging to their campaign donations.
3. The “Gas Stove Ban” Outrage
This one was almost comical. After the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission floated the idea of studying gas stove emissions for health concerns, conservatives lost their collective minds. Suddenly, the Biden administration was coming for your kitchen.
Fox News ran with it. Ted Cruz tweeted a picture of his gas stove, as if it were under siege. Even Pierre Poilievre made vague references to “woke control freaks.” In Canada, the panic never reached quite the same level, but the rhetoric popped up in anti-regulation circles.
No one banned gas stoves. No one is planning to. The entire tantrum was about stoking resentment against anything resembling regulation. It was an outrage campaign over a non-issue, designed to keep people paranoid and distracted.
Who benefits? Gas appliance manufacturers, fossil fuel lobbyists, and the politicians they sponsor. And you? You still have a stove. Congratulations.
In the meantime, high-end restaurants are replacing hot and smelly gas stoves with induction cooktops. You may also want to consider this.
4. “Socialism” Is Coming for Your Paycheque
This scare tactic is the height of hypocrisy perpetrated by the wealthy on the masses. In both countries, any policy designed to make life slightly more fair is met with the same hysterical cry: “Socialism! Universal healthcare? Socialism. Paid sick days? Socialism. A livable minimum wage? Full-blown Marxism. OMG!
In the U.S., this tactic has been used to kill Medicare-for-All and block student debt relief. In Canada, it’s used to justify public sector cuts, union busting, and privatization. Poilievre has repeatedly promised to gut the CBC, and his party routinely rails against public services as bloated and inefficient, while ignoring the billions handed out in corporate welfare.
Who benefits? Not I. But billionaires, tax dodgers, and multinational corporations that don’t want to pay fair wages or contribute to society do.
5. 15-Minute Cities Are “Climate Lockdowns”
This conspiracy theory originated in Europe (UK specifically) and quickly spread to North America. This scare tactic claims that 15-minute cities, which aim to make everything from groceries to schools accessible on foot, are tools of government control; giant prison-like compounds. Poilievre supporters and Danielle Smith acolytes seized on the claim, arguing that this was about “restricting movement.”
It’s not. It’s about improving your quality of life. This nifty little fear campaign protects the car and oil industries, suburban developers, and right-wing pundits who need constant outrage to stay relevant.
For the average person? It changes nothing unless you happen to enjoy spending more time in traffic.
6. Digital IDs Are a Globalist Control Grid
According to the fear machine, digital IDs are the gateway to totalitarianism. In reality, they’re opt-in systems designed to streamline access to government services, like faster license renewals and secure healthcare records. But right-wing influencers, particularly those in anti-vax circles, spun this into a nightmare scenario where your every move is tracked by Klaus Schwab and the ghost of George Soros.
Any form of ID can be hacked or misused, including driver’s licenses, health cards, credit cards, and even paper ballots. The idea that digital IDs are uniquely dangerous is just dishonest. Most of the fear-mongering ignores the fact that digital IDs are usually opt-in, encrypted, and often more secure than traditional ID systems, which are easier to lose, steal, or forge.
If you’re worried about privacy, fair enough — we should always demand transparency and regulation. But pretending digital IDs are some kind of globalist leash while happily handing your data to Facebook, Google, and your grocery store loyalty app is a sign you’re uninformed (and maybe a bit gullible).
This panic plays well with conspiracy crowds and helps grifters sell supplements, VPNs, and survival gear. It also gives politicians like Poilievre a convenient boogeyman. Who benefits? Anti-government hucksters, tech-paranoid influencers, and data privacy alarmists monetizing fear. Your life? Basically unchanged, unless you enjoy long lineups and paperwork.
7. Immigrants Are Stealing Your Job
This gem is the oldest trick in the fear playbook. From Trump’s wall-building fantasies to Canadian complaints about refugee housing, conservatives love to blame immigrants for everything. According to them, immigrants are stealing your jobs, using up healthcare, and causing the housing crisis. Spoiler: they’re not.
Most economic studies show immigration boosts GDP and fills critical labour shortages. The real problems are corporate greed, government mismanagement, and underinvestment in housing and infrastructure. But it’s a lot easier to punch down on immigrants than to confront billionaires hoarding wealth.
This BS benefits populist politicians, developers dodging accountability, and right-wing media outlets that profit off racism and xenophobia. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left with a more divided and less compassionate society.
My conclusions
We should all be furious that we’re being manipulated this blatantly. These so-called champions of the people are out here fear-mongering about gas stoves and EVs while their real agenda is protecting corporate profits and keeping billionaires comfy. It’s not about you, your interests or your freedom. It’s a strategy that relies on distraction, division, and just enough panic to keep you from noticing who’s making off with your future. And the worst part? It still works.
