How Much Can You Afford to Pay

Gas prices went up here yesterday, to $1.32 a liter.  The Loonie is at a record high of about 5¢ more than the Yankee buck.

Can you afford it?

Thing to realize is that gas prices, means increased shipping costs and manufacturing costs, for everything. From growing wheat, to raising cattle, to building solar panels.  It all is going to cost more, and the so-called experts expect Gas Prices to only continue to spiral upwards, more.  Gold is at some insane price, as well.

A high Loonie, means that everything we bring in, such as all that cheap crap from China, will also cost us more.  And we do IMPORT a lot of stuff these days.  Last I heard was that over 60% of our consumables, purchases, were Imports.

It also means that what we sell to other countries, just got more expensive too. See we don’t trade on the International Market in the Loonie, we get paid in Yankee Dollars, which is then converted into the Loonie.  So yep, our exports cost more, as we have to raise the price, to compensate for the High Loonie.

Can we say Recession Round Two?

We didn’t learn from the last one, so naturally history is going to keep on repeating itself, until either we self destruct, or learn the lesson.  High Gas Prices do impact every aspect of our life. From food, to clothing, to simply breathing.  Everything now is going to cost us more, and what is our Stevie Boy going to do about it?

• More Tax Cuts to the Oil Industry?
• More Corporate Bailouts while Cutting Jobs?

Is this really the type of man we want in charge, for anouther Recession?  He gave out BILLIONS to his corporate buddies, that invested 1/10th of that money back into our infrastructure. They got fat raises, we got pink slips.

Anyone But Recession Causing Harper Conservatives

Job Statistics are Funny unless you are Unemployed

If you have a weird sense of humor, aren’t unemployed or working at what is called a menial job, the stats on employment can be a good laugh, or at least a chuckle.

For example, the number of part time jobs fell while the number of full time jobs rose.

Nice right? Question is, what wages did those jobs deal in? Did the part time drop come in those so called menial jobs?  Did the bulk of the increased new jobs come in the high paying category, or where they also in menial jobs?

If you read the brief info, well it seems that once again the Hospitality Industry (flipping burgers at A&W) led the pack in new jobs.  Doesn’t say much else, though it did say Construction had some nice gains.  Course, construction jobs cover all ranges of the pay scale. Where those increases in ‘gophers’ or in trades people?

We have Stevie touting how he’s brought us out of a recession, yet how many are now living on less income?  After all, when your EI Benefits run out, you are now considered ‘working’.

It can be very simple really. Why not simply list the amount of jobs right now, at various pay rates. Then count how those change.  If we have 100 people working at $8 to $10, if we have 100 people at $10 to $15, if we have another 100 at $15 to $20, etc.  we will know exactly where the jobs are at.

Does it really matter what industry they are in? Shouldn’t it really be at what level of earning they are at, that determines whether or not we have an economic growth, or downturn?

Rising Unemployment

The Harper Government continues to show its inability to grasp some key elements, in what it means, to be a Government. Mind you, Big Business is not much different, in that it has forgotten, how they became a giant corporation.

Unemployment in Canada has risen to an eleven year high of 8.4%, and many claim it could top 10% before beginning a downwards trend. Now that isn’t healthy, but there is also the untold aspect of all this.

To begin with, jobs lost are measured against jobs gained. However, it is like saying, how many fruit trees had fruit, versus how many didn’t. Not all fruit trees blossom at the same time, nor does it take into account, the different type of fruit trees. Just as the unemployment statistics don’t take into account, the numbers by sector.

Sure, within the figures are individual stats, for manufacturing, construction, etc. but not in the overall numbers given to the public, or at least reported by the biased media.

While part time jobs were increased, it doesn’t say at what rate of pay. So while those numbers help offset the jobs lost, it isn’t a true picture of the job market.

Fact is, we are losing jobs in the sectors that PAYS ABOVE  minimum wage.

We are gaining jobs, in the sector that PAYS AT  minimum wage.

Now, I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that the more who earn minimum wage, the less one’s buying power becomes. The less likely are those going to buy new cars, new washing machines, new homes. How can they, when they can barely afford food?

All this talk about how so many in Canada have become ‘self employed’ is just a way for the Harper Regime to claim it is doing a good job, managing an ailing economy. Truth is, if one takes into account the number of job losses in high paying jobs, and the number of high paying jobs being created, we’d see a lot higher rate, and we’d also see, just how incompetent the Harper Government is.

We’d also see why it makes no sense to pour billions of taxpayer money into the corporate coffers of  companies like GM or Chrysler.  The result of all that money, is that workers in some other country will benefit ( being employed ) while we’ll be putting our workers, in the unemployment line, or in minimum wage jobs.

THAT IS SIMPLY STUPID.

Unemployment Continues to Rise

Protectionismis a naughty word in the United States & Canada. For some reason, wanting to protect Ono’s own is somehow, wrong, somehow unacceptable on a global stage.  HOW?

With Unemployment hitting record highs in Canada, one has to wonder about Globalization and the inability of National Governments, or Regional, to protect our jobs. Take the Billions being given just to General Motors. 60% of GM hourly wage earners in Canada are about to be put on the unemployment lines, and the drain on our resources will only grow.

Canada’s unemployment rate in March climbed to a seven-year high of eight per cent as the economy shed another 61,300 jobs. ( source – CBC News )

It is a double edged sword, because it is taxpayers who are paying for those billions to GM, and it is taxpayers who are paying for the EI benefits these out of work auto employees will be drawing on.  And that is rapidly becoming a dwindling pool as well. After all, those losing their jobs, are the one’s who have been paying into the fund, along with the companies.

Makes you wonder too, at how we can import migrant farm workers, when more and more people are losing their jobs?

Then too, we are so wrapped up in bailing out companies like GM, we aren’t providing enough resources to the very industries that actually create long term employment, which is small business.  I think we are too enamored with the big dollars, versus the small but steady income from smaller operations.

The Auto Industry employs a large number of people, which is true, but you know, the collective number employed by small business is dramatically more, and if we started protecting our smaller industries, we would have a lot more higher paying jobs being created, than lost.

You know, the ancillary industries provide more jobs than the auto industry, so wouldn’t it make more sense to beef up their business, to help them diversify, than to pour the billions into just the one aspect, hoping for a trickle down effect?

Giant Conglomerates have one concern, their bottom line. Smaller business, is also about making money, but isn’t so rigid about how much it must make, unlike companies like GM or Chrysler. Yet Government continues to IGNORE those smaller industries.

Makes you wonder a bit. If we put the 4 Billion we are giving to GM, and spread it out among several much smaller operations, would our unemployment be at 8% or would we even be in an economic recession? After all, isn’t the cause of this entire economic mess, due to the globalization impact of the Oil Industry & the Financial Markets in the USA?

Something to consider, as we see more job losses happen in the sector we are pouring billions of our money into, supposedly to protect those very jobs, that are now being lost.

GM Cutting Jobs, Hand Still Out.

General Motors announced it is going to cut hourly wage employees from 10,000 to about 4,400 over the course of the next few years. It is also shutting down its Pontiac division, concentrating on its other brands instead. In the USA it will match the cuts for hourly employees, from about 60,000 to 40,000.

GM will also cut more of its U.S. hourly workers. The company said its U.S. blue collar workforce will decline from roughly 61,000 in 2008 to 40,000 in 2010, and level off at about 38,000 starting in 2011. ( source – CBC News )

GM is expected to get a few billion dollars from the Harper Government, to help it survive these tough times. Hell, Canwest (local television conglomerate)  is even running ‘public service ads’ to push people to visit car dealers, but now, with the announced cuts and closurers, with more to come, how about stepping back, to see if we are getting value for our tax buck?

I mean, just what did those few Billion Dollars buy us, here in Canada?

Did it insure plants would remain open?  Obviously Not.

Makes you wonder, if the plants weren’t always going to be closed, in order for GM to meet the requirements of the US Government, and merely played Harper & Ontario for some quick cash.

Then too, it did get some nifty wage concessions from the Union, with help of pressure from Harper, so one has to wonder, was this a ploy to simply rip off the employee & taxpayer?

Did it insure job losses would be kept to a minimum?  Obviously not with a cut of 60% due in next few years.

A 60% job loss isn’t what I’d call minor, and it certainly does look good, for when it goes back to Congress again. After all, it shows they cut 60% of their foreign labor force, while only cutting 30% of American Jobs.  Now that should make the US Congress happy about giving them a few more billions, don’t you think?

Course, it sort of makes you wonder what side deal Harper & Flaherty have made, because frankly, giving them billions of our money, and then get whacked with a cut of 60% of  wage earners, isn’t what I’d call a good deal. So is there some secret clause, that maybe makes this all palatable?

So just what did we get, in return for the Billions given to General Motors? And what will Chrysler do? Close all its plants, after it gets it’s share of my tax dollars?