Election: Who are you voting for?? (apartment, insurance, purchase)
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Me too. If he was still here I would vote for NDP and they would have a bigger chance of staying official opposition or winning. But now I predict Canada will be a liberal nation come next year. People are tired of the Conservatives and the Liberals have a fresh new face with great ideas. I'll definitely be voting for the Liberals next election.
I'm not advocating a never end to increased spending for public sector jobs but I don't buy your contention at all that the public sector jobs in place are either fake or useless. One thing I don't buy whatsoever is this notion that a 'vibrant' private sector where fewer and fewer are going to horde wealth is going to benefit us at all. If that is what you believe than keep dreaming about a responsible and 'vibrant' private sector.
If this vibrant private sector starts coming back to us than by all means lets start cutting public sector jobs - until then I think we're going to do more harm!
I am speechless... so you think rich countries are rich because they have powerful public sectors? If you don't rely on the private sector to create wealth, and who will create wealth? You know all those public sector pay checks have to be paid by someone, do you? Corporate tax, sales tax etc and most of which comes from the private sector?
I am speechless... so you think rich countries are rich because they have powerful public sectors? If you don't rely on the private sector to create wealth, and who will create wealth? You know all those public sector pay checks have to be paid by someone, do you? Corporate tax, sales tax etc and most of which comes from the private sector?
Well it is interesting that you say rich countries because within those rich countries who is becoming richer? The average joe or more and more the exclusive few? Why is it that more and more people are having a difficult time in these rich countries securing good paying jobs.. Could it be that we are shifting more and more to one side and that is to the side of the select few. In my estimation this is a bigger problem than the public sector in Ontario. My feeling is that many of the private sector employers in richer nations are increasingly shying away from being responsible and instead of paying a fair wage to their employees - they are becoming increasingly greedy and this needs to be addressed. I find it actually disturbing and it is something I fear greatly actually and not so much for myself but for my fellow Canadians and many citizens of the world at large - and you should too if you aren't part of the elite income earners with a grow profit and horde the wealth at all costs mentality.
You seem to think that I only want public sector jobs... this isn't true but what I am saying is in the here and now - until the 'vibrant' and responsible private sector starts coming back to us and starts providing fair wage jobs to my fellow citizens, I take a cautious approach to cutting public sector jobs (I work in the private sector btw) without a lot of thought. Not all public sector jobs are useless by the way and not sure why you have that notion.. Many public sector jobs are absolutely essential for a quality way of life in any nation including a highly developed one.
Now specifically to Hudak - if he said look Ontarians I am going to evaluate the public sector jobs in place and if there isn't going to be cuts to essential services and create more harm than good for the citizens of this Province - and I feel that these workers who have served us well, will be able to successfully transition into the private sector and into comparable employment than I will look at creating efficiencies. If he had this approach maybe i'd be listening to the man - Instead he says I'm going to cut 100K public sector jobs because they are the enemy... not sure what it'll look like or what the impact is but it is essential I do this at all costs.
I still don't think your average public sector unionized employee salary is the real problem.. The real problem is absolutely a shrinking middle class and ultimately we have a greedy, irresponsible private sector to thank for that who generally have the moral compass of Genghis Khan. Kudos to the Costco's and the ever shrinking number of responsible private sector employers paying a fair wage aside.
Well, I used Costco as an example to counter Tim's and Walmart, but that's just the retail sector where high-wages are a little difficult to maintain. I am sure you realize that Tim's corporate goal is not welfare for the common man. If you were the CEO of Tim's, would you just raise the wages of the workers to $20-30? Is that even sustainable?
You seem to think all bad about the private sector. But, given the right incentives, the private sector can create many high paying jobs. Take the new-age industries like information technology for example - helping start-up software companies is great for the economy. RIM in Waterloo, during it's prime days employed 1000s of people and paid them all high paying jobs. Google and the other Silicon Valley stalwarts employ many thousands, all at high salaries. Imagine having something like that in Canada.
So the answer is not more inflated public jobs. The answer is more industry, especially new age industries in science and technology. And remember, that the money for these inflated public jobs, like $30-50 for sorting flyers at Canada Post, is coming out of OUR pocket.
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Income inequality is absolutely the biggest economic issue of not just our time but increasingly into the future we go (its not a little bitty small font problem ) - not the TTC Bus driver and not Kathleen Wynne either. My feeling is that Timmy will do less for the common man than Kathleen will but I don't have a lot of hope either way to be honest!
Again, I agree with some of what you say about income inequality. But the blame does not rest solely with the CEO's who form the 1%
Well, I used Costco as an example to counter Tim's and Walmart, but that's just the retail sector where high-wages are a little difficult to maintain. I am sure you realize that Tim's corporate goal is not welfare for the common man. If you were the CEO of Tim's, would you just raise the wages of the workers to $20-30? Is that even sustainable?
You seem to think all bad about the private sector. But, given the right incentives, the private sector can create many high paying jobs. Take the new-age industries like information technology for example - helping start-up software companies is great for the economy. RIM in Waterloo, during it's prime days employed 1000s of people and paid them all high paying jobs. Google and the other Silicon Valley stalwarts employ many thousands, all at high salaries. Imagine having something like that in Canada.
So the answer is not more inflated public jobs. The answer is more industry, especially new age industries in science and technology. And remember, that the money for these inflated public jobs, like $30-50 for sorting flyers at Canada Post, is coming out of OUR pocket.
Again, I agree with some of what you say about income inequality. But the blame does not rest solely with the CEO's who form the 1%
I absolutely don't think badly about the private sector and I happen to have a good paying job in a not for profit private sector company. What I am saying is increasingly in my estimation at least, the private sector as a whole in many countries not just Canada is becoming increasingly irresponsible and wealth is not being distributed in a fashion that is benefiting the hard working middle class. Instead it is the select few who are hording the wealth and couldn't give a damn about the average joe. Sure we have many examples of the Private sector creating opportunities for good paying jobs with good packages, but increasingly wages, benefits and pensions plans are not keeping up or not to be found at all and people are suffering more and more. I'm not anti private sector and pro-public sector.. I'm PRO responsible private sector.
Funny you should mention Silicon Valley and the Bay Area... As innovative and high paying as these jobs are they are still for a very select few and the competition intense. The Bay Area has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the United States of America! Having said that, they do have a big schlong GDP and growth rate... for a very select few in the region.
Funny you should mention Silicon Valley and the Bay Area... As innovate and high paying as these jobs are they are still for a very select few and the competition intense. The Bay Area has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the United States of America! Having said that, they do have a big schlong GDP and growth rate... for a very few in the region.
Silicon Valley jobs may appear to be for the very few because the IT skills required are possessed by the very few. In fact, Silicon Valley has a hard time filling jobs and hires a lot of immigrants from India, China, etc. And I hope you realize that this type of income equality is an artifact of the technological revolution. In what world can you expect there to be no income gap between guys who can write computer code and guys who cannot read at the grade 12 level (and work in retail). Is it Google's fault that it pays the "few" 6 figure salaries?
So who do you blame for this inequality? The tech revolution?
Silicon Valley jobs may appear to be for the very few because the IT skills required are possessed by the very few. In fact, Silicon Valley has a hard time filling jobs and hires a lot of immigrants from India, China, etc. And I hope you realize that this type of income equality is an artifact of the technological revolution. In what world can you expect there to be no income gap between guys who can write computer code and guys who cannot read at the grade 12 level (and work in retail). Is it Google's fault that it pays the "few" 6 figure salaries?
So who do you blame for this inequality? The tech revolution?
You're thinking too small and of course there Is going to be income inequality based on skill but I think you'd have to be living in a cocoon to think it isn't getting worse and worse as time goes by... but lets get this straight - you really think that income inequality is the result of a lazy misguided populace.. Is that the problem? Is the problem that there are enough good paying private sector jobs available to support a thriving middle class but that they aren't being filled because people haven't embraced change and haven't got the proper training in the right fields.. Ok i'll buy that to a degree but fundamentally I think the biggest reason is because the power players in the private sector are becoming increasingly greedy and not doing more to distribute wealth... That is the overriding problem and that is what needs to be addressed. We can slash, cut and destroy the public sector all we want It won't address this systemic and fundamental problem.
As for the Bay Area, shall we say that it is a model region for the world when income inequality is as bad as it is there and that the majority are not sharing in the growth and prosperity of that region which is as rich as it is? How many people in the Bay area a population of 8.3 million people are benefitting from the tech boom there? But hey.... Sergey and Larry can afford to buy a Yacht the size of Manhattan so its ok - i'm sure they'll funnel that wealth down to the massess in the near future......
You're thinking too small and of course there Is going to be income inequality based on skill but I think you'd have to be living in a cocoon to think it isn't getting worse and worse as time goes by... but lets get this straight - you really think that income inequality is the result of a lazy misguided populace.. Is that the problem?
This has nothing to do with lazy misguided people. That may be a common perception, but I think I know better.
The problem, like I said, is an artifact of the times we live in. The manufacturing jobs have vanished and the service industry jobs cannot pay top dollar. Instead you have high-paying tech jobs that employ only a small proportion of the workforce. Therefore, I think it is foolish to blame anyone for the resulting income disparity.
We live in a time where 50-employee WhatsApp is acquired by Facebook for $19 billion. Who do you blame for this? No one! The idea here shouldn't be to blame WhatsApp and FB, but to create an environment that gives birth to more WhatsApps and FBs.
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Is the problem that there are enough good paying private sector jobs available to support a thriving middle class but that they aren't being filled because people haven't embraced change and haven't got the proper training in the right fields.. Ok i'll buy that to a degree but fundamentally I think the biggest reason is because the power players in the private sector are becoming increasingly greedy and not doing more to distribute wealth... That is the overriding problem and that is what needs to be addressed. We can slash, cut and destroy the public sector all we want It won't address the fundamental problem.
I disagree with that statement. That's not even close to the fundamental problem. And why should the private companies distribute wealth?
You need to create an environment where there are more of these higher paying jobs. Just because the middle class is shrinking is not a good reason to excessively fund something like Canada Post where employees make high wages to sort leaflets. I would much rather see a policy where the government cuts taxes and provides incentives to new-age start-ups.
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As for the Bay Area, shall we say that it is a model region for the world when income inequality is as bad as it is there and that the majority are not sharing it the growth and prosperity that they should be in a region as rich as it is? But hey.... Sergey and Larry can afford to buy a Yacht the size of Manhattan so its ok - i'm sure they'll funnel that wealth down in the near future......
Let's try and keep things in perspective please. Larry and Sergey need not distribute anything and can buy whatever they want. You cannot ignore the fact that Google has changed the world, and has helped millions of business indirectly, while also employing thousands of people around the world.
I much rather see Larry and Sergey on a boat the size of Manhattan than see Canada Post employees splurging in Manhattan on the tax-payers hard earned money.
This has nothing to do with lazy misguided people. That may be a common perception, but I think I know better.
The problem, like I said, is an artifact of the times we live in. The manufacturing jobs have vanished and the service industry jobs cannot pay top dollar. Instead you have high-paying tech jobs that employ only a small proportion of the workforce. Therefore, I think it is foolish to blame anyone for the resulting income disparity.
We live in a time where 50-employee WhatsApp is acquired by Facebook for $19 billion. Who do you blame for this? No one! The idea here shouldn't be to blame WhatsApp and FB, but to create an environment that gives birth to more WhatsApps and FBs.
I disagree with that statement. That's not even close to the fundamental problem. And why should the private companies distribute wealth?
You need to create an environment where there are more of these higher paying jobs. Just because the middle class is shrinking is not a good reason to excessively fund something like Canada Post where employees make high wages to sort leaflets. I would much rather see a policy where the government cuts taxes and provides incentives to new-age start-ups.
Let's try and keep things in perspective please. Larry and Sergey need not distribute anything and can buy whatever they want. You cannot ignore the fact that Google has changed the world, and has helped millions of business indirectly, while also employing thousands of people around the world.
I much rather see Larry and Sergey on a boat the size of Manhattan than see Canada Post employees splurging in Manhattan on the tax-payers hard earned money.
Well I agree - it is a changing landscape out there and it isn't working for most people.... You say create a climate but haven't we done that with lower than most corporate tax rates in this country and what climate exactly can you create that will curb the greed of private industry.. It all seems to put a lot of faith in people who you think have the best interest of the citizenry at heart - They don't!
I think we have to look at the system in place and say if it isn't working for the majority is there a fundamental flaw or not. If you are to agree that it is a fundamental flaw than perhaps we should do something about that. Otherwise, if you are happy that fewer and fewer can amass fortunes the size of nations and more and more wealth will go up and not down or laterally well than there isn't much I can do about that it is your choice.. In the meantime, if it makes you feel better to attack Canada Post and TTC drivers instead of those who have no end to their insatiable appetite for greed and power at all costs... well I feel sorry for humanity in the future if this is the world we are going to continue moving towards attacking bit players for the pitiful leftovers that the elite decide to leave us. Hey - at least we'll have Google glass!! yipppiiee
Well I agree - it is a changing landscape out there and it isn't working for most people....You can't fault anyone per se but you have to look at the system in place and say if it isn't working for the majority is there a fundamental flaw or not. If you are to agree that it is a fundamental flaw than perhaps we should do something about that. Otherwise, if you are happy that fewer and fewer can amass fortunes the size of nations and more and more wealth will go up and not down or laterally well than there isn't much I can do about that it is your choice.. In the meantime, if it makes you feel better to attack Canada Post and TTC drivers instead of those who have no end to their insatiable appetite for greed and power at all costs... well I feel sorry for humanity in the future if this is the world we are going to continue moving towards attacking bit players for the pitiful leftovers that the elite decide to leave us. Hey - at least we'll have Google glass!! yipppiiee
For the 1000th time ... I am not blaming anyone, especially not the Canada Post and TTC employees. I am taking about the system (in general) and I am only using Canada Post as an example of a government funded program that is squandering tax payer's money.
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) - not the TTC Bus driver and not Kathleen Wynne either. My feeling is that Timmy will do less for the common man than Kathleen will but I don't have a lot of hope either way to be honest!
... I am not blaming anyone, especially not the Canada Post and TTC employees. I am taking about the system (in general) and I am only using Canada Post as an example of a government funded program that is squandering tax payer's money.
