MapleLeafAlliance

More like, the freedom to not have more money taken from my pay in the form of taxation so that unionized civil servants can continue to get raises every time their contracts come up for bargaining.

Many people wind up working in unionized positions because it comes part and parcel with the job they've applied for. The public sector does not need a union...nor should it be allowed one. These powerful unions that "protect" civil servants are the same ones that help get the legislators they "bargain" with elected...it's a huge conflict of interest. Unfair? It's unfair that the WI governor stop the practice of public sector unions extorting taxpayers for higher pay? If things were fair education would be entirely private, and the taxpayers would be left out of this mess. The governor is working to take that legal entitlement away...so my endorsement of that action is entirely valid. And given that it appears most of the voices here are in favour of the union, my dissenting voice adds plenty. Private sector unions won't be outlawed...nor should they be. Public sector unions will be outlawed eventually as our debt crises worsen. You can't get blood from a stone.

Just because your union fights for you to make $15/hour (for example), does not mean the labour you provide, the skills (or possible lack thereof) you possess, are worth that amount. Unions over-value inferior workers, and under-value superior ones.

"We" as in Canadians. No such thing as a free market? You're right, there is no such thing in Canada...at the moment. That will change...

Right, a period of unprecedented growth, wealth-creation, and technological innovation. A share of the profits? How about keeping everything you earn, as well as holding dollars with much higher purchasing power? A consequence of increased government bureaucracy, not the opposite. We are nowhere near an economy that adheres to the idea of "free enterprise"...we live in one of the most controlled economies in history. You want to talk about income disparity? The rich getting richer? You need only look at the size of the public sector, and the revolving door that is the corporate world, and the legislators who sit in Ottawa and Washington, D.C.. It might be convenient for you to blame our current economic troubles on "free market" ideology, but it only serves to show how clueless you are. Government subsidies and regulation have taken risk out of the market place, and allowed a wealthy few to exploit a much poorer many. You want equality? Sure, we all do...and greater equality is achieved through freedom. Greater government control means less freedom and leads to the kind of extortion we see going on with public sector unions, i.e. the teachers in Wisconsin.

Good post.

Amazingly enough I have read every page of this thread - and in the end decided to reply to the original issue at hand, instead of making an attempt at replying to all of the clueless hand-wringing that has dominated this discussion. We don't need unions, only the free market can properly determine what any given person's labour is worth.

It's called a ceiling for a reason...continually raising it negates it's purpose.

Unions protect inept workers, and forces employers to pay people more than their labour might otherwise be worth.

Reduce the size of government. In a truly free society where every sovereign adult is responsible for themselves - living with a system of laws that emphasizes personal freedom would not allow for one ethnicity's morals to become a binding law for everyone.

IMO,immigration needs to be even more open than it currently is.

While I don't agree with the Wildrose on everything...they're right about the PCs...they are a left-wing party like the Liberals.

There is a way that two companies or more can compete "with that kind of system"...and sure, bottling it and delivering can be an alternative. Or - the current piping, and overall infrastructure can be renovated/updated, built anew, or it can be sold - either to one company or multiple companies.

Defense spending and military spending are not the same thing. Defense spending is for when we need to defend our sovereignty. Military spending is when we interfere in the internal affairs of other nations. We will need to purchase newer, more updated aircraft to better defend our sovereignty from future threats - whether or not this means we should be buying those F-35 jets at this moment is up for debate. Maybe we should worry about getting our finances in the black first...then worry about buying expensive defense equipment.

Governments should not be legislating over drinking water. Drinking water should be 100% privatized. If you want to drink water infused with fluoride, and Vitamin C buy from Company A...if not buy from Company B...etc. Let the buyer choose, and let the buyer beware. Deciding what to or what not to put into everyone's drinking water is a slippery slope. Either we're free to choose for ourselves, or we're not...I prefer the former.

Faith is personal...worship whatever you like, however you like...but do it on your own time. Government is an administrative body, a workplace - not a venue for religion, superstition or other indulgences. When you work on the public dime - do the work - save your praises of Allah, Jesus, Buddha, Santa, Yoda, whoever - for your private time...y'know...when taxpayers aren't paying you to do things on their behalf.

A high dollar means greater buying power for Canadian consumers...hardly a bad thing.