jacee

Your dissing and denial is the best confirmation that you are nervous. Thanks for making my day!

"NPR" ??

Ya, like you did, right?

A lot of us "old protesters" are retired now, still activists, and some are on Wall Street. We're very impressed by these young people and they have our full support, financially (as we are able) and in spirit. We follow their lead.

There is international research indicating that free postsecondary education is very effective in preventing unemployment and related social problems (eg, protests, riots ) by ensuring that all capable students get that opportunity: Results indicated that there was no difference in achievement (grades, graduation rates) between students who could and could not afford it, when all were given the opportunity to attend. You can't have a family and live on $1400/mo. Even a single person would have difficulty, and these students have massive education debts. (Is postsecondary education supposed to be only for the wealthy?) At that minimum wage, families are better off on welfare. Is that what you're aiming for?

Ahh ... I see you are riled and nervous. Good.

A job would help. But that's not enough of course ... http://www.citywatchla.com/lead-stories/2304-occupy-wall-street-middle-class-issues Because in mainland China, utopia for the predatory corporate richEST 1%. They don't allow freedom of speech and assembly for student protesters. They just shoot them dead.

Ahhh so the oil guys like gridlock. More money in their pockets.

Bullshit Bill. Gee ... you sound just like the media that keep harping on and on and on about this even though the members support the negotiating team. You're saying that the remaining 900 members should sell out the 9000 pensioners. The members disagree.

http://www.cbc.radio-canada.ca/annualreports/2010%2D2011/eng/financials/ http://www.cwb.ca/public/en/about/investor/annual/ Now you could have looked that up.

Gee ... they failed to mention $20m or so that McGuinty spent appeasing people of Caledonia ... like the new Mayor.

Has no one ever explained to you that those "few experts" are usually in competition with each other and love to tear apart each other's work? Of course not. The people you listen to aren't researchers they're spin doctors. Whoever's paying them gets to hear what they're paying for, facts be damned.

Ahh yes, the anti-climate change, pro-oil blowhards ... but they're not biased!

Yes they are, which you would know if you read the research links already posted instead of running off at the mouth about "bias". Now why would we trust anything you say?

I know I'm talking about (accumulated) wealth, not annual income. @BC Oprah ... I guess a few stars do make it. Tell me BC, do protests against the corporate/finance establishments in over 100 US cities, with massive donations pouring in from supporters ... does that bother or affect you at all? You seem to be your normal curmudgeonly self ... I would have expected you to be kinda pi$$ed.

Gee ... and here I thought it was an employer's job to negotiate an agreement with their employees. Removal of the right to strike is going to be a streetworthy issue, for sure.

No I'm not. All government depts have open books. Even the government's G8 budget was open to public view. But who knew that "border security" required $50m worth of sprucing up Tony Clement's funders ..er voters .. er Mayors ... riding ... in Muskoka. I guess if they can fake a million dollar lake in Toronto, they can fake a $50m 'border' in Muskoka, especially when it buys Tony Clement an election. Yes, I'm in favour of open books. That's how I was able to track a $250m subsidy to an oil sands company that showed up as profit.

consumer confidence chart Just curious ... does consumer confidence/purchasing matter to the corporate world anymore, or are all their markets elsewhere as well? And I wonder what smaller businesses have to say about it?

Tell them what it's really about Bill ... US Steel wants to drop the cost-of-living increases for 9000 Stelco pensioners. A few steelworkers made a lot of noise but 30 people is only 30 people out of the 900 voting members. The right wing tv, radio and newspaper media made a big stink about it, but 30 votes is only 30 votes, despite the full force backing of anti-union media. Now there's a new offer on the table.

What it's really about ...

Our biggest 'social service' expense is health care. It will become increasingly expensive as baby boomers age. 'Austerity' in health care will mean lower life expectancies for us, currently. 79yrs for men and 84 for women. What country do you think we should emulate? China? Men 72 Women 76 http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy The other big expense for baby boomers will be CPP and OAS. Not sure how you think we can cut those expenses down for aging family members, and they do get pretty cranky about health care and their pensions. TO GET THEIR VOTES (They were threatening to vote NDP.) Harper had to promise his elderly voters that he would maintain the current 6% increase in health transfers to the provinces. And those are the compliant elders. Baby boomer seniors will be much more organized and vocal. Health care is very sophisticated and costly these days. Maybe there are some savings to be had by getting rid of the big pharma corruption, but health care costs will be going up a lot as the population bulge ages. Not sure what you are thinking in terms of cuts to social services but everything else is a drop in the bucket compared to health care, and there is already no wiggle room there. What are you thinking? Here's a study of the effects of Mike Harris' welfare cuts on single mothers and kids, who make up 80% of the welfare caseload and stay on welfare an average of 3 years. The study found they couldn't look after their children properly or get employment on reduced benefits. That would mean collecting them longer, so there weren't likely any real savings there. Cut them off? That's millions of starving children. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3552330 Cut people on disability off? Streets full of begging amputees? We already have streets full of panhandling people with mental illnesses. Just who is it you think is getting 'a free ride'?

Athletes don't make it to the richest 1% because their careers are short. Neither do rock/movie stars because they have large business costs.I found this interesting report evaluating countries' compliance with G20 agreements. Not surprisingly ...

What's it all about worldwide? The G20 "austerity" agenda imposed on our governments by the world corporate powers in Toronto June 2010, while Canadians' rights of freedom of expression and assembly were being violated en masse in the streets, the largest single violation of civil liberties in our history. ... AND NOT BY THE RICH, ESPECIALLY NOT BY THE RICHEST 1%, WHO WERE THE ONES AT THE G20 TABLE GIVING ORDERS TO OUR GOVERNMENTS !

Not quite the corporate war on workers we face today. Ford knew who was buttering his bread, and buying his cars. Corporations today don't have his brains. If the workers aren't working for decent wages, they aren't buying. Corporations are cutting themselves off at the knees.