blueblood

As well as American and European politicians. They're the ones throwing hundreds of billions away. I'd be fine if nobody got ag subsidies. As far as investing in industries that improve the economy and increase the value of exports, I'm all for it. It's a positive return on investment for any government. Spending money like how Liberals do when industries go south is pure stupidity. PMPM would throw a couple billion dollars at a problem split it up between hundreds of thousands of recipients which screws over the taxpayers and gets nothing done and brag that he's solved the problem. And you wonder why westerners hate the Liberal party... Now the Liberals want to spend money the same way on the auto sector throw billions of dollars at it and watch it get pissed away. Just because Liberals are complete idiots when it comes to overseeing industry doesn't mean you have to trash gov'ts investing in profitable businesses. At least when gov'ts invest in the oil and ethanol industry, there is a return on investment. Jobs are created, and our exports increase in value.

dp

Talk to the Europeans about that. I don't recall having a safe auto supply being on the same level of importance as a safe food and fuel supply.

The agriculture and forestry industries of Western Canada have been in turmoil for the past few years. Primarily the Beef industry from BSE and the Lumber industry first from the Softwood Tarriffs from the States and then the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation. The Agricultre and Forestry industries contributed $26.9 billion dollars to the GDP of Canada in 2007. Now, the Automobile industry contributes only $14.1 billion dollars to the GDP of the country, yet there is huge pressure on the Government for a bailout or stimulus for the auto industry??? Yet we want to throw a massive amount of money on an auto sector???

it must be close to a full moon. Just wait till the full moon, that's when the magic happens...

This eerily parallels on native land claims. The federal gov't of today didn't do anything to them in the early 1900's, yet they still have to go to court and defend the government. If the tories paid back the 54 billion, you'd be having a fit complaining about radical spending. It happened, it sucks, it won't happen again, next issue.

Those "tools" are also pretty useless when they aren't being used. Toyota realizes that by having good employee/management relations, that is a key to a successful business - Toyota treats employees well, employees don't unionize and gouge the company - Toyota ends up paying less salaries and has happier employees and better profit margins. Why can't left wingers grasp this simple concept?

he offered to work for a buck. If the CEO's can take that kind of a pay cut for all the important managing they do, surely someone who puts lugnuts on a car can work for minimum wage. I mean, the mechanics in the repair shops don't make near what assembly line workers do and the mechanics do harder work.

That would depend on what part of English Canada your in. That would also depend on which party's platform English Canada buys into. What English Canada wants is irrelevant. There are 3 national parties vying for government with 3 different philosophies. The question is what does French Canada want? They are the king makers and the ticket out of this minority gov't nonsense.

No argument there, cybercoma was suggesting that there was no balance of population in these provinces, I disagreed.

Really... BC, SK, MB, AB, NW ONT, PQ might disagree with you. However the ridings in the current system already do that.

They have the choice to put the dagger into the Liberals at the end of January.

Except for the Persians and Greeks...

No, Kevin O' Leary is a financial genius. I would rather him be finance minister than Flaherty, but he's too stinking rich and has too big of a mouth for politics.

even if he gets a majority, they'll "chretien" him. Say he gets his majority, the only reason he would have got it is by constructing a national crisis. That would not bode well in an election down the road. He has one more election IMO, majority gov't, minority gov't, or booted out of gov't.

That's three of us now...

Wrong! gov't of saskatchewan These are the costs and returns of producers in the black soil zone, which is what Manitoba falls under. If you care to do some math, the avg. person growing a canola crop earns 55K on 2000 acres before taxes. And 80K on 2000 acres of wheat. This sheet is when prices were good and this is in prime growing area. Note that is before labour costs are included, which is a variable too large to include in a gov't form. Penciling in Labour will bring these values down sharply. On top of that, there is income tax to pay yet. For operating a business, spending that large amount of money, those are razor thin return margins. Also those values are dependant on variables such as weather, disease, competance, and market price. When the gov't says it is releasing a bailout pkg. for farmers, it is according to these sheets a literal joke, as the amount of money split between admin and split between all the farmers results in a mere drop in the bucket. A better solution would be a tax cut and investment in policies that increase prices. You also have to remember farming is a top 10 most dangerous job. insurance.com Then there's my cows, that are currently an expenditure instead of income. Currently run 100 cow calf to pay for property tax of non-grain land. gov't of Saskatchewan Yikes! Don't let facts get in the way or anything. Then you say if times are tough, to flat out blow up the whole operation. I would be hit so hard with income and capital gains tax it wouldn't be worth it. Plus any money I'd get from interest from the bank would be taxed. The idea of you running a business scares the hell out of me. Then you want to bitch about hours farmers put in. They put in long hours at different times of the year. Sometimes it's sixteen hour days. If they don't put in those hours it affects their bottom line. There is no overtime pay at all. As for time off, we don't get paid vacation either. Only income is what we get in sales, or off farm income as wage earners. For all the risk that farmer's have to take, and all the work they put into their operations, and the fact a lot have to work off farm to supplement their income. Don't be equating burger flippers to us. Wage earners don't take risk and aren't managers and are paid accordingly. And you wonder why farmers get mad at tax time and at poor people...

Insurance, my 10+ dollar an acre crop insurance to the gov't of Manitoba that I use maybe once every ten years? Gov't bailouts? That 3-5000 dollars that I get from the feds when times are bad? In case you haven't noticed that farmers have to pay out of pocket to partly fund those programs. Then there is taxes. 2 yard sites, 2000 acres of land for property taxes. CHING!!! Sales tax on farm inputs CHING CHING CHING!!! Then there is income tax, lets not even go there. Gov't crop insurance costs a fortune, if you don't pay into it, you get ZILCH! Buying land results in having to pay property tax. Buying machinery results in having to pay sales tax and capital gains tax when you sell it. My REDNECK ASS we get more in government bailouts and gov't insurance than we pay out in tax, that has got to be the stupidest comment you have ever come up with. By the way, making those large purchases increases liquidity in banks and credit unions, and is money directly spent in the local economy, which helps everyone. If we hurt, the whole town hurts. You should really take an economics course and learn about fixed and variable costs vs. revenue. Those farmers take a huge risk by starting/continuing their business and by deciding to grow a crop every year and they get compensated for it. If you hate farmers like you do, keep your hypocrite ass out of the grocery store and grow your own food. That might mean a few dope plants might not be planted. Farmers have one of the most important jobs in the country, and are the reason that you get to enjoy cheap food at the grocery store. Going to a grocery store and running down farmers, that's hypocrisy at its finest. It shouldn't surprise you that most farmers are conservatives, we hate being punished for succeeding, something the NDP wants to do to everyone. Thanks to that post, I now know what being high is like, because I am stupider for having read that.

Why the hell should I be punished so somebody can have free money and earn a living on the side? That gives the incentive for some people to evade taxes and do the offshore bank account deal. Why pay pay taxes and invest in Canadian banks, they are just going to throw away my money. Drug addiction, piss on them. That's 100% preventable, why should I have to pay for their mistakes? Mental issues individuals can't really be self sufficient. If the vast majority of people want to earn a living, why is Brad Wall rolling around Toronto advertising jobs when a large portion of his province won't work at the numerous jobs already there?

he might pull a gop and cheap out on bailouts. The polls say bailing out the autosector isn't too popular

That depends on if Harper can successfully spin that Iggy is tied to an unpopular coalition.

that's why i use quotation marks. harper in essense is talking out of his ass in that regard.

it is a big one.

Because I'm not a hack. There are things I have to hold my nose for.

I thought they were trying to soak Lloyd's out of London, that's why. I'm perfectly aware that generosity = higher premiums. I only look at my neighbour down the road who plants his crop in June and collects crop insurance in Sept. when his crop freezes, thus screwing everybody with higher premiums (Good old gov't insurance)