geoffrey

Just pull a Greece: borrow and don't raise taxes. Don't worry, with all the moral hazard now, someone will bail them out right? China?

Does Toronto not have an international airport then? That's an hour away in rush hour. Damn, what a third rate city, no international airport? Ha. Bike trails in K-country are less than 45 mins from my house. Closer than Pearson to say East end Toronto. So nice try. I will credit Calgary for the Rockies.

I recently went on a trip to a variety of big cities, Canada and US for work. Coming back to Calgary was somewhat refreshing. While the city has grown substantially, I still enjoy the feel of the city. Not to mention getting on my bike and into the Rockies was a great feeling after some time away in smokier, smellier cities. Calgary is fresh. That said, it's not for everyone. It lacks culture, lacks good food. It's a boring place, clears out at 5pm. Though it is getting better, it's got along way to go. But in terms of a place to raise a family, Calgary is #1 in my books.

I'd argue it's more based on arbitrary constitutional allotments than anything. A Newfie or PEI'er are worth more than myself under the constitution anyways. So in Alberta we can lie all we want on our census, we will always be under-represented compared to the Atlantic provinces and much of the rest of Canada.

MSJ: I will suggest that the decrease in home equity upon purchase is as much a function of higher home prices than it is of any sort of regulatory change. Maybe 50/50. It's an important point. And it's also why central banks need to lean into asset bubbles. Asset bubbles pose systemic risk... far more than Goldman Sachs or AIG does/did. The ignorance of central banks regarding this is a bigger risk than CMHC changing their mortgage term conditions for securitized mortgages.

So if you take out massive amounts of loans that you can never repay it's the lenders fault? You don't have any responsibility for your financial situation? You should max out all debt until someone stops you? If they don't stop you quick enough it's their fault? What? You live in some bubble with a strong culture of entitlement. The reality is that you alone are responsible for your financial situation and if you go bankrupt, you only have yourself to blame. You failed. Not the bank. Not anyone else. You failed.

I tend to agree. I would have cut off their support payments until the barricade came down as well. Without financial assistance, these reserves are impovrished banana republics with no real ability to do much. It's hard to man a barricade when you haven't eaten in a few days. Then go in and arrest them. If they don't to be part of Canada, that's fine, but then they starve to death. Their choice really. Maybe Chavez will send them food aid? Not I though. They had their chance here. It's time to just end the support outright if these individuals can't abide by our laws. Further, all Canadians are entitled to equal protect by law enforcement. This kind of nonsense can't be tolerated. I don't care about sensitive feelings on reserves. Militant violents needs to be met with overwelming force. I wouldn't have protested one bit if McGuinty approved the army coming in and running over the barricades with tanks. That would have been a solution. Because then maybe they'd get how a democratic country works. It doesn't work through terrorism and violence. The state has an obligation to response with overwelming force against anyone and everyone that doesn't agree with that. Our society rests on that. Canadian soverignty rests upon that. Militant terrorist cells must be eliminated, whether they are Indian, Islamic or any other group. These individuals are terrorists.

A few banks did that, but millions of Americans that bit off more than they could chew did that too. Money goes from the responsible to the irresponsible. That's the way government works. Like I said above, the banks should have been allowed to fail and everyone that needed a morgage bailout should be living in a gutter. That would be equity.

Ya, but it's another bubble Kimmy. I haven't gained any real wealth because of this, it will all go poof. Out of my pocket in taxation and back in through inflation? No, I don't think so. Anyways, there wasn't any bank/mortgage bailouts in Canada anyway, so none of us "fat cats" made any money off the taxpayer here. Instead all my money went to uneducated hoodlums building cars for six figures in Ontario and extended EI benefits for deadbeats in the Maritimes. The artifical depression of interest rates is another topic all together. But what I gain by having idiots buying houses they can't afford I lose in diminished investment returns. And in the end, the bubble will pop and my money will go again to supporting unsustainble union jobs and that sort of thing. Well, actually if we are talking about the US, the people that were propped up are those that are getting their mortgages repriced by the government because they bit of more then they could chew. That's anti-Darwinian. These people could never afford a house, but instead they thought they could afford the six bedroom mansion. They buy it and default, destroying the economy in the process. Yes, the banks should have screened better, but your still repsonsible for your own financial decisions. I'd be ok if you let Lehman Brothers fail and AIG executives starve. But American families should be sleeping in gutters and eating from food banks for their stupid as well. You can't only target the executives because they drive nice cars. The average greedy individual is just as responsibile. They should be homeless and starving. Not enjoying their house in a government subsidized mortgage while the responsible people earn their keep and housing. Huh?

Gold is about $1,180 Canadian right now. Gold isn't close to it's high in Canadian dollars. Gold reached $1,237 back in February. But since the USD has bled out since, if you held gold from February on, you've lost money. Gold has moved since I originally posted this in Canadian dollar terms, but not any more than your basket of Canadian equities. I still contend gold is a poor investment for non-USD earners/spenders. You will make more money elsewhere.

If everyone wasn't panicking about nothing, there wouldn't have been the long line ups. The government underestimated the mass hysteria and ignorance of reality.

The bailouts mostly benefited low income individuals in that they can now secure mortgages again that they'd never qualify for from a reasonable financial institution or at reasonable interest rates. For the middle and higher income among us, we got hosed.

A bet on gold isn't a bet on gold as much as it is a bet on the US dollar. In fact, Canadian's holding gold really haven't made much money in the last run. Gold is relatively flat in Canadian dollars. It's just in US dollars that it has skyrocketed (I bet your Canadian dollar jeweller didn't tell you that). If you believe the US dollar will continue to decline, you can hold gold to profit from this... but your profit will be in lower value US dollars. Which does nothing for you in Canada. For gold to increase in Canadian dollars, you'd have to believe in a relative devaluation of the CAnadian dollar... which would not happen without a reduction in the real strength of gold (well, at least I can't forsee an economically reasonable way how it could happen). So you can use gold to hedge US dollar outflows, but it makes more sense to just hold loonies (or some other attractive currency like AUD or CHF). If I was an American with living expenses in US dollars and income in US dollars, I'd be buying gold. As a Canadian, it makes absolutely no sense to hold gold in my opinion. Unless your preparing for some doomsday scenario (like nuclear fallout or something). Then maybe it has value.

The beauty of the free market system Dobbin is that you can start your own private equity firm and do the same thing. It's all fair. The owners torched their own company. Do you propose to force owners to run profitable businesses? Never take dividends? What? What exactly do you propose to prevent people from running their businesses as they see fit?

He did to get things back on track, but then restored funding and starting adding rooms again. Now, Stelmach is closing them down. Things were getting better. Not any more.

Seriously jdobbin, frustration with the Tories out here is reaching a peak. Even I have grown completely tired of their same excuses. Under Stelmach, our province has declined sharply. He enacted punishing oil and gas royalties which pushed investment to Saskatchewan and BC. We are now closing 350 emergency room beds this month to save money. Things aren't good for the Tories. They are taking the wrong side of every issue, then switching back and forth. They are ship lost at sea. Further, they have taken an arrogant stance towards the media and the people of Alberta. Just watch some clips on YouTube of Health Minister Liepert: It's time for some new vision out here. The Tories seem unwilling to do anything. I will be supporting the Wildrose Alliance next election, I have even taken out a membership. I am no longer interested in having this group of arrogant incompetents running my province. In the couple short years that Stelmach has had power, this province has declined rapidly. We actually do have children being treated in tents at hospitals, 12-18 hour waits in emergency rooms, women having miscarriages in public because no rooms are available, etc. etc. Our health system is an absolute disaster. DISASTER. We are quickly becoming a third world health care region. I am thinking of leaving this province (and probably the country) as a result of how mismanaged this place is. Not just health care but taxes, business, land use, etc.

Hmm, yes, suburbia is bad here. But nearly as bad in Edmonton now as well, so I'm not so quick to use that as a distinguishing factor. The west end of Fish Creek park is much nicer than the river valley in Edmonton. Or the mountains in Bragg Creek, 30 minutes from the south end of town.

I agree that outright hyperinflation is unlikely. However, there will be a large adjustment to the average American's standard of living with the dramatic increases in taxation and the rising cost of foreign produced and commodity based goods over the next decade.

Just like how Obama thinks he's going to reduce nukes, solve world hunger and somehow provide health care to everyone without raising taxes? Ya good luck. Tax havens have existed since taxes did, and will continue to do so. Obama is a naive, foolish, academic. He knows nothing about the real world. He's a political puppet, a hack, a tool. He's done in 3.5 years. Thank goodness. The markets aren't pricing that in though, they figure he'll stick around and drag the US lower and lower. Now that people have a perspective about how Obama can never pay back the debt he's accumulated in the first few months of office, the markets are reacting quite negatively. This will continue.

Did you hear about the three white guys that beat up a white guy? Oh no? Why? Do you have a link or something or are you just full of it?

True, if your from Toronto. But there is a Canada outside of the 416/905 area codes hey. Maybe you should become better acquanted with it. Or not. The Liberals certainly don't. Let's see... the radicals seem to be the Liberals. They only win seats in three cities! And have a lower share of the vote. So they are the outlier. The weirdos. Whatever you want to call them. Certainly not Canadian to the rest of us that exist outside of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Your absolutely right. But considering that the US isn't really on level terms tax wise with many of it's competitors is a problem. Obama's desire to shut off offshore entities will further push money outside of the country. Things don't look great in the US right now for business. And taxes are only going up, way up, in the US in the short, medium and long-terms.

MSJ is correct. It's really a bunch of non-sense, the CPC cuts that is. Tim Horton's isn't moving to Canada because of Harper. They are fleeing the US because of Obama. The tax increases your about to see on corporations in the US over the next 4-8 years will be staggering. Canada is a much superior place to do business TODAY. It wasn't a few years ago. There's a combination of Repulican and Democrat issues there, but the reality is, the US needs to raise taxes substantially in the near term just to fund their debt and other unfunded state liabilities (medicare, etc.).

Essientially anyone can be a chief agent. Do you not have any friends or supporters that may be interested in helping you out?

It seems like people think that CPP is there to protect people. Not sure how? If you didn't have CPP deducted and invested that money instead into an RRSP, you'd be just as well off (probably better than). If someone doesn't have the discipline to save that? Too bad. They can suffer. Me on the other hand, shouldn't be susidizing the retirements of others while earning inferior returns on my assets. Give me my money back!