Royal Bank not very Canadian
- Thread starter tay
- Start date
Just for the record, I've worked abroad myself, so do have some experience there.
Agreed. It's about time we Ontarians started protecting our jobs from elsewhere. Same logic.
Agreed. It's about time we Ontarians started protecting our jobs from elsewhere. Same logic.
I know what you were driving at. My reply wasn't intended as a critical comment to you as much as it was directed at the double standard that we all have on this issue... I am as much to blame as the next guy
it's difficult to buy just Canadian in all areas because many people exist on minimum wage so Canadian goods are out of their price range and also, do we have the manufacturing capacity to produce everything we need?
I know that when I buy Walmart I can be supporting slave labour in India but sometimes there is no choice.
For some specialty items, sure; but I hold the same opinion as gerry here.
The reason that those alternatives are less palatable is strictly because the cost of those items are much higher and in the end, the less you support the local suppliers, the fewer that exist and it then turns into a self fulfilling prophecy
In actual fact Gerry we don't shop there, I don't have small kids, am not on a limited budget (yet) and I am not a shopper. I do recall looking everywhere for double sided velcro to catproof my screen and after several attempts in the mall we finally went in and picked it up there.
I used to go to Zellers but they tubed and not all that they carried was Canadian either...so I don't know what would equate to Walmart that is Canadian. And in actual fact little in any mall would be fully Canadian.
yes I agree...but you also have to remember that many Canadian retailers do not carry exclusively Canadian. Our clothing manufacturing base for example although there is a large industry it does not cover all.
I just buy the best quality to price ratio, without worrying whether it's Ottawan, Ontarian, Canadian, or even North American. I figure in the end if we keep buying from China, this will eventually push their wages up relative to ours anyway. Let the market handle it.
One thing I could agree on though would be a higher carbon tax so as to make the real cost of the products I buy more obvious. While it can have a similar effect to tarrifs, it's different. For instance, while it might discourage imports from China, it might encourage an Ontarian to buy from NYC and a Vancouverite to buy from Seattle. Also, unlike tarrifs, it would not only discourage imports but exports equally, so at to not become a beggar-thy-neighbour policy.
And of course I have no qualms about paying higher taxes for education for all. None of this involves beggar-thy-neighbour policies or policies aimed at demonizing 'those evil foreigners'.
Or alternatively, even better than a gas tax, would be if all the provinces agreed to sell off their crown resources at a higher price. This would help to push gas prices up just like a gas tax would, but also help preserve our limited resources and push our dollar down relative to other currencies, thus helping our manufacturing industry. But again, no tariffs or other beggar-thy-neighbour stuff.
One thing I could agree on though would be a higher carbon tax so as to make the real cost of the products I buy more obvious. While it can have a similar effect to tarrifs, it's different. For instance, while it might discourage imports from China, it might encourage an Ontarian to buy from NYC and a Vancouverite to buy from Seattle. Also, unlike tarrifs, it would not only discourage imports but exports equally, so at to not become a beggar-thy-neighbour policy.
And of course I have no qualms about paying higher taxes for education for all. None of this involves beggar-thy-neighbour policies or policies aimed at demonizing 'those evil foreigners'.
Or alternatively, even better than a gas tax, would be if all the provinces agreed to sell off their crown resources at a higher price. This would help to push gas prices up just like a gas tax would, but also help preserve our limited resources and push our dollar down relative to other currencies, thus helping our manufacturing industry. But again, no tariffs or other beggar-thy-neighbour stuff.
Send me the money and I'll offset my lifestyle for ya.
Let's start at $15k this year and we'll see how that goes
So what if we're not totally independent. Consider how much we export too. Immagine if other countries suddenly decided to shut their doors on Canada. Think of how many jobs would be lost right there. We cannot start growing bananas in iqaluit. Let us do what we do best and import the rest. Works much better that way.
If you lose your job I'll pay for your skills training. Deal?
Besides, it could be offset with lower income taxes, possibly, no?
Or alternatively, if we scrapped tarrifs, then while the cost of gas woudl go up, the elimination of any remaining tariffs woudl compensate at least somewhat. And consider too that the cost of locally produced stuff would likely drop in price owing to lower income taxes and minimal gas needed to market.
Honestly, i see a higher cost of resources to be quite a conservative idea seeing that it's about responsibility. If I choose to import a product from India, think of the pollution I created. Certainly I ought to compensate for the health issues caused by it, such as asthma sufferers, etc. no?
Whether it works much better that way is debatable. I do not buy all Canadian but I try to support my local merchants as much as possible especially the small ones They may import some of their food/goods, but they still live in my community. That's why I go to them because I am looking for certain products and they have them. For example in another thread I said we buy only BB phones...why, because they are manufactured in MY community.
Also when you buy imports you have to be careful that you are not supporting slave industry so while you keep touting your philosophy about demonizing "foreigners" it is not quite as black and white as you would like to pretend.
Of course. But then it's not about the government imposing tariffs, but about us being more responsible buyers. And generally speaking, slave labour is not building hightech stuff anyway; you couldn't trust them with that, too easy to sabotage.
And if you raised the gas tax, it woudl nip lowtech stuff in the bud anyway except stuff we really cannot produce efficiently in Canada such as bananas.
Also, if you raised my taxes and increased funding to education, suddenly Canada becomes an attractive destination for more knowledge-intensive industries, making it harder for low-wage countries to compete at least on that front.
Walmart employs slave labour when they do outsourcing. You seem to have zero problem with Canadians losing their jobs due to outsourcing. That was the point there.
As to increasing gas tax, would you not be imposing harm on low income earners or commuters? This would cause hardship, especially since they won't have a job due to outsourcing.
Actually I live in the Waterloo area. Our education level is extremely high in this community. We have two universities, and multiple colleges yet there are still job shortages. All it takes is for a few of your major employers to run into problems regardless of education. RIM (cutting edge of technology) got blasted...the job loss was terrible and then it impacts every merchant and other jobs in the whole area.
Any more than I have a problem with Ontarians losing their jobs to Quebecers or vice versa. As for slave labour, that's what labour laws are for, and it's up to each nation to pass its own. I am in favour of the democratization of the workplace via codetermination laws for example.
As for low-income earners, I'd be willing to provide the funding to upgrade their skills to compensate.
As for commuters, I could see lowering income taxes to low-income earners to compensate while also encouraging them to move closer to work or work closer to home.
That's why i said that a higher price for gas would reduce outsourcing. Why do you think I'd proposed raising tax on gas? For kicks n' giggles?
I agree my proposal was not a panacea, but what does a business struggling to stay afloat have to do with outsourcing? If Rim sales go down, it cannot outsource except to other towns in the world wth comparable education levels and wages, or lower. If it fails to find that, then it has nothing to do with outsourcing anymore but rather with the business going down.
Also, it has to respond to the market. Though i could easily afford a better phone, a simple huawei phone with talk and text is all i need, so why would I spend more money on a fancy gadget I'm not likely to use anyway? Not that Rim does not have its place in the market, but at the same time I can't immagine an Italian buying a Ferrari just to support the local economy. He's more likely to buy a Toyota.
so this big humanitarian kick of yours is bogus or at least quite "limited" in its scope...
wow you must be one very wealthy guy...good on you, awesome in fact. I think you may be a bit out of touch with the human learning curve...not everyone has an IQ of 120 or above. It's not as simple as you want to make it.
yeah okay.
Oh so now you are against outsourcing? So those poor people at RBC shouldn't just lose their jobs to evil foreigners for RBC profit increases due to outsourcing?
Also FYI, increasing gas prices will not stop Walmart from outsourcing.
It sure sounds that way since from a logical standpoint it will do zero except cause more problems for lower income and already marginalized peoples.
It's not just the WalMart's either. Internet shopping is taking a huge bite out'a
the local Mom&Pop shops as well as the bigger retailers too. Even if you think
you're dealing with a Canadian Online Shopping site (to buy stuff from anywhere
on the globe)....you might not be.
So true, I know one of my tattoo equip suppliers is completely virtual. They don't have a show room, no inventory, they're simply the middle man and more or less a buffer between distributor and customer.
I simply use them because they guarantee my shipment.
Ah yes in-sourcing, lay off already trained people and bring in citizens from another country to fill the positions left vacant by the laid off Canadians. Shouldn't we have some laws against that sort of chicanery?