'Pass it off to the customer,' billionaire Jim Pattison says of rising business costs

MyOpinion

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Pass it off to customers???
Why is anyone surprised or upset at that? That is business as it has always been. If it costs more ot do business, be it from the manufacture or supply chain or government mandates, the additional costs have always been passed on to customers.
For business and it's shareholders, profit is the key and always will be. No other reason to build, manufacture, ship or sell if it is not for profit.
 

MyOpinion

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Either we need to invent warp drive and meet vulcans or we gotta start thinking of a new system where our economy doesnt holds everyone hostage.
"our economy doesnt holds everyone hostage."???
Someone has to pay to design, build, make and ship and sell the things you want. How is getting what you want for a price being held hostage?
 

Johnnny

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Jun 8, 2007
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Third rock from the Sun
"our economy doesnt holds everyone hostage."???
Someone has to pay to design, build, make and ship and sell the things you want. How is getting what you want for a price being held hostage?

I understand that, but we see all this talk about the economy doing well then see people hurting to pay bills and we have to wonder if the system just suits the people who can best hoard. Was it CTV or CBC this morning or yesterday say that most companies have all their bills payed off for 2022 from last years profits already? During a pandemic, wtf? And were only enforcing laws against regular people who sell over priced toilet paper on ebay but balk at pandemic pay for front line workers? Until there is something of a kickback instead of another clawback to the people then i guess 99% of us are held hostage. Just my opinion.
 
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MyOpinion

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I understand that, but you see all this talk about the economy doing well then see people hurting to pay bills and you wonder if the system just suits the people who can best hoard. Was it CTV or CBC this morning or yesterday say that most companies have all their bills payed off for 2022 from last years profits already? During a pandemic, wtf? And youre only enforcing laws against regular people who sell over priced toilet paper on ebay but balk at pandemic pay for front line workers? Until there is something of a kickback instead of another clawback to the people then i guess 99% of us are held hostage. Just my opinion.
Not sure your point (?) has any validity.
Companies may have profited but you need to ask and understand why. All those people your are siding with were the ones that used the products the companies sold. The companies often had record sales....which means record profits, from who? Oh yeah the consumers, the very people that are "hurting"?
So, you are not hostage, you are just a consumer, consuming. Just my opinion.
 

Johnnny

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Jun 8, 2007
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Third rock from the Sun
Not sure your point (?) has any validity.
Companies may have profited but you need to ask and understand why. All those people your are siding with were the ones that used the products the companies sold. The companies often had record sales....which means record profits, from who? Oh yeah the consumers, the very people that are "hurting"?
So, you are not hostage, you are just a consumer, consuming. Just my opinion.

For sure. Employees, consumers are the same thing but for me at what point is making money, making too much money? The whole system and how we conduct transactions amongst ourselves seems so byzantine. Especially since so much more stuff is going subscription based.
 

MyOpinion

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For sure. Employees, consumers are the same thing but for me at what point is making money, making too much money? The whole system and how we conduct transactions amongst ourselves seems so byzantine. Especially since so much more stuff is going subscription based.
Well, consumerism is what drives prices.... up as well as down.
Even in Byzantium times, consumerism was what drove the economy.
There is never a point of making too much money, for manufacturers, merchants and even consumers (employees). As for subscribed services.... that is a choice for the consumer. You ou doin't "nned" themGet it or not.
 

Johnnny

Frontiersman
Jun 8, 2007
9,388
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Third rock from the Sun
Well, consumerism is what drives prices.... up as well as down.
Even in Byzantium times, consumerism was what drove the economy.
There is never a point of making too much money, for manufacturers, merchants and even consumers (employees). As for subscribed services.... that is a choice for the consumer. You ou doin't "nned" themGet it or not.
Youre right. It is what it is and it wont change. Supply and demand does make sense, i guess i dont agree with regulation. There is another way just outta grasp at the moment
 
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Nick Danger

Council Member
Jul 21, 2013
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Nobody in their right mind is going to work at a loss. We had to raise the rates for the trucks since fuel has gone up 60% from a year ago. As have taxes. The only thing that hasn't gone up is our wages.
Unless you're one of the lucky few. I pulled these numbers from a report on CEO and top executive wages issued by an economic thinktank in the US, The Economic Policy Institute:
The ratio of CEO to worker pay was 20-to-1 in 1965. By 1989 it had risen to 58-to-1. By 2018 it had risen to 278-to-1. Put another way, CEO compensation grew by over 1000% in the forty years from 1978 to 2018, other very high wage earners saw their compensation grow by 339%. Market growth on the S&P 500 was up 706% during the same period. By comparison wages for the typical worker grew by just 11.9%.
EPI Report on CEO Compensation
 

MyOpinion

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Unless you're one of the lucky few. I pulled these numbers from a report on CEO and top executive wages issued by an economic thinktank in the US, The Economic Policy Institute:

EPI Report on CEO Compensation
Top executives are not in the same category or even in the same realm as workers or even managers in corporations.
The reason is that top executives are sought out by companies and are very often enticed by money and shares to come to work for that company is for their experience. It is an auction of their skillset to the highest bidder.
Trying to use top executive and CEO wages to that of "normal" people as an argument or even discussion is fruitless and senseless. In fact, any person with unique and specialized and proven skills and talents can shop themselves around to the highest bidder too.
CEO's only make what they do because the company that hired them felt they were worth that.
 
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taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
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Top executives are not in the same category or even in the same realm as workers or even managers in corporations.
The reason is that top executives are sought out by companies and are very often enticed by money and shares to come to work for that company is for their experience. It is an auction of their skillset to the highest bidder.
Trying to use top executive and CEO wages to that of "normal" people as an argument or even discussion is fruitless and senseless. In fact, any person with unique and specialized and proven skills and talents can shop themselves around to the highest bidder too.
CEO's only make what they do because the company that hired them felt they were worth that.
Which is also why fast food joints pay minimum wage.
 
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Nick Danger

Council Member
Jul 21, 2013
1,798
461
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Penticton, BC
Top executives are not in the same category or even in the same realm as workers or even managers in corporations.
The reason is that top executives are sought out by companies and are very often enticed by money and shares to come to work for that company is for their experience. It is an auction of their skillset to the highest bidder.
Trying to use top executive and CEO wages to that of "normal" people as an argument or even discussion is fruitless and senseless. In fact, any person with unique and specialized and proven skills and talents can shop themselves around to the highest bidder too.
CEO's only make what they do because the company that hired them felt they were worth that.

It's out of control. Thirty or forty million dollars a years is obscene. If you look at money as a finite resource why should it be anywhere near acceptable that the top one percent of controls 25% of the country's wealth while the bottom 40% shares 1% ?