88 replies to this topic

[FCP Bob]

David Frum: Canada can fairly claim to be the best-governed country in the world

Quote

Under Stephen Harper, Canada can fairly claim to be the best-governed country among advanced democracies in the world. Thursday’s federal budget locks up Canada’s lead. Right now, the major economies share a common economic problem: With the world slowly and fitfully emerging from the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, they must begin to plan to reduce their debt burdens — but not so fast that they crush demand and abort the recovery. The United Kingdom exemplifies the dangers of moving too fast: your recovery falters. The United States exemplifies the risks of moving too slow: The inability of its political system to agree on any plan to balance the budget has cost the world’s biggest economy its Triple-A credit rating.ARTICLE CONTINUED AT LINK ABOVE

[Balloon guy]

Recently Carl's Hardware Emporium with 2 locations in southern Kansas was able to claim the prize of best run corporation in the world, easily beating Home Depot because they are able to better adapt to changing labor issues and have a larger profit margin in a percentage of sales..............

[colonel Feathers]

Didnt canada just kick the libs out for a more conservative govt?

[FCP Bob]

colonel Feathers, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, 3:12 PM, said:

Didnt canada just kick the libs out for a more conservative govt?

The Liberals were in power from 1993-2006 with the Conservatives since then winning 2 minority governements and a majority the last election that we had.The Liberals under Chretien were quite fiscally Conservative and went from a large Budget Deficit to a large Surplus while in office.The Liberals are center left and the Conservatives are center right. The NDP are the far left wingers who call themselves a Social Democratic Party and they've never been and never will be in power although they are currently the Official Opposition and the second largest party in Parliament.

[Balloon guy]

FCP Bob, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, 12:23 PM, said:

The Liberals were in power from 1993-2006 with the Conservatives since then winning 2 minority governements and a majority the last election that we had.The Liberals under Chretien were quite fiscally Conservative and went from a large Budget Deficit to a large Surplus while in office.The Liberals are center left and the Conservatives are center right. The NDP are the far left wingers who call themselves a Social Democratic Party and they've never been and never will be in power although they are currently the Official Opposition and the second largest party in Parliament.

Wonder if those two things have more in common than you are giving it credit for.Arguing that during the boom years a particular party did something that the other party could not have done is shallow thinking.Clinton did nothing but get elected while the internet was created and enormous new wealth to create his 'surplus'

[FCP Bob]

Balloon guy, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, 6:20 PM, said:

Wonder if those two things have more in common than you are giving it credit for.Arguing that during the boom years a particular party did something that the other party could not have done is shallow thinking.Clinton did nothing but get elected while the internet was created and enormous new wealth to create his 'surplus'

No, the Liberals here cut spending by quite a bit in real terms. When viewing the Canadian system take your notions of what the terms "Liberal" and "Conservative" mean as they aren't the same labels as partisan Americans use.

[Balloon guy]

FCP Bob, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, 3:29 PM, said:

No, the Liberals here cut spending by quite a bit in real terms. When viewing the Canadian system take your notions of what the terms "Liberal" and "Conservative" mean as they aren't the same labels as partisan Americans use.

Well you just said liberals cut spending..so of course they are not the same as the ones here.

[iZuma]

huh yeah canada actually does sound pretty good here whats the best beach there OH THATS RIGHTepic country fail

[Balloon guy]

iZuma, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, 5:39 PM, said:

huh yeah canada actually does sound pretty good here whats the best beach there OH THATS RIGHTepic country fail

They don't even have any food they are known for.Except Syrup...Which is a condiment.Canada: America's condiment

[FCP Bob]

Balloon guy, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, 8:53 PM, said:

They don't even have any food they are known for.Except Syrup...Which is a condiment.Canada: America's condiment

I have two words for you. Back Bacon

[iZuma]

oh you mean ham yeah we've got that FACE

[colonel Feathers]

FCP Bob, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, 6:33 PM, said:

I have two words for you. Back Bacon

I cannot argue with that one.Nor will I argue where the best hockey players come from,<not including the old soviet union>So Ill just lounge back here on coco beach and order another daiquiri

[mrdannyg]

FCP Bob, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, 4:23 PM, said:

The Liberals were in power from 1993-2006 with the Conservatives since then winning 2 minority governements and a majority the last election that we had.The Liberals under Chretien were quite fiscally Conservative and went from a large Budget Deficit to a large Surplus while in office.The Liberals are center left and the Conservatives are center right. The NDP are the far left wingers who call themselves a Social Democratic Party and they've never been and never will be in power although they are currently the Official Opposition and the second largest party in Parliament.

Basically, the Conservatives are basically cranky old white guys who have personal beliefs I disagree with, but are able to manage fiscally in a manner not significantly better or worse than other groups with more progressive views.If it was up to me, Paul Martin would be elected dictator-for-life.

Balloon guy, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, 9:53 PM, said:

They don't even have any food they are known for.Except Syrup...Which is a condiment.Canada: America's condiment

Syrup is a beverage, idiot.

colonel Feathers, on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, 11:29 PM, said:

I cannot argue with that one.Nor will I argue where the best hockey players come from,<not including the old soviet union>So Ill just lounge back here on coco beach and order another daiquiri

I hope the criminally underpaid illegal mexican making it for you doesn't spit in it or poision your rich ass.

[Balloon guy]

mrdannyg, on Monday, April 2nd, 2012, 6:37 AM, said:

Syrup is a beverage, idiot.

I stand corrected

Quote

I hope the criminally underpaid illegal mexican making it for you doesn't spit in it or poision your rich ass.

I worked on a farm for a few seasons out here in southern California. There were about 600+ migrant workers. Each of them was paid minimum wage at the worst, those will skills in particular fruit ( like knowing when a grape is ripe, or a watermelon is ready to pick ) they made much more.Many of them worked the 3-4 months harvesting season, cashing only a couple checks, then took the rest of the uncashed checks back to Mexico where they would live on the remaining checks until next season.I'm sure there are some people who exploit the migrant workers, but they are not criminally underpaid as a rule.

[Mercury69]

Yeah, lol, minimum wage...here and in the USA, minimum wage is a joke and marginalizes people who already have it tough for whatever reason.US minimum wage pageShould people be paid more for slinging burgers? Probably not, but when the cost of living puts your family of 4 in a 1 bedroom apartment and you have to depend on food stamps to get by, I'm sure those migrant workers are vacationing in some pretty special spots. Like a nearby park or something.

[Balloon guy]

Actually some migrant workers make more than enough to house and feed a family of 4.Look at grape pickers, many of them make over $50K a year, it's a skill to pick grapes properly ( table grapes ) since every single pallet of grapes picked is inspected by the USDA for sugar content and if the 4 lugs they pick fail, the pickers who picked that lug are required to re-pack the lug at their own expense.Migrant workers are like any other worker, the higher skilled the higher wage. The more workers, the lower wages, when there is a shortage, farmers pay a premium.The farmer I worked for joined with a bunch of the other farmers in the area to buy a 40 acre field to build a campground with showers and laundry facilities at an expense of about $500K. The California government stopped them because they said if they wanted to build a 'housing facility' they would be required to conform to crazy specs that boosted the price tag to millions. So instead migrant workers live 4-5 families to a trailer with no electricity or running water.My point was merely to disprove the notion that there are no 'criminally underpaid' migrant workers. Not as a rule anyway. Not in California.

[Mercury69]

Fair enough, BG. There is much to be said for industriousness.

[AmScray]

I'm applying for my Certification of Rehabilitation that will allow me to enter Canada, sometime in the next year. It's going to cost me $1K, 100% non-refundable in the event they deny my petition.Either way, my hope is that I can eventually live there.

[FCP Bob]

AmScray, on Monday, April 2nd, 2012, 5:43 PM, said:

I'm applying for my Certification of Rehabilitation that will allow me to enter Canada, sometime in the next year. It's going to cost me $1K, 100% non-refundable in the event they deny my petition.Either way, my hope is that I can eventually live there.

That's a good move since without it you can be denied even for a visit with a criminal record.

[Balloon guy]

FCP Bob, on Monday, April 2nd, 2012, 2:58 PM, said:

That's a good move since without it you can be denied even for a visit with a criminal record.

What about deserters?