tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post2929374681200698290..comments2024-03-27T21:12:31.654-04:00Comments on Politics and its Discontents: What Fools These Mortals BeLornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-23008058564417292422012-12-10T17:59:57.303-05:002012-12-10T17:59:57.303-05:00Leftyinparadise, yours is an example that should b...Leftyinparadise, yours is an example that should be an inspiration to all of us. Thank you.<br />Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-88753689153545540222012-12-10T17:52:24.634-05:002012-12-10T17:52:24.634-05:00There are many of us out there who do walk the tal...There are many of us out there who do walk the talk..never shop at WalMart (or Amazon, tempting though it is...when they start collecting and paying taxes, maybe)get most of my food from local farmers, even though it's far more expensive..<br />Try in every way to buy local, and buy used/recycled whenever possible...<br />I am a retiree on a fairly fixed income, not large, and a renter, not an owner, so I am not well off to say the least..but I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't buy local, buy handmade, buy union, etc. whenever and wherever possible..<br />Tell you a little secret, the quality is so much higher that 'tho I have less, it's luxury to me....<br /><br />December 10, 2012 5:50 PMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-26612135999170118342012-12-10T15:58:29.523-05:002012-12-10T15:58:29.523-05:00Thanks Robert. You information serves to illustrat...Thanks Robert. You information serves to illustrate what a mass of contradictions we really are.Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-45204184885932437712012-12-10T15:29:24.912-05:002012-12-10T15:29:24.912-05:00Yes these boutique tax credits amount to billions ...Yes these boutique tax credits amount to billions in lost revenue and typically amount to a few hundred dollars for the households that avail themselves of them. Also these are usually middle class or higher households well able to afford the extra burdenKevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141832889857833324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-48042651015313948872012-12-10T13:41:20.666-05:002012-12-10T13:41:20.666-05:00And another intesting thought.. which came to me a...And another intesting thought.. which came to me as I watched the "Occupy" protests, often including many protestors making liberal use of iPhones..<br /><br />The greatest source of wealth for so many multinational corporations are, in fact, the lower and lower-middle class.<br /><br />The Wal-Mart, the McDonalds, and such...<br /><br />Whereas, most likely, for a small business to break through, it usually is not going to compete based upon price, but will offer up better and more personal service. So - higher prices, but in many cases, better more personal service.<br /><br />And, oddly enough, the most likely source for THEIR business will be the upper and upper-middle income segment of society.<br /><br />So - from an ironically democratic point of view, the greatest numbers of "votes" for many of the greedy multinationals to prosper come from the very people that the "Occupy" protest purported to speak for - the "99%", and the greatest number of "votes" for the small local businesses often come from the hated "1%".<br /><br />The net result.. as consumers, we, perhaps, have to start thinking more of our dollars as "votes" respecting the kind of society we want.<br /><br />(Keeping in mind, though, that by buying from more impoverished nations, we are, to some extent, supporting THEIR economy, and THEIR tax base)Robert G. Harvie, Q.C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10414822301931567654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-67541887142797957732012-12-10T12:24:43.459-05:002012-12-10T12:24:43.459-05:00Fightfordemocracy, your information very clearly c...Fightfordemocracy, your information very clearly conveys that these 'bargains' come with some very real hidden costs. Thank you.Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-84228560513285659612012-12-10T12:21:34.010-05:002012-12-10T12:21:34.010-05:00Oh, so true, Owen. yet another inconvenient truth ...Oh, so true, Owen. yet another inconvenient truth to grapple with.Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-71576952630358302922012-12-10T12:20:47.845-05:002012-12-10T12:20:47.845-05:00thank you for the link, Kev. I share your ambivale...thank you for the link, Kev. I share your ambivalence about food banks, for the same reason as you. I read somewhere recently that if tax credits that primarily benefit the middle and upper class such as the fitness credit, etc. were eliminated and the resulting additional tax revenue put into family income supplements, thousands of children would be lifted out of poverty. But of course, a change like that would require vision and commitment that our current political 'leaders' seem to lack.Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-55479697920207866942012-12-10T11:43:41.126-05:002012-12-10T11:43:41.126-05:00Chinese products are shoddy and often dangerous.
...Chinese products are shoddy and often dangerous.<br /><br />I already pay more for garlic from Argentina or even Canada in season. The Chinese aspire to control the world garlic market. Their fields are loaded with pesticides and chemicals that would not be allowed in Canada. The farmers won't eat the food grown for export. They cultivate their own food separately in the traditional manner.<br /><br />The Chinese put melamine in babies' milk so the kids get very sick. They are still doing it, according to my European media. If they don't care about their own kids, they won't bother about quality of food grown for foreigners.<br /><br />I already spend more for swimsuits because the elastic in Chinese products is so inferior and collapses in a few months. I no longer use hot water bottles when I found I could tear the "rubber" like cardboard.<br /><br />Buy this junk at your own peril. Maybe the kids would be a bit brighter without it.Fightfordemocracynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-55156447631204466092012-12-10T11:11:23.837-05:002012-12-10T11:11:23.837-05:00Our eldest son likes to quote one of his former p...Our eldest son likes to quote one of his former professors at the U of T, Lorne: "The price is low because someone else is paying."Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-36189754364177124862012-12-10T09:46:42.369-05:002012-12-10T09:46:42.369-05:00Morning Lorne You may find this column It's ti...Morning Lorne You may find this column <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/its-time-to-close-canadas-food-banks/article587889/" rel="nofollow">It's time to close Canada's food banks </a> by Elaine Power of Queens. She makes much the same argument as Marmur.<br /><br />I've given the issue of closing food banks much thought since reading this piece. In the end though I am torn between the need to force the hand of government and the fear that they will not step up to fill the gap.<br /><br />Whether we have food banks or not we need to address poverty in an effective manner, which always leads me back to the notion of a Guaranteed Livable Income program.Kevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141832889857833324noreply@blogger.com