I'm Posting This As A Canadian

"Lets Just Drive" (lets-just-drive) 09/26/2013 at 20:41 • Filed to: None

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We have problems at home. Some of them, seemingly insurmountable. We are grappling with a future social services debt which, due to a lack of young people in the work force, we are going to be hard pressed to pay and so we're looking for answers and many of those answers, such as exploiting the Alberta Tar Sands and establishing new pipelines to our southern neighbors refineries are fraught with their own problems. But, because we're just Canada (the Hat of America) our struggles aren't of as much importance to those same neighbors. That said, we here in Canada hear your cries only too loudly and, had we the power, we would be only too happy to help.

So here's this guy, ranting about a corrupt political process, pitching an idea for the future and sounding pretty reasonable about it while he's yelling.

I'm really, really not trying to start a whole thing here and I hope that sharing this video won't create a political shit storm.

Thank you, America. We've had hard times, but we'll always be family.

Signed,

Canada.

PS. We forgive you for all the wedgies, wet willies and swirlies!

POD > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 20:47

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Not America's hat.

I have been trying with all my might to find a way to opt out of the public pension plans. Billions in unmet liability and their solution is to take 25% of contributers salary off the top....

Lets Just Drive > POD 09/26/2013 at 20:51

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You and me both, buddy. You and me both.

The sad thing is that, ethically, we can't and it would be financially ruinous on a national scale. The fact that what we pay into CPP today is paying the pensions of those currently on pension now is alarming at the very least. The idea and the hope, as with Douglas' medicare, was to create a fund into which citizens would pay until their retirement and then collect from but that's not what's happened and it's not down to the system either, but to the credit of the politicans who have so utterly changed the form and function of our social services that, while they're strong globally, hardly compare to their ideal.

Canada.

POD > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 20:58

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My bad, I'm didn't mean the CPP, although that is equally ruinous. I'm talking about the PSPP and the other 3 public pension plans that all health care workers are required to contribute to if you are in the public sector (in Alberta). Right now I am forced to contribute to over 17% of my salary to the PSPP (on top of the CPP, taxes, profession practice fees, union dues [also not optional] and professional practice insurance). The PSPP alone has (last I checked) over 3 billion in unmet liability. The PSPP proposal to fix the unmet liability is to increase my mandatory contribution to 25% of my income. That would force me to take a job outside of health care, further depleting the skilled labour market. It is one of the most asinine proposals I've ever heard of.

Last time I sat down and calculated my income out, I was losing over 45% of Gross to things I'll likely never see a return on in my life time.

Lets Just Drive > POD 09/26/2013 at 20:59

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Which province are you being taken advanta... er... living in?

POD > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 21:04

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Alberta.

Lets Just Drive > POD 09/26/2013 at 21:06

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I want to tell you to quit yer complaining, because I live in BC. But I won't, because I don't live in Ontario.

Just my opinion here, but Harper has gotta go. Fuck it, I say, and let's try another Trudeau. Why not?

Ha!

gmctavish needs more space > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 21:08

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Good lord that was refreshing to hear. I'm also Canadian and I wish we had someone like that.

DasWauto > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 21:13

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Quit yer complainin'.

/Ontario resident

/though dreadfully uninformed in political BS

POD > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 21:18

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I'm taking steps to be able to quit my complaining. I'm actively seeking to leave front line treatment in the public sector and go into disability management in the private sector. I'll lose about 10K a year off gross, but will gain overall. I'll be able to properly fund my TFS, RRSP, and build a private investment portfolio.

And that, as I see it, is the crux of the problem. What should be a rewarding and lucrative career in health care (and one that activly improves the lives of those I treat) is usurped by a mismanaged legislated PSPP that form a sort of financial indentured servitude. The penalties for leaving the plans are amazingly steep. And that's not something changing PM's is going to fix (not that I support Harper mind you).

To quote one of my favorite authors: "There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him."

thebigbossyboss > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 21:31

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CPP is such a joke. We all pay for now, and then when it comes time for me to collect (Im 26 now) the government will probably go. "hey yeah, we just passed a law that says for every dollar we owe you in cpp, we now owe 20 cents". So then bascially it's another tax. I wish I could opt out.

POD > thebigbossyboss 09/26/2013 at 21:41

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That's already happened with the other pension plan I'm forced to contribute to. The PSPP. They just raised the minimum age to draw down on by 10 years, and lowered the amount you'll get back. I will be surprised if the CPP doesn't follow suit.

thebigbossyboss > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 21:42

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I live in Ontario. Our finances are totally ridiculous. Our budget deficit will balloon to $30B unless big changes are made. Too bad we are busy giving it all to public sector unions, and "got dayum," wind farms, and solar panels. Geez.

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/09/13/mat…

thebigbossyboss > POD 09/26/2013 at 21:44

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That sucks. The CPP will follow suit. In fact, it already is moving from age 65 from when you can draw to age 67. Which is actually a move I support, we are living longer and longer, so if all they do is raise the age...it wouldn't be terrible.

Lets Just Drive > DasWauto 09/26/2013 at 21:47

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In your case, my brother from another (provincial) mother, ignorance may well be bliss.

Alberta isn't great, in terms of what comes off of your daily pay and is taken away. British Columbia isn't much better, it's really just the weather. And Ontario, well there you go, the home of Canadian political buttfuckery. I think I'll move up north to the territories, and tell stories from my Canuckery.

POD > thebigbossyboss 09/26/2013 at 21:49

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Agreed, if it was just an age increase, I would be OK with that. The other thing the PSPP did was add a clause that (on paper) gives them the option to avoid cost of living adjustments.

thebigbossyboss > POD 09/26/2013 at 21:52

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So..is that the public service pension plan in Alberta?

POD > thebigbossyboss 09/26/2013 at 21:56

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That's the one. It's one of 4 different public pension plans.

Lets Just Drive > POD 09/26/2013 at 22:03

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I tend to agree with you, fundamentally. And politically, there's no question that the process is going to default. It's defunct now, pretty much Canada wide, and it is only going to be a matter of twenty to thirty years before we, that's you and I (assuming we're in similar age brackets), really see the impact. That is, we will have paid into our respective government mandated pension systems for the entirety of our working lives only to find there's nothing left for us. Unless, of course, we're willing to take some pretty radical steps such a unrestricted drilling and piping, increased immigration from primarily Asian countries, and generally turning a blind eye to the ethical and environmental impact there-of. Our retiring population is huge and it is growing faster than we're supplementing it and we need to find a way to replace that economic loss or else end our social-care system which, I'm pretty sure, would cause Zombie Tommy Douglas to raise up from his grave and run ripshod through the Capitol eating the brains, rotten though they may be, of our elected leaders.

And there's always the ethical quandary - is "opting out" socially responsible? If the majority were to opt out alongside you, and those social systems collapsed, what would be the effect on the many who depend on them? While I recognize the desire, and respect your initiative I would suggest, with no idea the means to its achievement, that what we truly need is to, as a single nation, take a serious look at what we have allowed to happen to those systems and find a way to elect or put in power those people with the means and the ability to restore our socially advanced social systems. As a Canadian, I would feel a great pang of loss if our socialized medical, welfare and employment insurance systems disappeared as, personally, I think they distinguish us on the global stage and set us apart from some of our more... noisy... neighbors.

Either way, it's pretty clear that the way things are going isn't the way to keep on.

Lets Just Drive > thebigbossyboss 09/26/2013 at 22:08

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Amen.

There's already been legislation regarding the CPP back in, what... the 90's I think? Which stated that the CPP could only be held accountable for something silly like 30% of inflation on the dollar. Sure, it's "protected" but the CPP is, more then anything, a platform for politicians to run on and that's it. That, ultimately, makes me sick; using something like the CPP to divide the national ambition for political gains.

Lets Just Drive > thebigbossyboss 09/26/2013 at 22:18

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It's all a filibuster, man.

You know what really grinds my gears? It's the fact that environmental initiatives are such a fucking breeding-ground for misuse, misrepresentation and miscarriages. For every dollar spent in genuine good faith, actually spent in pursuit of cleaner energy, there are a dozen dollars more at play, all looking to make as much off of themselves as possible.

Self-aggrandizing politicians cannot let a bid for the future go unexploited, spending money or representing spent money chasing more money through corporate greed dressed up as good civic responsibility. Corporations get on board, because where else can you find a buck? But their primary mandate as international people without personalities is to make as much fucking money as possible. If you're a corporation, everything you dress yourself up in to make yourself appealing to the public is bullshit, just smoke and mirrors, as the only function of a corporation is to increase the value of its shares. Period. And then you have the silent, and sometimes vocal, opposition which come in the form of the under informed pundit, the evil American oil interests, or even imagined conspiratorial intrigue. All of it representing a dollar value which is typically at least equal to, but often exceeds, the investment in the core project itself. Internationally, there is no better example of this then wind farms. Hell, look closely at the science behind solar panels and you realize it's a losing game financially and, some are saying, environmentally but it's the best window dressing of the day so why not drop a couple extra grand on that solar panel roof for your new car because solar panels work forever and are endless energy collectors, right? Wrong!

Just disgusting. We can't fix our problems because we can't agree on what they are, or we agree on what they are but don't have the right language... or something. Tipping points, man. We see the train coming down the tracks towards us but we're perpetually like, "Let the next guy deal with it."

I got off track there.

Pun.

POD > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 22:32

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It dose sound like we are in a similar age bracket. And I agree completely that our socialized medicine is one of the things that sets Canada apart in a generally good way.

The social responsibility argument is a tricky one. The idea that the current generations (X & Y) should support the larger (and poised on retirement) baby boomer generation through continued increases in contributions to systems that show mounting billions of unmet liability is, on one hand, socially responsible in the short term (the 20-30 years you mentioned), but ultimately financially irresponsible in both the short and the long term. Limiting the buying power of the 20-35 year old demographic is already starting to show in markets like automobiles and houses. Markets that traditionally employ a large part of the labour workforce. It also decreases the retirement savings potential of the same demographic, perpetuating the dependence on social retirement funding.

Like you I have no real solutions. It's progressed to such a state that short of full exploitation of natural resources, there simply isn't the capital to continue on as we are. It's a very unnerving position to be in.

I will be the first to admit that jumping ship is a selfish move and if everyone did it, there would be quick and complete collapse of many of the social programs. The problem I'm faced with though, is to choose to stay in a position that requires my current level of contribution would mean decreasing my overall stander of living. That on the surface isn't necessarily bad, but I live well under the standard debt service ratio. Other than my mortgage, I don't carry a debt load. When someone that is relatively debt free has to downgrade at the age of 30 because of forced contributions to social programs, something is horribly wrong.

Lets Just Drive > POD 09/26/2013 at 22:37

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[Insert long-winded reply of agreement]

Amen, brother.

desertdog5051 > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 22:48

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So very true my Canuck friend. It is spreading across North America.

I have a friend in Edmonton area that sold her house (at a bloated profit) because she feared that the Alberta market was inevitably due to experience the same crash as we had several years ago. It is unsustainable.

Politics is out of control both here and in your country.

Your problems are, in reality, very apparent to many Americans. They affect us as well.

Take the tar sands. It is being played as a political football. If we don't take it, it will go elsewhere. We have the capability to utilize it to our benefit. Politics says "we don't want any more pipelines" Jeez, we have a jillion miles of them now and they continue to build new one's, domestically, and most people do not even know they are on their property. But the politicians find some kind of bravado? in signing on with the minority that does not want anything to change. What about the Alaska Pipeline? According to today's mind set, it would never get built. People and politicians are so focused on "what's best for me, will this get me re-elected." that they can't look at the big picture. Rant over.

thebigbossyboss > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 22:49

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Yeah, Ontario's power regime is a fucking joke, all they are doing is wasting billions of dollars we can ill afford to lose. All this to create power we dont need, and have to give away,

I have one confession for you though, I like Harper quite a bit! I think he is our best option, if imperfect. I wouldn't trust the NDP to dig a hole without bankrupting us all. To me they just seem full chock to the brim with wasteful ideas.

Lets Just Drive > desertdog5051 09/26/2013 at 23:03

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Big picture politics is what it needs to be all about, and hopefully with the financial corruption removed from the process and sub-systems. Furthermore, I have my doubts that national identity will behoove us as a species in the future and that the hypocrisy of the global village; we want the good, but are unwilling to deal with the bad, will be our ultimate stumbling block.

The issues can be discussed on a case by case basis, sure, but we should always be looking at the bigger picture because there are about seven billion of us presently on this planet and that number, alarming though it is, is made all the more alarming by the facts and figures of population growth. I feel, personally, that we need to be able to look at our own existence in the present with the benefit of our long history - that is to say that the way we live now, and the way we've been living on this planet, as a species, for the past five to ten thousand years is but a microcosm of our long history which spans anywhere from three hundred thousand to a million years. We look back, sure, but never far enough. The benefits of agriculture, of industrialization and indeed of mass socialization have carried us far but, as radical as it sounds, I do not think we have much of a future without recognizing, simply, that the way we exist now isn't the way we have existed for the majority of our species time on this planet.

Did I get too off track there? I do that.

desertdog5051 > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 23:10

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Not at all.

Lets Just Drive > thebigbossyboss 09/26/2013 at 23:15

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Ontario power. British Colombian lumber. Believe me, I know.

That said, Harper is no good for Canada. He's great for about 6% of Canadians and platforms on the pension and retirement bullshit because he knows, as does every other party, that it's the old who vote. Thus, the parties all play the pander game, but because they're really all pandering to the same demographic, use the sort of asinine language that quagmires our political system. One needs mention nothing more then Harper proroguing parliament when it suits his political means.

That said, I don't have faith in the Liberals or the NDP either. I hope, honestly hope, that young Justin Trudeau can restore some of the public faith in the process and think that movement can only work under a Liberal banner. Ultimately, however, I'll support any candidate who internalizes Canadian interests, focuses on Canadian social reform and is fundamentally Canadian and for Canada, unlike Harper who is happy to encourage as much foreign investment as he can line his pockets with. Let's not mention that, as my wife is First Nations and our soon to be born child will be half Salish, I have something of a personal interest in Harpers policies towards First Nations peoples and interests which are, to be kind, genocidal and to be honest, Hitler-aspirational.

You're welcome to support Harper, that's part of the process, but if you do and you express as much to be, please understand why and when I say that Harper is interested in a Canada For Harper, not a Canada for Canadians. If he were, his interests and platforms would include the rest of Canadians, regardless of their voting power.

I miss Chretien. I miss him so much.

thebigbossyboss > Lets Just Drive 09/26/2013 at 23:20

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Well, not to start a "thing" but I do truly believe, that Harper wants first nations to be successful in their own right. All this change he has pushed through in that regard is supposed to help individual natives bypass their perhaps corrupt high muck-a-muck (now there is a BC word for ya!) and empower themselves. (edit: nibbles). I really don't think it is fair at all, to say Harper has Hitler aspirational policies towards First nations. Whether his legislation will help first nations succeed is a legitimate debate, but I know for sure that he is not racist, and certainly not genocidal towards first nations. I wouldn't say that about any of our parties.

Lets Just Drive > thebigbossyboss 09/26/2013 at 23:33

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Which is a tremendously short-sighted view and endemic of his "my way or the highway" approach to politics. Harper and his parties polices utterly fail to account for the myriad social and historical issues at the heart of the present, past and ongoing disenfranchising of the First Nations peoples of Canada. Harper, and he's not alone in this, is approaching the issue as if it were a party or a political issue, but it's not and very few politicians, never mind Prime Ministers, have ever been willing to deal with the deeper social issues that plague First Nations development. This is evident in the fact that only those bands in economically viable areas have thrived economically while those reservations removed from the economic heartbeat are largely ignored. The simple fact that many, yes many, First Nations reservations in Canada would be described as "third world" by any educated and unbiased party is evidence that no, Harper isn't doing enough. And that's his failing, and the failing of many politicians past and present; they fail to accept that with political power comes the social responsibility not just for the present, but also the past and the future.

Now, speaking to my boy Justin, I am reassured by his stance on First Nations affairs as he has already identified that the issues are not political, they are social and that any politician, especially Prime Minister, to fill the seat has to accept that and be willing to deal with those issues socially, without the pretext of "will this be good for my political career?" involved.

If you really are under the impression, just on this matter, that Steven Harper is concerned about and taking action regarding the many problems plaguing these most Canadian of citizens across Canada and not just in economically and politically viable arenas, than I say this with all kindness, "You are misinformed." And I genuinely hope you can take a moment, even if just regarding the issue of First Nations in Canada, and edify yourself on what Harper has done and what he has said because if you are the reasonable person I hope, I believe you'll be alarmed and shocked.

Steven Harper may be a friend to Business Interests in Canada, but we need an elected Prime Minister whose interests are more all-encompassing. Heck, Paul Martin was better for Canada and no body voted for him even once!