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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-10-20, Page 5OPINION? The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. They must be signed and should be accompanied by a telephone number should we need to clarify any information. The Citizen reserves the right to edit or not print letters, PLEASE try to limit letters to 300 words or less. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1993. PAGE 5. A dismal ending to a Harley tour Here's an interesting little news squib in my daily paper — it says that a chap in the town of Skien, Norway is so infatuated with American motorcycles that he has legally changed his name to — Harley Davidson. Imagine loving a hunk of machinery so much that you name yourself after it. I don't think I'll tell my pal Rick about this story. Rick had a wee bout of lovesickness over Harley Davidson motorcycles, too. But I think he's over it. In fact, I think the merest mention of the name might send Rick into a relapse involving toilet bowls, dry heaves and some very nasty language. It all happened last year when Rick had a brainwave. Those of us who know Rick have learned to head for fallout shelters whenever Rick has a brainwave. This is a guy who took a flyer on Moscow real estate just before the USSR broke up. This is a guy who bought shares in Canary Wharf just before the Reichman's bailed out. Ukraine an economic mess in spades While most of the attention of late has been focused on Russia and the political gyrations of Boris Yeltsin, the next-door Ukrainians have been having their own crises - any number of them. While what passes for Parliament in that country has just decided to have national elections next March followed by a presidential one in June, the country is in even worse shape economically than it is politically. It is anybody's question what it will be like by the time these elections roll around. To say that the economy is in a mess is putting it mildly. Part of the problem has been a struggle between President Leonid Kravchuk and Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma but this has been solved to a certain degree by the latter Leonid opting to step down. Now Mr. Kravchuk will have no opposition in his attempts to rescue the country from financial ruin but, given the size of the task, that is no small matter. For openers he has decided, with the help of Parliament, to enter into some form of economic pact with other former members of the Soviet Union although, given that these other members are in no great shape either, the nature of any benefits from this union is yet to be seen. What is taking place today should come as no surprise to those who have been watching the country. Like many countries, including Canada, too many people have been cushioned from too any falls, but unlike Canada this has come only as a result of printing additional money with an intensity seldom seen in that part of the world. Not surprisingly one of the biggest problems is This is a guy who puts money on the Toronto Argonauts. "It can't miss" said Rick. Yeah, well. Still, Rick said his Harley Davidson caper was a natural gold mine. The idea was to buy a vintage U.S. cycle in Canada, ship it across to Europe, tour the continent for a couple of months, then sell the bike at an obscene profit and float back to Canada on a mattress of hundred dollar bills. "It can't miss" said Rick. "Europeans, they're crazy for Harley Davidsons. They'll pay 30, 40 grand for them, no questions asked." As usual Rick was about half right. He bought a Harley in Canada, shipped it at great expense to Rotterdam and proceeded to ride across the continent. He didn't get very far. The bike broke down. Again and again and again. It broke down in Holland. It broke down in Belgium. It broke down in Germany and France and Andorra for crynoutloud — which is so small there's barely room to ride a motorcycle, much less break down. But Rick didn't really mind all the breakdowns. Because it was raining anyway. And sleeting and misting and fogging and generally being the worst European summer in a quarter of a century. It was so cold and so wet that nothing ever dried out. Especially if you were camping. inflation which is currently running at the rate of 50 per cent a month. Just imagine prices going up that much in Canada in the space of 30 days and you will see how fortunate we are with our 1.7 per cent a year. As a result of this the currency is all but worthless; nobody wants to save and, if they do, it has to be in another far more stable currency or in a commodity that is likely to hold its value. When your currency is all but worthless, how do you finance production? Only with a great deal of difficulty and, as a consequence of this horrible monetary policy, output in the nation's industries has taken a deep dive. The situation has gotten so bad that Mr. Kravchuk actually sat down to talk to Mr. Yeltsin about the possibility of the Ukraine selling its share of the old Soviet navy to Russia in return for the latter cancelling the debts owed to it by the Ukraine. Thrown in for good measure would be the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol on the Black Sea. This used to be a major base for the southern Russian navy which liked to patrol the Mediterranean during the Cold War. How much, however, is a navy worth? Figures on the Ukrainian one range from 330 to 16 billion so you can take your pick as far as prices are concerned. Even if the Russians end up granting the Ukraine a generous figure, it will be only a proverbial drop in the bucket as far as the Ukraine's debts are concerned. The government still wants to boost subsidies as well as other spending sharply but this can come only at the expense of printing yet more money. The Ukrainian equivalent of John Crowe wants understandably to cut back on spending, not increase it, but he does not have the autonomy that Mr. Crow enjoys and thus his desire may turn out to be little more than that. Canada has a large Ukrainian population and some of them have gone back to help out their beleaguered homeland, as have Which Rick was. Between motorcycle breakdowns. It's okay, thought Rick, shivering and cursing and handing over his Mastercard for the umpteenth time. "It's okay because once I get back to Holland I'll unload this two-wheeled albatross for 35 or 40 grand and fly back to Canada first-class on the Concorde." As with most of Rick's plans it didn't quite work out that way. Oh, he eventually chugged into the outskirts of Rotterdam on his wheezing, smoking bike. He found a Harley lover willing to pay $20,000, not $40,000 for the bike. Rick was all set to shake hands when the Dutchman said "Of course der vill be also tax." Tax? What tax? Well, it was a Dutch government tax, specifically created to stop foreign would-be entrepreneurial hot-shots like Rick from cleaning up. In the case of Rick's bike the tax would come to 9,000 guilders. Which meant that Rick would be selling the bike for $2,000 less than he paid for it. Rick's back home now. The Harley sits in a crate on a dock in Rotterdam, destination unknown. Rick doesn't think about it much any more. Rick's more interested in this new scheme involving computerized vineyards. You see, he met this guy at a Harley shop in Marseilles who told him that for an investment of just a few hundred thousand francs... , ........ • .. ........ others from the States. What can they do, however, when the economic discipline that they know here is next to worthless there since nobody, from President Kravchuk down, has the will to carry the essential reforms to their logical conclusion. There are even some people in the country who express the desire to reunite with Russia because they are of the belief that in the long run they will enjoy more prosperity than if they remain independent. I think they are whistling in the dark; if it is one thing that most Ukrainians want, it is to be free of Russian dominance, even if it means experiencing a text book example of how not to manage a country's economic affairs. The short of it By Bonnie Gropp Time to think with our heads It was one of those lazy, summer days, meant for exploration. The air was fresh, the sky blue and the energy level of two 10- year-old girls high. I was visiting at the country home of my cousin and we had, as youngsters will, quickly tired of what we were doing. We had been warned against travelling too far from the house, though I can't remember exactly why, but temptation in the beckoning fields lay before us as welcoming as a fire on a bitter winter's day. And besides, what could possibly happen; we were children. Well, while the details of the day are a little hazy thanks to the passing of a few decades, I do recall being chased by a beast of some kind, climbing a fence, my cousin falling, and spraining her ankle. This left us in a bit of a dilemma because while the town mouse could find her way to the nest from any street, I was lost on the country mouse's turf. Anyway, as I'm here to write this, it's obvious that the day did end satisfactorily, if not necessarily happily; we were both in a good deal of trouble upon our return. Susan managed to limp back with a helping arm from me, so consequently I was able to find my way. Had her injury been more severe, however, our ignoring the warnings could have had more tragic results. Face it, when you're young who wants to be told that something fun isn't good? The other day I overheard on the news that a school in the Toronto-area has asked its students to refrain from kissing for the next two weeks due to an outbreak of meningitis. My thought was 'Better break out the vaccine, quick!'. Considering the fact that many teenagers are still having unprotected sex, or worse yet are promiscuous, when AIDS is a very real, very frightening reality, I find it unlikely they'll be deterred from kissing. We expect this sort of invincible attitude from teenagers; after all they have their whole world before them and have not lived long enough to learn how full of surprises their lives will be. But, unfortunately it's not exclusive to kids. Adults, who supposedly are old enough to know better, often don't. Worldly as we may believe ourselves to be, when a morsel too tempting presents itself we don't always have the common sense to remember that many treats come with a price. During a discussion with friends last week, we touched on the subject of infidelty. One woman, who knew of her ex-spouse's dalliances, expressed her concern. Little wonder, considering that one of the terrifying realities of AIDS, is knowing that no matter how careful you may be, someone else can ruin your life. Whether or not you believe people are meant to be monogomous is irrelevant now; it comes down to just being a decent and sensible human being. Being human is being fallible, being weak and making mistakes, but when your mistakes cost others they are not as easily forgiven. This past Sunday the Walk for Life in Toronto raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for AIDS research. But the best cure is prevention, which we can begin to achieve if we don't let pleasure overshadow good judgement. Unlike the two youngsters lured by the ideal of fresh excitement we had better start thinYing with our heads and ponder what's perhaps ahead before we pursue a whim. Arthur Black International Scene