HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-02-25, Page 7Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - Page 7
Closiiig .g .plantse in Canada is harclly
free trade
corporations, businesses and even banks
'themselves. Ifs easy to say you can afford it,
you have a good job, valuable assets, and of
course, good intentions. These things are all -
variables, but debt is a constant. That good
job could be gone tomorrow, for whatever
reason, and whose to say that asset you have
is going to be worth tomorrow, what it is
today? Something I learned a long time ago
is that money makes money, not people.
People only try to manage it as best • they
can.
We are living in a world today that revolves
around credit. Most individuals, businesses
and even the banks have greater debt that
'actual hands' on cash. When someone says
to me Tm worth a lot of money, but it's . all
tied up in investments', it reminds 'me of an
old friend that once said, Tve got lots of girl-
friends it's just that they're all going with
someone else.'
It is almost impossible today to get by
without credit, but the secret is to never have
more credit than you have cash on hand.
When the Unites States gets caught in a
massive economic squeeze the rest of the
world shudders because of the inter -depen-
dency of global markets. Canadian are trying
to be optimistic but it's like hanging onto the
tail of a bull that's running downhill.
If you didn't see it coming, you weren't
looking!
To the Editor,
There are four major problems that have
contributed to this downturn of the economic
system:
1. Off shore contracting and Free Trade
2. Price speculation (manipulation) of the
Stock Market.
3. Lack of government controls on the
energy sector, and
4. Flagrant misuse of credit by individuals,
businesses and banks.
Off Shore Contracting and Free Trade.
Firstly, there is no such thing as Free Trade
without a level playing field. Allowing
Canadian businesses to contract the manu-
facture of goods for sale in Canada to coun-
tries like China, while closing ' plants and
laying off workers in Canada is hardly Free
Trade. Once one company is allowed to do
this, the rest follow in an attempt to remain
price competitive. The government does not
want to restrict Free Trade because it brings
in massive amounts of revenue through sale
of our natural resources to the sanpe countries
that sell the finished product back to us at a
price Canadian produced goods cannot com-
pete with. One example is our lumber. China,
and other countries, purchase our lumber by-
products in huge container shiploads, manu-
facture paper products using cheap resources
and sell it back to us a price below what
Canadian producers can market the same
product. This may help fill the government
coffers with quick revenue, but the price is
Letters demic and all that money will be flushed
opi,,;o„ down the drain with little or no benefitting
result.
Canadian jobs and a lower product standard, Lack of Government Controls on the
and that's too high a price to pay. Energy Sector. Over the last twenty years the.
Prk a Speculation, (manipulation) of the major oil companies have made astronomi-
Stock Market. We now live in a highly tech- cal profits without putting a single dime into
nical and fast moving communication net- building new refineries. Why should they? If
work of global communities. If Joe the they built new refineries they could increase
plumber in Wisconsin sneezes, immediately the volume of refined products, but that
ten Canadians come down with a cold and would be counter productive to keeping
the price of oil jumps 20 per cent. This may gasolin4 and oil product prices at a high
seem like an exaggeration, but it's not far level. Better to give the CEO's massive
from the .truth. In 2008 oil prices reached an bonuses and stock options. That way it's
unprecedented high price based solely on cheaper and the governments rake in big tax
stock market speculators and not supply and revenues so they look the other way. The
demand. With the drop in the market shares natural resources of a country belong to the
these same billionaire speculators are now people of that country not the billionaire
walking away from their million dollars stock manipulators who run those businesses
homes and multiple exclusive properties or even the government. The government is
leaving the taxpayers to pick up the tab for supposed to manage our resources for us.
their failed mortgages and responsibilities. That's why we elect governments, not politi-
The trickle down effect has been catastrophic cians.
and it's not over yet. Governments like Flagrant misuse of credit by individuals,
Canada, the U.S. and others have poured tril- businesses and banks. We have all been
lions of taxpayer dollars into their economies guilty of this at one time or another. Credit is
in an effort to plug the drain, but it's like the a commodity like anything else. It has a dol -
little Dutch boy sticking his finger in a hole lar value and a benefit, but it doesn't have a
in the dyke. Sooner or later that dam is going warranty. If it suddenly breaks, you can't go
to burst and the cracks are already forming. back to the bank for a refund or replacement.
Creating a few infrastructure jobs may slow I know what my bank manager would say if
the fever a little but it won't cure the disease. I went to him and told him that I had broken
When countries like Canada and the U.S face my line of credit and wanted to get a replace- David Bell
enormous debt, there will be a major epi- ment! What applies to individuals applies to Bayfield
•
Are parts of Huron prejudice toward windmills?
To the Editor,
I am very concerned that the Warden's com-
ments on windmills epitomize the very reason
that Premier McGuinty says this province will
not stand for NIMBYism.
If someone wants to tell me that they don't
like to look at windmills or hear them on a
windy day then I can understand their reason-
ing and will still debate with them on it because
this is NIMBYism. BUT when someone tells
me, (and these people obviously have the ear
of the Warden) that it is only because of their
deep concern for the health of all that we
investigate (and therefore- ban) windmills for
any possible effect on human health then your
reasoning can only be seen to be prejudice
towards windmills and the root cause is still
NIMBYism.
There are fans in your automobiles that
bring you to council chambers -They make
noise and use electricity.
There are probably fans in council cham-
bers. They make noise and use electricity. .
Have you studied the effect of that on health
and waited for the province to tell you appro-
priate setbacks from people for them?
Windmills are fans that work in ttverse-
using wind energy to give us electricity. The
same electricity that already flows in all the
power lines and surround us in every building.
It is not rocket science. It's centuries old sci-
ence.
We have tricks traveling on our County
roads by the thousands every day- close to
houses -that make noise, cause vibrations and
can keep you awake if you are trying to
...:..:...........:...:...............:.
sleep. Will the Warden impose a freeze on
truck traffic until we know every possible
effect on people? What about his concern for
the health of people?
Fifty -thousand North Americans are killed
and three million are seriously injured in auto-
mobile accidents every year The surest way to
protect the health of Huron County residents,
far more significantly then putting a freeze on
windmills, would be to freeze any further car
sales to people of the County.
We already have studies and information
telling us of the state of the Great Lakes basin
and the effects of pollution on the health of it's
residents and the major diseases that ane more
prevalent here because of this pollution, which
is primarily caused by the combustion of fossil
fuels. In the real concern of the health of peo-
ple we know that the best thing to do is find
and use alternative energy solutes.
I don't like to drive behind snowplows. They
go slow, it is very loud and snowy and if you
are not careful, very dangerous. Using the
equal reasoning as the Warden and those
opposed to windmills I would ask that snow-
plow use is frozen and we wait for the pm-
' ince to give us safe setbacks, between lanes
and between them and cars.
But I don't ask for that because as with the
above examples I know that snowplows are
essential to the way of life that we know and
enjoy. -As is electricity and the infrastructure
to utilize it.
. Regional energy security is going to be a
huge issue if we merely watch world events
unfolding around us. Iraq falling into chaos or
even a failure in one of our major transmission
lines would affect us and our way of life
deeply.
Windmills are a piece of the puzzle that
gives us regional energy security and as all
previous generations have done, .is a way to
improve the world for those who come after
us.
How do you honestly lookin the eye of a
parent of any of the North American troops
serving in the Middle East and tell them that
their child should keep on risking their every
step trying to keep for us a stable energy sup-
ply -because you have constituents who don't
want to see a windmill when they are in the
back yard cutting their lawn?
"For the corporation of the County of Huron
sustainability calls for community engage-
ment, informed decision making and
EVOLUTION" - it is the evolution of our
skyline that people are worried about or they
would give equal reasoning to every potential
health threat.
The Warden states that he would like to fol-
low the lead of the province- and therefore
play it safe with those opposed to windmills.
Huron County has long had a reputation of
a council of Leaders -not followers. Let us
continue this for the sake of our economy ,
energy security and a sustainable way of life
for our future residents!
Yours Trvly
John M. Brand
R.R.#3
Outdoor classrooms a go
From OUTDOOR, Page 6
This falls directly with our govern-
ments recent announcment that the
province of Ontario is well on its way
to becoming an education, technology,
and natural resource based economy.
This is exactly what will make our
Town of Goderich and area grow.
Teacher Miltenberg has already
requested my assistance to lead envi-
ronment and biology classes in April
and May of this year in this area. I
would certainly like to say to the
classes, "look what we have accom-
plished along with the help of out
Provincial Government and local
Government in making this area our'
permanent open air classroom".
Yours Truly,
K. John Hazlitt
Goderich