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Times -Advocate, July 29, 1981
limes Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881
Imes -Advocate
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SERVING CANADA S BEST FARMLAND
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eNA
•
Amalgamated 1924
Published Each Wednesday
Morning
at Exeter, Ontario
Second Class Mail
Regi stration Number 0386
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Canada SI 7.00 Per Year;
USA $35.00
Better than diet
There's great news for most people
this week and there are even a few who
have won the battle of the bulge over-
night.
No. they didn't hit upon some new
and sensational diet plan in their fight
against weight. They didn't have to jog
around the clock or even go without
meals for a week.
Many people managed to come
within closer range of the ideal weight
through less strenuous methods than
any of the above. What happened is that
the ideal weights were revised. They
have been increased by over 10 pounds,
no doubt a victim of today's inflation.
Since 1959, a man who stands 5'11"
to 6'2" was told he should weigh
between 145 and 154 pounds. Under new
guidelines he can now balloon to 165 to
174 pounds. There are similar increases
for people of all heights.
Unfortunately, there are many who
will still find themselves over -weight,
even with the new guidelines. But in-
stead of being told they should lose 30
pounds. it is now only 20.
Some may see that as a more
realistic goal and strive to attain it.
Others, of course, will just sit back and
hope that in another few years the
figures will be increased again, to come
even closer to their physical figures.
Help tenants too
In endorsing a resolution from the
Town of Leamington, members of Ex-
eter council have joined the list of
politicians in this country who share
the misguided belief that high interest
rates affect only home owners.
They. along with opposition leader
Joe Clark, would like to see plans in-
stituted whereby homeowners would be
saved from the burden of high
mortgage and interest rates.
The Leamington resolution notes
that the pride in, and the responsibility
of. home ownership should be within
the grasp of all Canadian families. The
fact is, many Canadians by choice,
prefer to live in rented accommodation
and are just as adversely affected by
high mortgage rates as homeowners.
In fact. tenants do not benefit from
the tax-free imputed income and
capital gains on their holdings as do
homeowners and yet most renters are
forced to pay higher rents as a result of
the interest squeeze on their landlords.
Programs that provide assistance
on mortgage payments or property tax
credits are unfair if they fail to provide
similar assistance to tenants, many of
whom find themselves in the same
financial woes as homeowners when it
comes time to make their monthly
payments.
Many Canadians are adversely
affected in one way or another by high
interest rates, and the remedy must be
aimed at the most needy, whether they
be tenants or owners.
Politicians at all levels must be
reminded that government spending
continues to be one of the major factors
in the rampant inflation that is foster-
ing increased interest rates and cut-
backs in government spending would go
a long way towards leaving people with
more money available to meet their ac-
commodation costs, whether they be
tenants or owners.
A hungry world
For the majority of the people in
the world today the great dominating
• problem is a cold. empty feeling in the
pit of the stomach that is unlikely ever
to become a warm, full feeling.
Hunger is a primary stimulant of
the revolutionary discontent that could
lead to total war in our time. The exter-
nal aid programs of our government
may be . in the long run, far more im-
portant for our national security than
anything that can be done by our
Department of National Defence.
Democracy's greatest enemy is not
communism or any other ideology --
it is the dehumanizing poverty and
hunger of so many of the world's peo-
ple.
If you and your children were
destined to go through life with that
cold. empty feeling always in the pit of
the stomach. would you see any really
significant difference between the
democratic style of life and the com-
munist or other totalitarian style?
By SYD FLETCHER
With high interest rates,
Inflation and a lot of people
out of work it would seem
that the country is going to
the dogs, that times have
never been worse.
Not so. I've talked to a few
people who lived through the
"hungry thirties" and
they've let me in on what it
was like then.
Prices were indeed low.
1
As Bertrand Russell once asked.
"If one man offers you democracy and
another offers you a bag of grain, at
what stage of starvation will you prefer
grain to the vote?" What kind of
political decisions would you make if
you and your family and most of the
people in your community suffered
chronic malnutrition?
Here our calculating self-interest is
not enough -- although political reali-
ty and psychological insight demand
that we do not casually dismiss such
motivation. But compassion --
literally. "suffering with" -- must
always be a dimension of our nation's
foreign policy.
There is. of course. at present a
good deal of authentic compassion in
Canada's foreign policy, but it must be
extended and strengthened. And to do
what we may have to sacrifice some of
our national affluence. take a few
raisins out of our fruitcake.
Contributed
Perspectives
Bread was 5 cents a loaf,
hamburger a dime a pound,
a good dress shirt about one
dollar, gond brick homes for
about $4,000 and servants at
about one or two dollars per
day.
But that was not all. Wheat
was 19 cents a bushel; the
hest pigs sold for S2 each (not
2 dollars a hundred weight )
Farmers shipped cattle to
market and were billed back
excess freight - the cattle
didn't pay the cost of the
freight' Ilundreds of peoiple
were on relief and couldn't
afford to even pay taxes
much less interest on their
mortgages. Practically
every farmer was forced into
debt (although today's
farmer is no different) and
was heavily mortgaged
(again not very unusual)
In the winter of 1933 things
grew desperate. Eggs were 5
cents a dozen; cattle were
bringing Sor 6cents a pound.
Evictions for non-payment
of debts began to take place.
Salaries of people were
dramatically cut ( none of
this worry about inflation
mind you).. People didn't
complain too much, not if
they valued their jobs.
Teachers' salaries were
dropped from $105o per year
to $400 and often they could
not collect their wages from
a township because of so
many people being behind in
taxes.
More about the good old
days next week.
"Well, what will it be — ►t'ulk or catch the bus and'not eat next week?"
BATT'N ARO
•
Mail strike brings benefits to some
A couple of weeks ago mention was
made that the postal strike afforded
many people an opportunity of escaping
the daily barrage of bills.
Of course, it creates financial
headaches for those who rely on the
mail for receiving money and once
again the financial institutions are real-
ly the big winners. Aren't they always?
Individuals and firms who missed
delivery of cheques were forced to hike
to the bank or loan company to get
some short-term assistance to boost
their cash flow positions. Most of those
loans were received with an_ accom-
panying interest rate of somewhere
over 21 percent;
Meanwhile. those who are enjoying
relief from the usual strain on their
bank accounts and watching their
savings grow. are doing so with in-
terest rates being added of anywhere
from 12 to 16 percent, with a few of the
more fortunate getting up to 171 by
putting their new-found wealth into
short term deposits.
However. there is still a spread of at
least five percent, and when you con-
sider the fact that millions of dollars
are involved across the nation, it can be
readily seen that the financial in-
stitutions are among those who derive
benefits from a postal strike.
•
Another group who get some respite
from a postal service interruption are
those who either can't afford to take
extended holiday trips or merely
choose to wait out the summer in the
friendly confines of their backyards.
Normally. these folk are inundated
with a host of picture post cards from
friends. neighbors and relatives who
are enjoying the sights of this or other
countries.
While many of the holidayers return
home before their mailings do, the
notes about "having a great time.wish
you were here" no longer arrive to
make stay -at -homers envious.
1t also serves as a break for the
holidayers as well. No longer do they
have to cut short their relaxation
beside the pool or in the bar to hustle
back to the confining walls of a small
hotel room to spend a couple of hours
sending along postcards to those people
back home.
The only losers, it would appear, are
the poor characters who attempt to
make their livelihood producing post
cards.
•
Actually. the credibility of most peo-
ple is maintained when they can't send
post cards. They tend to make liars out
of most of us because of their limited
space for written messages.
There's nothing quite like a tiny two
and a half inch blank square to inhibit
people from telling the truth. They sit
down to pen a message and by the time
they get the "Dear Folks" salutation
completed. they find they have room
for only two or three more words.
Generally speaking, this remaining
space is filled in with some half truth
about the good weather. or the good
times. or the beautiful view, etc., etc.
Given more space. people would
react truthfully and detail the fact that
it rained for the first five of their six
days; that they had engine trouble with
the family car and were forced to lay
over in some remote, non-descript
town where the only mechanic was an
alcoholic who charged exorbitant rates
to feed his habit:that the baby had colic
or the old man was grounded
with diarrhea for two days; that the
mosquitoes were bigger than the fish
and bit much more frequently; that
they were stranded for three days in
Tobermory while they fixed holes in the
ferry. etc.. etc.
Few of those tales are related until
the vacationers get home and in an un-
guarded moment relate some of the
horror stories which ruin a holiday for
many people.
It's always strange that when the
conversation .-gets around to holiday
trips. most people have little trouble
recalling the trials and tribulations but
can't remember anything memorable
about a previous sojourn.
Why is it that bad times and ex-
periences are always more vivid and
stick in our minds more than the good
times?
•
The old adage about being penny wise
and pound foolish (that translates in-
to dollars and cents if you're not
familiar with the British coinage
system ) appears to be the situation
regarding the upkeep on Exeter's ten-
nis courts.
A discussion last week revealed that
the courts were deteriorating due to a
lack of general maintenance and the
reported response from recreation of-
ficials was that there was not enough
staff hours available to keep the courts
in good condition.
Obviously. that is a situation that
must be immediately corrected by the
rec centre board. Some method should
also be considered for charging tennis
players an entrance fee that would pay
for the normal upkeep on the courts.
Surely they could be persuaded to con-
tribute through some type of honor
system that would alleviate the
necessity for costly and complex ad-
ministration.
By the same token, those who are
concerned about the fact the courts are
never swept should be reminded that
they could pool their resources to
purchase a suitable broom and under-
take the task periodically on their own
in return for the availability of the
facility for their pleasure.
The accompanying exercise may
serve as a suitable pre -game warmup.
"A.s' an Alberta businessman, has the impasse on an oil agreement had any effect on you?"
DOUAR SERSE
Saving gas and money
in hands of driver
By Alan C. Gunn, CA
How much money do you
spend -- per week, per
month and per year •- for
gasoline?
If you can't answer that
question at least fairly
accurately, chances are
you're spending too much.
And the chances are that
you are among the vast
majority of Canadians who
actually waste gasoline. In
fact, in a time when gas-
oline prices have quad-
rupled in the last 10 years,
with no end of further price
increases in sight, we have
the worst conservation
record in the industrialized
world.
Conserving gasoline
simply makes good finan-
cial sense, and the ways to
Dollar Sense offers
general financial advice by
members of The Institute of
Chartered Accountants of
Ontario.
do it are equally simple.
Here are a few.
First, keep your car in
proper tune. The modern
automobile is more fuel-
efficient than that of 10
years ago, but that extra
efficiency is wasted if you
don't keep it in tune. A
dirty air filter, for example,
can waste up to 64 gallons
per year, while fouled spark
plugs or poorly adjusted
timing means that unburnt
gas is blown out with the
exhaust.
Next, keep tires properly
inflated. The drag of soft
tires can cost you an extra
six'per cent in gas.
Observe' the speed limit.
It takes 22 per cent more
gas to travel the same
distance at 112 kilometres
per hour than at 80.
Let the engine warm
gradually, instead of gun-
ning it in the morning. And
don't let it idle on high
while you wait. One minute
of idling uses more gas
than starting the motor.
Then, don't tear away in a
jackrabbit start; doing this
regularly can add another 6
per cent to your gas bill.
You will note that none of
this advice means you have
to drive your car less. But it
makes sense not to drive
when you don't have to. By
observing the above few
simple rules, 12 regular
commuters between Tor-
onto and Barrie saved an
average of 12.9 per cent on
fuel. If all Canadian drivers
did the same, we would
conserve 700 million
gallons of gasoline a year.
There are other things
you can do to improve fuel
economy, but they involve
trade-offs. Don't use your
air -conditioner unless you
really need to, nor drive
with the windows open --
both add to gas consump-
tion.
And consider carefully
which car to buy. Manual
transmission automobiles,
and especially those with
an overdrive gear, get
better mileage than those
with automatic trans-
missions. However, that's
another trade-off of comfort
and convenience for econ-
omy.
You will have to decide
on those trade-offs for
yourself. But the other,
basic rules are simply
common sense. Not to
observe them is just to
waste gasoline in a world
.where oil -- a non-renew-
able resource -- can only
get more expensive.
Alan Gunn is with
Deloitte Haskins & Sells, -
Chartered Accountants,
Scarborough.
Review farm costs
to cut back debt load
By Donald J. Shaughnessy, CA
Talk to most farmers
.these days and you'll find
one problem uppermost in
their minds -- rising
interest rates. Some for-
tunate individuals have
debts that amount to no
more than 5 per cent or so
of assets but they are
worried too. Interest pay-
ments on that level of debt
can still eat up 5 to 10 per
cent of cash income. .
For farmers with heavier
debt loads, today's interest
Dollar Sense offers
general financial advlee by
members of The Institute
of Chartered Accountants
of Ontario.
rates can spell real trouble.
The danger point is reached
about the 20 per cent mark
• that is, when debt
charges consume 20 per
cent of revenue. The
individual who reaches that
point may not be able to
service his debt for very
long.
If you as a farmer see
yourself moving into the
danger zone, you should
take a hard look at your
over-all situation to see
what can be done to im-
interest-to-
Here are
prove your
income ratio.
some ideas:
1. Undertake no capital
spending unless the sav-
ings or extra earnings are
going to be more than
enough in the first year to
pay the finance costs.
2. Get rid of any assets
you don't need in your
current operations. Do you
have 40 acres sitting idle a
couple of miles up the
road? Two tractors when
one would do? Dump them
fast. If you have a larger
herd than you need, sell off
the surplus and lighten
your debt load.
3. Don't operate a side-
line business that depends
for success on upward
trends in the market just
because you have surplus
capacity. You'd be wrong,
for instance, to try aug-
menting dairy earnings
by raising steers in hopes
that beef prices will im-
prove. It's always better to
lose a little than lose a lot.
4. Keep careful tabs on
your operations with a
month -by -month cash flow
budget. If trouble arises,
you can spot it quickly and
head it off at the pass.
5. Don't make any
decision that anlipates
lower inter tes in the
next 12 nts. A down-
turn just doesn't seem to be
in the cards.
6. Consider incorporat-
ing. That way you can take
advantage of a once-in-a-
lifetime Small Business
Development Loan. Be-
cause lenders don't have to
pay tax on these loans they
are attractively cheap.
Right now the going rate is
1134 to 12 per cent -- and
banks just love this kind
of business.
7. Finally, speaking of
banks, it's a good idea to
keep in close touch with all
your creditors, especially if
you anticipate problems of
any kind. Farmers gener-
ally see their bankers once
a year, but every 90 days is
a better bet in these diffi-
cult times. More than
anything else, lenders
dislike uncertainty.
is
with Ward Shaughnessy Monett.,
Chartered
Chartered Aeeoaatants in
IIIA'
1 1 1 1\ 11 1`
' i � FIGHT
FOR LIFE.