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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-04-24, Page 271 I Page 8—Crossroads—Apr. 24, 1985 A CHILD OF THE WORLD Family undernourished future uncertain j(NC) — Ronald's family is destitute. Their home is made of bamboo and leaves — no match for violent storms. His parents are eager to work — but there is little work to be had. Yet there is a chance for Ronald's family to work to- wards a. better life, Their problems can be solved with Foster Parents Plan's help. Education, clean water, job training, medical care and more will be provided. For a free booklet on Fos- ter Parents Plan, write Box 900, Dept. PS, Station Q, Toronto, Ont. M4T 2P1, or call toll-free 1-800-268-7174, (in B.C. 112-800-268-7174). L -T ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET rI FI ET ET E7 ET ET F1 EI F1 Er FI FF 1I ET ET ET ET ET ET ET FT 11 'T ET ET ET It II EI a 1 t ET E 1 1 1 ET ET El ET ET ET ET FT E E.T. Travel Talk Ily Doug Ellison Price Busters IRELAND AND SCOTLAND - Aug. 3 - 16 Join us on our 14 day tour to Ireland and Scotland with our host Carl Mills. Save $200 per couple by booking before April 30th/85. Our tour includes the highlights of southern Ireland in- cluding the Ring of Kerry as well as northern Scotland and the Isle of Skye. Visit Edinburgh and enjoy the Tattoo. Following our tour you can extend your stay to visit England and Europe. Space is limited so register today. FARM TOURS July -ab Space Still Available Royal Farm Show Tour we have added an extra section. which is quickly filling up. Call and book today. There are still special savings if you book before the end of April. The tour includes visits to Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Murray Gaunt of CKNX will host this .tour. Scandinavian Tour we have 10 seats remaining on our Scandinavian Tour. This tour includes visits to Denmark, Norway and Sweden. You can still save $200 per couple by booking this tour before the end of April. Don't delay, call us today! Calgary Stampede - there ore 15 seats remaining on this tour. It is of interest to both the farming community as well as general interest. The tourincludes visits to Banff and Jasper. Maurice Love, formerly of the Exeter area now living in Calgary, will host the group. Book early for special savings. LAS VEGAS A MUST We hove lust returned from Easter Weekend in Las Vegas with a group of 100 persons from this area. It was an ex- ceptionally fine weekend with temperaturesin the high s0's for all 4 days. Las Vegas is a must -for everyone. They have great shows, good weather, day tours, and more. And of course, there is gambling! Asa matter of fact some people really do win. We had a number of persons in our group win $500, $1000, and $2000 during their visits. One lucky lady won 513,000 after playing just 75¢ in the fam- ed "one arm bandit" at the casino in Circus Circus. Las Vegas offers topnotch entertainment including peo- ple such as singers Frank Sinatra, Pointer Sisters, Englebert Humperdink and Comedians ,such as Joan Rivers. Theatres in Los Vegaskire small and therefore you can see your favorite entertainers and feel a port of the show. As well, there are excellent reviews and broadway shows. We have another -100 seats for Las Vegas for Easter Weekend 1986, Friday March 28 to Monday March 31st. Travel with us again fora very interesting and (unfilled weekends. Call us today and register: There is'no cost for registration. r Toll free -1-800 - 263-7022 Local calls - 235-2000 Mon. to Fri. 3:30 - 3:30 Saturday 9:30 - 1:30 riafra &. T FF 1.1 1111171111111111 FT 1r ET F1 11 II IF II I It ET ET ET 1.T ET ET ET ET ET IT II ET ET ET ET ET I1 FT II FT 11 It F1 ET ET FT IT ET ET ET ET F. 1 11 II 11 tT rt. FT T ET t t I I I.I AIM Canada's Business EXPORT COMPETITION There is growing competi- tion in the world for export orders. Canada, pre- eminently a trading nation, seems to be ignoring this fact.. We cannot afford to do so, considering ' our weak economy and huge unenf- ployment. Commercial rivalry among the trading nations is on the increase, and along with that a rising similarity in price, quality, and the availability of goods. There- fore, government financing arrangements are becoming the determining factor in many trade transactions. Frequently, the contract goes to the exporter who is able to arrange the best financing for the sale. Sluggish domestic growth should impel us to consider ways to stimulate exports. Furthermore, the rise over the past few years of short and long-term interest rates by Bruce Whitestone has meant that the cost of credit has soared for most of the large nations. As a result, the cost of ffunds for almost all of. the official export credit agencies of maty countries is becoming major stumbling block in numerous sales.This has led to interest subsidies by some nations. Other countries then have had to match the sub- sidized financing or risk the loss of exports and jobs'. International competition as evidenced by official export credits reflects the importance most countries give to export markets. Not only are export markets crucial to maintain employ- ment and economic growth, but also the additional output is necessary in many cases in order to achieve the economies of scale in pro- duction. A major part of export policies is their official export credit program. L11:!ainstream Canada Curiouser and curiouser By Tony Carlson Some days, to read the newspaper is to wonder whether you've stepped through the looking glass and found yourself, like Alice, in a world of confusion and unreality. Item: Some school board workers in Toronto say they were offered too much in contract talks. The 1 five workers want less than the 41/z per cent raise the board proposed. A 55 -cent -an -hour increase is sufficient, they say, rather than the 76 cents offered. Curious. Item: In a national referendum in Switzerland, that industrious - nation's citizens reject a proposal for an extra week's vacation for workers older than 40. Voters in 14 of the country's 24 cantons (states) oppose the idea which would have increase the mandatory annual vacation to five weeks from four for those employees. Curiouser. Item: Alberta's unionized electricians agree to a three- year basic wage freeze in a pact which includes a clause allowing the basic wage to be cut on certain As. The SPRING SALE 20 ado 1 OFF ! BED & BATH LINEN until May 11 • COMFORTERS • BEDSPREADS • SHEET SETS • TOWELS • BATH MATS • SHOWER CURTAINS ALSO Eyelet and ruffled DECORATOR CUSHIONS mai 0111 Choose from a variety of shades,, styles, sizes, materials and patterns. Ideal for yourself or wedding and shower gifts as well. Treat INTERIORS 151 Main St. W. Listowel 291-3150 J contract also provides for re- negotiations if the province's economy improves and that, if a deadlock arises ona new wage rate, the union will forfeit its right to strike and agree to binding arbitration. Curiouser and curiouser. There's an ever-growing trickle of stories such as these cropping up in the press in recent months, bits of evidence that suggest the world is changing. On their way out, it would seem, are the days when jobs were plentiful enough so that workers could push for every cent and every day off they could get. Slowly, the realization is dawning that compromise and flexibility are the keys to a new world which is emerging. - This new feeling of living within the realities of the day is reflected in other statis- tics, especially one which shows that Canadian workers settled for average wage increases of 3.6 per cent last year, almost 20 per cent below the annual in- flation rate of 4.4 per cent. That's also well below the 1983 average of 4.7 per cent and marks the third straight year the average has. declined. There ismuch to be said for the reasonableness of the people who are accepting these raises. We will -be reading more" stories like this in the coming days, weeks and months as we move more fully into a time when our ability to adapt in the workplace, and do it quickly, will become an essential tool of whatever trade we practise. But while Alice found strange and at times dangerous creatures in her trip to Wonderland, we need not fear the coming change. For every turbulent period of rapid change in man's history, from the Agricul- tural Revolution on down, has produced more oppor- tunities, created more jobs, than it has made obsolete. Some people just adjust to the direction in which the wind is blowing more quick- ly. TAX TIP OF THE WEEK A PUBLIC SERVICE OF H&R BLOCK Q. I have three children from a previous marriage. Since December, 19841 have been living in a common-law relationship. Will this affect my Child Tax Credit claim in any way even though my common-law spouse is not the father of my children? A. It may. If your common- law spouse is claiming a de- pendant's exemption with respect to your children, his net income for the entire year must be aggregated with yours when calculating the amount of Child Tax Credit available to you. Export credit assistance is one of the best means to pro- vide help to exporters, and it can be targeted to a,particu- lar sector if so desired. The success of a special sector may hinge on its ability to. sell in international markets °and thereby increase its market share. What is surprising is the continued lack of ap- preciation by our federal or provincial governments of the effects of Japanese and European export support programs on the Canadian economy. There is. too much reliance here on market forces alone and a seeming inability to accept the conse- quences of the policies of other major trading coun- tries. ountries. As reported by the Organ- ization for Economic Co- operation and Development, Canada offers the least of- ficial support of exports of any OECD nation. According to the latest Bath available, 6.4 per cent of exports received support, compared to 8.2 percent for the United States, 37.3 per cent for Britain, 30.3 per cent for France, and an astounding 43 per cent for Japan. A table of annual subsidy costs of OECD export pro- grams. again shows that Canada provides the least help. Only 2.5 per cent of total annual subsidy costs. are represented by Canada, compared to 5.7 per cent for the United States, 19.5 per cent for Britain, 42.4 per cent! for France, and 10.2 per cent for Japan. A Canadian export drive must recognize realities. We have to fight for export markets and insist on fair treatment by many im- porters, notably the European Economic Com- munity and Japan. These efforts, however, must be combined with help for our exporters so that they can respond to subsidized export credits offered by other countries. Without compar- able credit subsidies, we are greatly handicapped. SKATE HOWICK 85. Every Wednesday & Sunday Opening Night Sunday, April 28 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Wednesday - George D.J. - Top 40 and Golden Oldies. Sunday - The George Video Show Inflation gets us all I recently showed a young couple how to be- come millionaires. And I got the stock. an- swer: "Who needs a mil- lion dollars at age 65? Why not spend all our money now, and worry about the future later?" They were 30 years old. I had shown them that by simply putting. $1,000 a year (until age 65) into his RRSP, he would end up with a value of over $1 million, assuming a rate of return of 15 per cent (which we in the mutual fund industry consider as "nor- mal" despite the fact sev- eral funds have averaged over 20 per cent and 25 per cent over the past 10 years). Who needs it? Perhaps you feel the same, that you will never need a million dollars saved up for your retire- ment. After all, who wants to live better in retirement than they live today! I then asked: "Do you know what inflation is?" I received the answer that it was "the increase in the cost -of -living, usually cal- cul a t ed al-culated on a yearly basis." "What do you think the average rate of inflation will be over the next 35 years?" I asked. They thought for a minute, rea- lizing that in 1984 inflation had been wrestled down to - Advertisement IT'S YOUR MONEY Paul J. Rockel somewhere between four and five per cent, but they felt it would rise again, and probably average six per cent a year. So I used my handy calculator to discover that $1 million 35 years from now, assuming an annual inflation rate of six per cent, would have the same spendable capacity as $130,000 today. Yes, $130,000! Invested at 10 per cent, this would only give them earnings of $13,000 in today's dollars, whereas they both . agreed they'll need at least $20,000 to "get by on" in 1985. It shocked them to learn that being millionaires 35 'years from now would not provide them with epough income to maintain their standard of living. Most of us choose not to "think" of these things, possibly because we don't understand them, or we hate to realize the con- sequences of what inflation does to our incomes. We hate to think„ of re- tirement, and when we finally do approach retire- ment, we. think of our income only in today's terms. We've all run across peo- ple retiring now who are smug and happy in that they have arranged their affairs so that they can now retire with an annual in- come of $20,000 per year. They "have it made" (they believe). You'll need more How many people do you know who feel comfortable in their retirement? That couple retiring today on $20,000 annually will need almost $48,000 annually 15 years from now, to main- tain the same standard of living. And ... they tell us that as males, if we reach age 65 we will live an average of 17 more years (females even more). - Yes, inflation can make paupers out of all of us, unless we prepare. Fora FREE package of investment fund informa- tion, write: Paul J. Rockel, 153 Union St. E., Waterloo, Ontario N2J 1C4. Paul J. Rockel is President of Regal Capital Planners Ltd. and of the Independent In- vestment Fund Dealers As- sociation of Canada. %i %'•%•••••••:' SCO T CK ELECTRA STATION WAGQNS- - GM EXECUTIVE DRIVEN 10 TO CHOOSE FROM WHILE THEY LAST FULL FACTORY WARRANTY MARK CULLEN PONTIAC BULK GMC In Listowel "Car City" Phone (519) 291-3791 Hours Mon. -Fri. 9-9 Saturday 9-5 , .