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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-06-26, Page 18i 6 Page 6A—Crossroads—June 26, 1985 ' 'PLA'YING FAIR The hilt -dry off trade talks with the Japanese has been dispiriting. The Japanese are reluctant to open their nation to imports, and we in North America are unable to persuade them that it is their best interests to do so. We seem unwilling to re- cognize that Japan is not playing fair. After, many years of sparring, it should be obvious that the deck is stacked against our exports to Japan, yet we do not de- mand justice. Japan continues to act like a poverty stricken nation. Its chronic export obsession stems from the fact that about three quarters of its imports are food, fuel, and raw materials so it needs ex- ports to survive. Neverthe- less, the export mania is so manifestly unfair that it will backfire. Over the past five years nearly half of Japan- ese economic growth came from exports,. and this de- pendence on exports for Canada's Business by Bruce Whitpstone growth means that event- ually Japan will fall victim to its own "successes". The rest of the world will not stand for the economic 4n- perialism off the Japanese. Once the major nations re- cognize the nature of the Japanese challenge to their markets, protectionist measures are sure to be put in place. When a recession gets 'underway, the clamor for protection will not be contained. In a slump, when profits plunge and jobs dis- appear, pressures in many nations to help agriculture and industry will overwhelm any textbook theories of the virtues of free trade or even the best interests of consum- ers who may want to buy, Japanese imports. In Japan importers must contend' with cumbersome bureaucratic rules, quotas, absurd testing require- ments, and trade association rules which curtail imports. Even when imports have a distinct price advantage STIEAK BARBECUE BONANZA McGregor 25 x 3.2 oz. (5 lbs.) Sizzler Burgers ,lust 7.95 McGregor 20 x 170 gr. (6 oz.) Reg. 33.75 Strip Loin SAVE 2.25 Just. 31.50, McGregor 12 x 250 gr. (8.8 oz.) . Reg: 29.75 •Save 2.0.0 Strip Loin Just. 27 75 Millbank Store Cut Medium Cheddar Why pay 3.89 lb or more BULK PRODUCTS (pre-packaged) 0 2.99 SUPER SPECIAL FOR CANNING 40 kg. (88 Ib. ) White Sugar Only 15 . 9 9 Fresh Salted or Unsalted Peanuts ,b..99 Delicious 1-09 Beer Nuts • Ib Save 300 Ib. BULK F TI 995 Wallace Ave. N., Listowel 291-4777 Mon. -Sat. 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Thurs. & Fri. till 9 p.m. such as ir,agricultural pro- ducts, restthints on ilnports are commonplace. The re- sult is that, as the Japanese economy grows, imports do not Keep pace. The low "elasticity" -to import means imports increase very slow- ly, at about half the rate of most other industrial nations. Now much of the World buys Japanese exports. According to theory, the ex- port surplus should be self- correcting. The Japanese currencyshould rise in„ price, reflecting the export surplus or there should be higher domestic spending which . would stimulate in- flation and imports. How- ever, Japan invests its ex- port surplus in U.S. dollar securities so these events do not take place. Later, the re- turn from foreign invest- ments will accrue• to Japan and further add to its over- seas income. No one "needs" Japanese imports. While it generally is to our advantage to shop around,for the best available purchase, once it becomes clear that imports from Japan are leading to our own destruction,' protectionism will become inevitable. The international trading system` will break down, and then a major loser will be Japan. We have come to the point where we must insist that Japan take our exports, par- ticularly with products which have a competitive price advantage. If we fail to, act, there will be an uncon- trollable demand for retal- iation and protection. Mainstream Canada 4 Brave new world By Tony Carlson It's no surprise to hear the grousing over the federal budget. Few individuals wiljl escape pinch of some off Micha Wilson's revenue• enhancement plans (read higher taxes and fewer loop- holes ) '» But ,more than that, the minister has set a new course for the economy and, human nature being what it is, many.. people are skeptic- al, to say the least, that the ship qf statg� will stay afloat. Mr.`Wrlson, to his credit, has chosen to challenge the unknown. He has accepted the advice of those who point out that the interventionist, program -happy economic blueprints drawn up by past governments have not work- ed. Double digit unemploy- ment persists and our future is clouded by the possibility of a generation of young peo- ple who do not know the satisfaction of holding a job. All this despite the best laid make-work plans and bailout policies of successive ad- ministrations. Wilson and the govern- ment are embracing a philosophy that puts Canada at a cross-roads. They are challenging us by "reward- ing success, not subsidizing effort." Hence the moves to jet- tison money -devouring Crown corporations and heavy water plants. Hence, too, the measures to make it more attractive to own, manage, invest in -or, for that matter, work for a small business. He offers no figures on the number of jobs he expects small and medium-sized firms to create. But what ap- pears to be madness to the critics is surely method of the shrewdest variety. H. (X)RDON GREEN Somebody gave me a dog a couple : of years ago, a beautiful big brute with a pedigree as long as his tail. His name is Schultz. He's an English Pointer and accord- ing to what it says in all the well-informed dog books he's supposed to roam in the fields or in the woods till he smells a garne bird hiding up ahead of him. Then he freezes like a statue with tail and one foot in the air and his nose pointed like a compass in,, the direction of the bird. I never was too sure that the' Pointer goes through. all this prescribed routine just so his master would know where to shoot. I always had the suspicion that the real reason he freezes to a halt like that is because he's afraid that if he took one more step the bird would ex- plode and hit him a belt in the nose. • George and Geoff Carnegie with "Brandy", Listowel ti In any case, Schultz was given to me because he just didn't seem to be interested in birds at all. Or at least that's what his disgusted owner told me. "If you don't wanthim, he said, I'll have someone shoot him, I guess. Dumbest dog I ever saw." But lo and behold one morning shortly after Schultz and I got acquainted, we were roaming back ' through the hayfield and suddenly Schultz began to show tremendous excite- ment at something in the grass just beyond him. Well now, I thought, who sai this dog wouldn't pint a bir ? Because our farm is ful of partridge and I fully ex cted to see one burst -fro .cover,. I waited so long for that bir I went up to the dog to help him out and there was no bird at all. Yet every muscle in Schultz's lovely frame was tense with inter- est and he obviously saw • something which I could not because he was now .cocking his head from one side to the other like a great intellectual solemnly pondering the im- ponderable. I searched the ground in front of him thoroughly, thought maybe he might have located a mouse or at least a grasshopper, but I couldn't see a thing so I moved on to my fencing job and somewhat reluctantly,, Schultz eventually followed. Then suddenly he went through the same act again, looking intently at absolutely nothing in the grass. Must be playing games with his ima- gination I thought, and then I saw what Schultz saw. A mosquito. Didn't do anything to it. Just watched it. Well, well — all morning long Schultz studied mos- quitoes while I strung fence. So now I had discovered the secret shame of this strange dog. He was not interested in flushing bright bundles of feathers so a man with a gun could tumble them dripping red from the sky. Instead, the Almighty in His Infinite Whimsy- had infected i►ini with an insatiable interest in mosquitoes. Now had Schultz been created a man, such a "For too long," Wilson said in his budget speech, "government decided what is best for Canadians. Gov- ernment set - priorities, directed activity and subsi- dized effort. M. budget calls for Canadians, not govern- ment, to choose what is best for Canada." This then is the underpin= ning for such action as the $500,000 personal exemption from capital gains tax, for freeing up money now saved in Registered Retired Sav- ings Plans to be invested in small companies which create most of the new jobs: The day is, past when pub- lic worl)s, mega -projects and major corporations could hope to provide enough work for Canadians. World economics demand fast- moving, entrepreneurial business communities that can adapt to rapid change, technological and otherwise. Instead of bureaucrats and politicians making invest- ment decisions, individuals will be doing it thanks to Wil- son's proposals. Like an entrepreneur launching a new product, Wilson is finding that this' fundamental philosophical change puts him and his party at some political risk from those whq either have vested interests in the past or are too fainthearted to face the changing economic facts. But it is a risk he and the country must take. In one step, he has suc- ceeded in unlocking huge pools of money for invest- ment in the job -generating small and medium-sized business sector and in cut- ting the deficit in manage- able bites. By doing so, he is sending the right signals to Cana- dians and the international community that this country is serious in its brave. effort to adapt to the new realities of our changing world. hankering to explore the smaller, humbler things of life might have made him a famous microbiologist, a second Louis Pasteur per= haps or at least a comfort- ably paid government re- search man. Certainly he would have been regarded as a real intellectual of some sort. But since he was born a dog, he was very nearly con- demned to death because he had proven himself nothing better than a pointless Point- er. Which foot's bigger? Most people have one foot about a half size bigger than the .other.. In right-handed people the left foot has been shown to be larger, and in left-handed people it's the right foot. The difference is believed due tofetal devel- opment. Tuna large and swift Among the largest and fastest fish are the bluefin tuna, which continue to grow throughout their Wfe. A 30 - year -old will weigh about 1,500 poundsand can swim. 55 mph. . WILLOW CREST "HORSEMAN'S CENTRE" 1 0 % OFF 10°'° OFF ACME DINGO D' N POST. 20% OFF ALL BOOTS CHESTER ENGLISH RIDING HOOTS MINE The horse world's most trusted name RR 3, Moorefield 20 OFF ALt, SADDLES STUBBEN * PASSIER * KIEFER Standardbred. Race Harness & Supplies Stentson - Straws : $15.95 Harry Hall Breeches Reg. 56.95 - SALE $44.95 Navajo Saddle Blankets $28.50 Equiverm (equine wormer) reg. 10.35 SALE $9.45 "DOOR PRIZE" "EVERYONE WELCOME!" 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