BendGovernment

One Percent Make Errors


One percent of us hoards 99 percent of our national wealth. The one percent always declare that 'Greed is Good' . However, that can only be true in moderation, otherwise they choke the golden goose who provides that wealth ....We, who are the sheeple.

Unions raise our standards of living and living costs to some degree to be sure. Professional associations, on the other hand, raise our costs of living dramatically because, unlike unions, associations have no downward pressure against their alarming upward march to runaway levels of income greed.

Dental associations set rates that seem fit for only the highest income earners. Our national health costs have become impossible, because all health professionals belong to associations who set rates at ever higher levels. When we can not keep our teeth healthy the health care system is swamped with huge demand consequences. A government dental care subsidy would help preserve our health care system saving more than it costs.

Vets who care for your dog and cat have their association set rates surprisingly high. I was shocked to find that the cost to inject a final mercy needle for a very old cat was One Hundred and Thirty Dollars.

Clever CEOs make million dollar bonuses because they trick us common folk into paying much more for goods and services without us noticing how it is done and thus they avoid public backlash. No wonder they make the big bucks.

The crafty CEOs at BC Hydro adopted a two tier rate of billing for our electricity. The concept was to encourage us to use less and stay in the lower tier for the sake of the environment.  No  protest  and no recognition of  the  trick  in  the  media.


In reality though, this was a big rate increase, since no one can keep within the lower tier as the bar is set too low. If I , as a lone resident, and a frugal, [ Jack Benny Cheapo], type can not stay out of the upper tier of consumption, then it follows that no family household can avoid the upper tier and thus the higher electrical consumption rate hike.

The slick CEOs at BC Ferries managed to raise ferry fares Eighty Percent [80%] since 2003. According to an expert interviewed on the CBC. There was no massive revolt, however. Only recently has there been threats of boycott. Cleverness continues, and the BC Ferry execs promised that fares would not be raised again for a while. So boycott threats subside and we the sheeple are appeased.

Environment fees are another golden income goose for the government. Recently I paid a $6.50 enviro fee on a $89 printer. That’s a massive percentage rate for the fee. The government is raking in a golden windfall on these exorbitant fees. Good for provincial debt reduction and better odds for re-election. The BC HST was one sneaky venture that didn’t get by us. Goodbye premier Gordon Campbell. No bonus for you, only a giant sized pension.

Everywhere we turn, rates are going up while our incomes and jobs in general are going south. You would think the smart money hoarding one percent could see how this threatens the very value of their monopoly wealth.

On the CBC program 'The Dragons', where the phrase 'Greed is Good' is often spoken, they ask a contestant if he has an efficient plant where he can produce his new widgets.

The reflex answer is always, “Yes, we have a factory workforce lined up in China, ready and willing to begin production.”

No one raises an eyebrow. It seems that automatically everyone agrees cheap labour in China is the only logical choice.

So with costs rising and jobs going to Mexico, China, South Korea and Malaysia, one has to wonder how our quality of life in Canada can possibly continue.

The sillyness continues with our shipping out of raw logs and now the intent of shipping Tar Sands crude to China. That is export  of  Canadian  jobs.

A new refinery in Western Canada seems a wiser investment. The costs of the two proposed pipelines, [Kitimat  and Texas], and their risks to all water reserves seems like lunacy to me.  Refined products dissipate if spilled at sea. Far better than the damage of crude tanker spills that sooner or later kill the BC and or China coastal  seafood industries.

 
Would there be a backlash from millions of Chinese who depend on seafoods if our toxic Tar Sands crude were spilled over their shores, choking out all sea life?

Shipping Tar Sands crude to China seems crassly reckless. Aside from the certain toxic spill, there is the question of careful control of the toxic wastes from refining. China has contractors who dump wastes into the sea. Very profitable but not wise unless you have a clean planet to move to.

So the clever One percent, [Chevron, Exxon, Shell, Cinepec, etc], may consider keeping jobs in Canada, shipping cleaner value-added products and calming the rush to quick dirty profits via ill advised pipelines. One can only hope. They control Harper  via funding elections. We  the  sheeple influence very few.

PS.  Remember  the  BP  Gulf Oil Spill?
 BP was shown to be negligent for the huge Texas refinery explosion,2005, [ killing fifteen men]. A few years ago, Bp was made to pay the biggest corporate financial penalty in history. Is there a pattern?  60 Minutes TV...see previous post.


R.I.P.