South of the Border Blues

Reading about the fare loony right of the US Republican party recently, of which there is about 1,000 in the entire country, it appears, I was reminded of a conversation I had a few years back with an American citizen on a plane. During this he questioned the Canadian Health Care system, the only time he ever compared the two countries, stating that he couldn’t believe that we would pay taxes for” Someone else to use.” Being relatively new to North America at the time, and being interested enough in politics to gather a lot of US political information I thought that everyone South of the border thought this way. Today’s ‘tea-partiers’ not only reminded me of that conversation, but also of the fittingness of revolutionary dress when glaringly contrasted with a modern day US chain hotel’s surroundings – as if a time traveller has been beamed to the local Hilton. I now realise that not only is this point of view isn’t shared by everyone, but also what kind of hell we have wrought by trying to make our politics as bland as we can.

 These Republicans are, after all, only trying to regain the political ideals they always felt were there own, and health care is the touchstone in their argument. – it has always been one of the few differences between Democrats and Republicans – that is used by both parties as a barometer  of the state of the nation, an Atomic Clock pointing toward doomsday. If the two parties hadn’t tried so hard to please the middle ground voter, and compromised their more homely (read extreme) supporter, we wouldn’t be bored to tears by these guys, and their own Operatic Brunhilde, Sarah Palin, today. Remember that these guys were around during the Bush administration, getting just as much airtime as they are now.

 Amazingly to me, though, is the eye of the hurricane in the US health care debate, the illegal immigrant. I recently had the same discussion with a Canadian on this subject and the thought that there are people desperate to change everything about themselves and uproot their lives and come to a new country, just to claim welfare cash, I find ridiculous. The true case here, is why are illegal immigrants employed, because if they weren’t, they wouldn’t come. Why are there jobs for them that people, living here just won’t so? Why do these jobs still exist? Remember if you are paying an illegal immigrant, you are part of the problem, as the Tea Partier’s say. What is the real cost, if you don’t concentrate on anchor babies? According to the Kennedy School of the Government Council on Foreign Relations, here’s the skinny as of January 2009:

If all working illegals were gone from the US, the economy would lose $1.8 Trillion.

Average working weekly pay would rise by $25 for high school drop outs.

Average annual working incomes as a result of immigration would drop by $1,200.

The US GDP would drop by 0,07%.

There, now. That wasn’t that tough, was it? Now all we have to deal with is the fact that the rest of the World have realised that mass immigration is a reality, and the US cannot go it alone on this issue and, of course, the big question: Why do these musket wielding, tri-corn wearing boobs get as much TV face time as they do?

Canaries in the mine?

It is time to get all of my receipts together for tax time. Yes, it is the first week of February, and yes, I am that anal. Digging behind my drawers looking for the T4 from the third of four companies I worked for last year, I came across some forgotten press items that I had kept from May 2008 and exactly one year later. It’s amazing what you can learn from donning those hindsight glasses:

May 2008 – “Real GDP figures in the US understate the pain that home owners are feeling from a collapsing housing market. Their net worth is deteriorating and unemployment is climbing. Strong exports are masking the their domestic weakness. GDP aside: “ Basically every indicator you can hake a stick at is screaming recession”

This was closely followed by: “ Eastman Kodak Co. said yesterday that it was raising prices by an average of 20% because of soaring prices of energy and raw materials.” Wow, did you really think that this was the best time to do it? On the other hand:

“In Stockton, California ..three out of four homes for sale are in or on the path to foreclosure” Hmm…Did Eastman Kodak know that?. Chief Executive of Lowe’s Co’s Inc., yesterday said population growth and the aging of America’s more than 130 million existing homes provides a favourable long-term outlook for the home improvement industry.”. Especially when it’s in foreclosure, and you have taken your parents in, in the spare bedroom.

From 2009, one year later to the month, a stock broker mused: What if the Fed’s safety net is about to be pulled like a rug from under the economy, because the Fed wants to be sure that (stock) traders start   minding their risks? What happens to stock manipulation, Speculation, and downright investment start to pull back? Who’s going to kick start the economy, then? So not only is a Socialist style capitalist rescue OK, but there may be a wrong time to put Capitalism into first gear! Amazing. Oh, and look…

“U.S Home sales continue freefall”. Isn’t this what was forecast a year ago, when homeowners were spending all of their spare cash at Lowe’s and deciding whether to put Mom into a care home to rent out the spare room in order to afford the mortgage?

And, finally – Banking: “ING Direct has made massive inroads into the domestic banking market by nor offering branches, and running with less than 1,000 employees world wide – many of them in low paying, entry positions. A the end of March 2009, it had $23.6 Billion in assets, up from $2.8 billion eight years earlier.”

No more homes, existing homes worth less, everyone spending their spar time making improvements to their own houses, because there is nothing to move up to, Kodak going bust because it thought that people would spend more for an ageing technology, and all of our banking secrets have to be talked about over the phone to someone in Pakistan, because your high street bank is run by the same guys that tax you. This is the future, people. Look at these headlines NOW , not one or two years in arrears, and do your taxes in February, before they run out of money before paying you, your refund.

Today, I read that China’s Economy is a Bubble! Oh, Sh*t!