Floor 44: Canadian Politics: Towards Capitalism With A More Social Conscience: Hegel's H.

Ontario Works -- Isn't Working

2012-02-09T01:16:00.000-08:00

Ontario Works -- isn't working.

The whole program -- from top to bottom -- needs to be re-thought and re-worked.

A better anti-poverty network of systems needs to be put into place, involving the municipal, provincial, and federal levels, co-ordinated with each other. The Churches need to be involved. The Communities need to be involved.

If Ontario Works -- is going to work -- then people need to be helped onto their feet; not kicked back into the mud.

Around $590 is the top end of what people get -- or at least single people get -- on Ontario Works. These days, that will be lucky to land a person a room and a washroom. Maybe a separate entrance. More likely, a room in a shared boarding house. Maybe a separate kitchen. More likely not. Maybe laundry facilities. Quite possibly not. Maybe a separate shower. Maybe a shower shared with a house full of people.

By the time the rent is paid, what does the person have left.

Maybe enough for a week of food. Or maybe not even.

No transportation money. Walking becomes the necessary mode of transportation. Not all bad -- good for the body -- but maybe not good enough to land the necessary job that could land a person back on his feet -- and off Ontario Works.

No clothing allowance. Another job deterrent, especially if the person's clothes smell foul when they arrive at their job interview. Trying to wash one's clothes in the bathroom sink may not cut it on interview day. The person may have even become immune to the odour they are carrying around with them.

I'm reacting to the plight of a local woman in Newmarket who I have seen off and on wandering the streets, sometimes homeless, sometimes in a shelter, sometimes barely hanging onto a bad accommodation situation, most often the latter. She has a part-time retail job that maybe nets her $600 to $900 per month. The $900 per month was during the Christmas rush. That chopped her OW cheque down to $100 since they deduct half of what you make for the month, and then subtract that from what is her regular $550 a month cheque.

This woman -- if I am trust what she says, and I have no reason to disbelieve her -- came, or rather ran, from a million dollar home, at about 16, and then finally left for good in her mid 20s. Abstract, partial stories of teenage and adult sexual abuse at the hands of her father and brothers have surfaced a couple of times now. I haven't pushed for details but I don't think we are talking about any 'Oedipal Complex' here. Anyway, she won't go back to her family looking for money.

With a dollar in her pocket, and payday over a week a way, not having paid February rent yet, her landlord overseas, possibly using up her 'last month's rent' which she had given to her landlord, things didn't look too good for her. She seemed sincere in her wish to land another part-time job, and to get off Ontario Works altogether. She asked if I could spot her a $5. Call me naive and manipulated if you wish, but I pulled the $5 change from our 'dinner' at Harvey's. She ordered French Fries and a garden salad -- but couldn't or wouldn't eat -- even thought she said she hadn't eaten since last Saturday.

I told her not to expect this on a regular basis. I have my parents to worry about on a limited government pension. I have an Ontario Works tenant at home who I partly subsidize although he helps me with my bookkeeping, and with keeping the townhouse clean. I have another tenant whose Employment Insurance must have come to an end, and perhaps he is paying out of his savings now. He used to have a good 'trade' job -- the operative two words being 'used to'.

Finally, I have an old time friend who I hadn't seen in about 10 or 15 years. He called me up before Christmas and said he was living in a downtown shelter. Since his divorce over ten years ago, things have gone progressively down hill for him.

I asked him why he didn't go on Ontario Works. He laughed, and said 'Do the math. I live at this shelter, have the trust of the workers, get $30 allowance a week, and get cooked meals. I wouldn't get that from an Ontario Works cheque.'

I shook my head and said, 'Whatever works.'

I'd paid for a couple of rounds of beers that night and didn't have much money left in my wallet. I fumbled in my pocket for change and embarrased, partly for him and partly for me, he seemed to have grown partly desensitized to it, said: 'Sorry, but I only have change left. It's the best I can do right now... I wish I could say that I was still making $50-$60,000...but I'm not right now. We're all pinching pennies.'

And we parted company, him going back downtown, me coming back to Newmarket.

The collapse of a big chunk of the middle class.

And the widening of the gap between the upper, middle, and lower classes...

And then there is -- or was -- ORNGE. As our Ontario MPP, Frank Klees dryly stated: "When they took the 'A' out of ORNGE, that must have stood for 'Accountability'."

Neither of my friends want to deal with Ontario Works. Apart from being a social stigma -- Ontario Works -- simply doesn't work.

Most people, I believe -- apart from the social assistance abusers -- are looking for a helping hand that can help bail them out of an emergency crisis until they can get back on their feet, and re-stabilize in the workforce again. Some can't, or won't get it back together again.

However, there is a percentage that can, or would, greatly benefit from a service that does not essentially 'kick them back in the mud' again.

Even if you are a Conservative, we still all need to be as concerned with the people at the bottom of the food chain as we do with the people at the top of the food chain. Our employers and our workforce. They both need each other. If one side collapes, both sides will eventually collapse. Canada will collapse. We see partial signs of this all around the world.

And there is evidence of the possibility of this type of collapse happening in our own back yard -- in Canada, in Ontario, in Newmarket.

We all need to be 'NDP-Conservatives' -- or 'Conservative-NDPs'.

Concerned about ourselves and our own budgets -- accountable for ourselves and our own budgets -- in the worst recession that I have lived through in my 50 years of living in Ontario.

But concerned about others in our community around us as well.

Because we all need each other. And it doesn't matter whether the 'triangle of wealth and poverty' starts to collapse from the foundational base of the triangle first -- and/or from the top downwards. We are all in this together.

Remarks like 'I don't care about the poor'....

And 'I like to fire people'...

Just don't cut it...

And Ontario Works -- isn't working.

-- dgb, February 8th, 2012,

-- David Gordon Bain

-- Dialectic Gap-Bridging Negotiations...

-- Are Still in Process...

Jack Layton: A Beacon In The Political Night...

2011-08-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Jack Layton,

That I could find half the passionate social energy and drive that you had -- even when you were very sick.

I wish I was 20 years younger and could run longer and harder with your democratic ideals -- and build on them, until I could finally help you get your 'Canadian Majority'.

And it will probably have to be on my own writing platform here in the confines and 'lecture rooms' of 'Hegel's Hotel'.

Did you call yourself a 'socialist', Mr. Layton? (Still a partly 'dirty word' in a Capitalist Society...)

Or were you simply a rare 'Capitalist with a Social Conscience'?

When other politicians and corporate capitalists -- those in the elite power positions -- were making laws that benefited themselves and their main lobbyists who kept them in power....

And obviously, you too, Jack, knew how to at least survive playing the 'Lobbyist Game'...Call it 'The System' -- or 'The Combine' -- if you will...You can't be in politics as long as you were without at least knowing how to play the game...

The most undemocratic part of Canadian and American democracy is that politicians need the heavy financial contributions of their lobbyists to both get into power -- and then to stay in power...with 'conditions attached'...

Still, Jack Layton, you believed -- as I do too -- that Capitalism cannot only benefit the rich, the elite, and those in power if we are to have a decently, harmonious and stable society. The people at the bottom and in the middle of the Capitalist quagmire need to be able to make a decent living too.

I would carry this diatribe much deeper into the ramifications of 'free trade' and 'global capitalism' on North American Society over the last 20 years.

But I would immediately become sarcastic and cynical -- which you, Your Honoourable Jack Layton would find some way to step around and still smile and endear yourself to people -- even your political competitors -- while still, very much, getting your point across.

What was the quote I read in all the papers today? 'Love is better than anger...optimism is better than something...let's just say 'cynicism' for now...and hope is better than despair...

Well, at this moment, Jack, I am feeling very angry, cynical, and leaning towards signifcant despair...

Maybe partly because you just left us before your mission could take us to the next level...

Anyways, I will keep your wonderful quote close to me for the next considerable while....while I look for a way to climb back out of Nietzsche's Abyss...by myself...

Right now, there is a chasm in Canadian -- indeed, North American -- Society that is as big as St. Andereas Fault. It separates the upper middle class from the lower middle, and the lower, class. It separates the workers's incomes whose are still going up, or at least are entrenched around the $60,000 and up mark from those whose have been steadily going down for the last five or ten years...the direct and/or indirect consequence of 'free trade', 'global capitalism', collapsing unions, high unemploment...and unscrupulous business owners finding ways to get around the 'minimum wage barrier' and treating their workers like they were underground, illegal Mexican workers...They don't speak up because they want to keep their jobs...and they have no unions to protect them...

Usually 'the corporate employee abuses' are done through 'part-time jobs' and 'contract work'...

I boil and I seethe...and I want to destroy everything around me...from top to bottom...and then jump into my van...and head to Alberta where they have no HST...(A a supposed 'contractor', making about minimum wage, HST comes off my paycheque twice a month...)

But this is Jack Layton's column...

And I will bow to a much more socially sophisticated and polished man who could advance his 'Capitalism With A Conscience' Agenda in a way that I still am trying to learn from him how...

A day later than most,

I weep over your death, Mr. Layton...

I am very, very sad to see you gone...

You remain my main mentor in Canadian politics,

A man who stayed true to his political ideals,

His vision...

As far as I could see...

And didn't get derailed in all the ways...

That young, idealist politicians...

Become derailed by money and power...

And turn into older, more 'seasoned', jaded, narcissistic politicians...

Losing their integrity and character along the way...

'Their Central, Idealistic Core'...

That made them want to be...

Politicians in the first place...

Money changes everything...

But from this distance...

You stayed pretty true...

To you...Jack Layton...

And for that I thank you...

For being...

My Beacon In The Political Night...

-- dgb, August 23rd, 2011,

-- David Gordon Bain,

If There is One Thing Good To Be Said About Global Capitalism...And Towards A North American Workers/Corporation Protectionist Act (NAWCPA)

2011-04-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing good to say about Global Capitalism...it is perhaps this:

I am suffering such that millions of people in some of the poorest countries in the world --- who are much more impovertized and desparate than me -- can work -- and at least take something home to feed their families...

Having said this, China seems to be doing very well lately, much better than us, in fact, they probably 'own' us...

So with or without 'ruffling any international feathers', it might be time -- indeed, it is way past time -- to think of a new 're-balancing' act....something in the order of a new 'North American Workers/Corporation Protectionist Act' (NAWCPA as opposed to NAFTA)...

Basic Principles For a North American Workers/Corporation Protectionist Act (NAWCPA)...

Aimed at:

1. Creating a political-economic-business environment encouraging internationally based North American industries to come back to North America;

2. Thus, creating thousands and thousands of 'new-old' jobs and careers in North America;

3. Creating a rate of pay that is neither dominated by one-sided Big Union and/or Big Corporation power but rather by a 'resurrected and resurging' North American economy;

4. Creating a rate of pay that is partly protected by international tariffs on goods coming in from countries with much, much lower wages than in North America;

5. Re-creating a standard of living and rate of pay in North America that does not necessitate North American consumers -- because of their unemployment status and/or drop in corporate wages -- searching for the lowest priced internationally imported goods possible to find;

6. Encouraging and supporting healthy, stabilizing profits for North American companies that allow them to survive and flourish without gouging the public and/or exploiting workers -- creating what I call a 'Hegelian(Humanistic)-Existential-Ethical-Dialectic'(HEED) style and culture of 'capitalism' rather than a 'Narcissistic-Manipulative-My Way Or The Highway' style and culture of capitalism that essentially breeds pervasive civil distrust, disrespect, skepticism, pessimism, cynicism -- and paranoia against most corporations and governments -- regardless of what 'party name and/or ideology' they call themselves by;

A 'Protectionist Act' for North American Workers with some or all of the main principles outlined above...

Might do much to...

Get North American Goods and Services Industries...

'Rockin' and a rollin'...again...

Sitting around thinking about it...

Is going to keep our jobs overseas...

And let foreign economies rise...

While ours continues to fall...

-- dgb, April 25th, 2011

-- David Gordon Bain

If There is One Thing Good To Be Said About Global Capitalism...

2011-04-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

The Greatest Cure in The World for Capitalism...

2011-04-23T10:59:00.001-07:00

Dialectic-(Democratic)-Homeostatic Balance (DHB) will always be disturbed, disrupted, bent out of shape and balance, by individual and group narcissistic bias, manipulation, money and power.

Restoring the DHB group (i.e., self, relationship, family, community, corporate, government, institutional) balance will always demand that 'fair-minded, ethical, DHB thinking and feeling' people will in the end defeat 'narcissistically blinded and/or bent out of shape' people in a rhetorical war of words -- or something unfortunately worse -- a political, economic and/or physical war of 'will to power'. Obviously, sometimes the 'good guys' don't always win -- or win in the first attempt. Some narcissistic dictators and/or manipulators may take years to finally 'defeat'. But in the end, generally, 'what goes around comes around'... The second oldest known philosopher in Greek history -- Anaximander gave us that last 'priceless and timeless gem' of ancient wisdom.

In this regard, we can all choose to be a part of the 'narcissistic individual and/or group problem' or we can step above this -- see other people beyond what we see in the closest mirror -- and be a part of an 'ethical, humanistic-existential conflict-negotiating and resolving team'.

Where do you draw the line between being an ethical, humanistic-existential negotiator vs. being a 'one-sided, narcissitic negotiator' who doesn't care a flying flip about the person you are negotiating with?

Ideally, you are supposed to be able to stand up for your own self, your own rights and wishes, while the other person looks after his or her own self, rights and wishes...And the 'finalized deal' is where each person in the deal meets somewhere in the 'middle' and agrees on this 'middle'.

But what do you do about fraudulent sellers and negotiators, people on the other side of the bargaining negotiation table who have told you something that isn't true, or know something about what he or she is selling that you don't -- and ethically should. Perhaps the salesman/woman knows that the car he/she is about to sell you has an engine that is about to blow up, and by rights, this is where you need to due your 'due dilligence' and have your own mechanic check the car, and/or get a warrenty, take it out for a good test drive, and/or work with a sales person who you feel comfortable that you can trust that he or she actually cares about you as well as, or on top of, or instead of, how much he or she wants to get rid of a 'bad car for the maximum possible price'.

The difference between 'narcissistic capitalism' and 'ethical-dialectic-democratic-humanistic-existential capitalism' basically comes down to the following two questions:

1, Should I, or should I not be -- ethical?

2. How can I make this deal a 'win-win' deal where both of us walk out of the deal happier than when we walked into it, and, thus, both of us wanting to do business with each other again?

Ethics and integrity are never perfect, and narcissistic impulses are often strong -- indeed, a legitimate part of our everyday self-wants, self-needs, and self-expression as long as they don't cross social-ethical boundaries...into the realm of the unethical, the corrupt, the greedy, and/or the criminal...

Greed is almost an inherent vice -- or at least a potential inherent vice -- in human nature. Certainly, it has been around since as far back as recorded human history goes -- back to 'pillaging-plundering' tribes..

The simplest definition of both 'narcissitic capitalism' and 'pathological narcissism' is not caring a 'rat's ....' about the person and/or people around you who you are affecting...

Unfortunately, narcissistic capitalism breeds more and more narcissitic capitalists...in government, on Wall Street and Bay Street, in private corporations, in sellers and buyers, in lawyers who encourage their clients to be fraudulent in order to get a bigger insurance claim of which they get a percentage of, in family lawyers who are paid to get as much as they possibly can for their clients, at the expense of lives that are destroyed on the opposite side of the bargaining table...'Sorry, I had the better lawyer...you should have spent more on a better lawyer...I get the four bedroom house with the children, and you, if you are lucky, can maybe afford to rent a room in a house...and hopefully still have enough money left for at least food'...Or in other case scenarios, both sides are destroyed in a fight where only the lawyers go home with the 'spoils'...

Who doesn't want to be rich? Not too many of us...Being with money is, all else being equal, a much better life than being without money...I've experienced life on 'both sides of the track' -- or at least what I call 'middle class poverty' where you may live in a nice or at least decent place...but you can't afford to do anything else, and even keeping up with your bills becomes a struggle that sometimes -- or every day -- you fear losing... The war of diminishing 'take home income'...and increasing expenses...a combination of inflation and a floundering economy where the people at the top still manage to find a way to pull strings and get a bigger and bigger piece of the pie...Call it a mixture of global capitalism and corporate collusion, even government-corporate collusion...

Beware the biggest political party donators...and lobbyists...they are not 'donating out of the goodness of their hearts'...they are thinking about colluding and cashing in on another deal...

Narcissistic capitalists and narcissistic people in general worship the same Greek God -- 'Narcissus'... even if they don't know it...because the signature characteristic of the narcissistic personality is not to be able to see beyond the closest mirror....and we are all narcissistic to some extent...

I'm sure even Mother Teresa looked in the mirror...but that brings us back to The Spirit of Jesus Christ...and in this case, the woman who so completely lived in the Spirit of Jesus Christ -- Mother Teresa...

We idealize -- and idolize -- Gods, either because we are like them...or we want to be more like them...Often, they respresent our 'missing half'...We live too much of a 'narcissistic life'...and then we go to Church to 'learn' how to be more 'all loving' like Jesus Christ...or Mother Teresa...

I am going to write an essay one day on Mother Teresa... I read some of her quotes a few minutes ago that started to make me cry... Being Easter, I think it is entirely fitting that I share these with you...

.............................................

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. Mother Teresa

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
Mother Teresa

Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.
Mother Teresa

Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.
Mother Teresa

I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn't touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God.
Mother Teresa

I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor? Mother Teresa

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. Mother Teresa

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. Mother Teresa

If you want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it. Mother Teresa

Intense love does not measure, it just gives. Mother Teresa

Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. Mother Teresa

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. Mother Teresa

Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given. Mother Teresa

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go. Mother Teresa

Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work. Mother Teresa

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty. Mother Teresa

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action. Mother Teresa

Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home. Mother Teresa

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand. Mother Teresa

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mother_teresa.html

........................................................

The next time you go into a business deal -- or any other encounter and/or relationship at all, for that matter...

Imagine that you have Narcissus looking over your one shoulder...

And both Jesus Christ and Mother Teresa looking over your other shoulder...

Then go ahead and make your 'deal'...

I fathom a guess...

That that would be the greatest cure in the world...

For 'Capitalism'...

Or for any other ideology in the world...

For that matter...

In Hegel's Hotel...

'God' symbolizes 'self-strength' and 'self-assertion'...

Whereas 'Jesus Christ' more fully symbolizes 'empathy, social sensitivity, and loving/caring about others...'

In Hegel's Hotel, both God and Jesus Christ -- like Narcissus (The Greeek God of Self-Interest) and 'Altruissus' (The DGB God of Social Interest)-- flow together and dialectically unite into a 'Holy Trinity' -- 'The Holy Spirit' being the 'creative, dialectic union between self-and-social interest and love' in a way that helps to build a better world for both ourselves and the people we share this world with...because we all need each other in good times -- and especially in bad times...

Idealistic? Of course...

Realistic?

As Mother Teresa would say,

........................................

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. Mother Teresa

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
Mother Teresa

Each one of them/us is Jesus in disguise.
Mother Teresa

.............................

-- dgb, April 23rd-24th, 2011.

-- Where Dialectic-Gap-Briding Negotiations...

-- And Amazing, Creative Integrations...

-- Can ...and do...happen...

The Deal That Got Away....

2011-04-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

Don't assume a deal is done until the deal is finalized both verbally and on paper; otherwise, there are a myriad of reasons why one side or the other can back out at the last minute -- most notably perhaps, someone says the wrong thing at the wrong or the last moment, and capufff...the deal is gone...

Don't be presumptive and don't say something stupid in the heat of the negotiation, especially when it's coming down to the final lap. Otherwise, you'll be swinging at air, and going home with no signed cheque, nothing to celebrate, and the deal that got away...

-- dgb, April 19th, 2011,

-- David Gordon Bain,

-- Dialectic Gap Bridging Negotiations...

-- Are Still in Process...

On 'Sound Bites', 'Writing Bites', and 'Action Bites'...

2011-04-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

The things that we say, and the things that we do, are 'sound bites', 'writing bites', and 'action bites' of who we are... I think that we should all, in our own unique way, strive to be assertive but sensitive, and sensitive but assertive, liberally conservative, and conservatively liberal, open-minded and flexible but strong on our most important self-boundaries, not too impulsive, not too restrained, capable of evolving in new directions, but strong in our central 'essence' of who we are...

Nobody is ever going to do any or all of this perfectly...nor will we all even try....I can berate -- and have berated -- myself furiously and often lately when I think that I've been either 'too weak' or 'too strong'...

When you are not happy with the way that you have come across -- either with your words and/or with your actions -- shake your head a few times, shake it off, and move on...

-- dgb, April 19th, 2011,

-- David Bain,

-- Dialectic Gap-Bridging Negotiations,

-- Are Still In Process...

The Psychiatrist, The Patient -- and The Used Car Sales Manager...

2011-04-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Some people use words primarily to hide their thoughts -- and their 'real beliefs' about what is going on in themselves and in the world. -- a slight modification and extension of Voltaire as I heard the quote first on 'Criminal Minds'. The actual quote by Voltaire, as taken off the internet, can be found later in the little 'psycho-drama' below) -- dgb

My Psyciatrist: I spoke to my psychiatrist yesterday (my psychiatrist is one of my many 'bi-polar or multiple personalities') -- and he said that I had a 'bordeline pscyhotic-paranoia disorder' as well as elements of BPD (bi-polar disorder) and OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). He said that I was having a problem lately sorting out 'my truth reality' -- or worded otherwise -- sorting out fact from fiction, and truth-reality from phantasy.

The Patient (Me) : I said, 'Doc, but that's because I've been dealing with the same used car sales manager for over a week now. He's trying to bend my perception of reality.' He says that 'misperceptions' happen all the time between people and he is 'sorry' if I 'misperceived' what he meant when he said 'Sing to yourself' after I came back from a test ride on the vehicle I was planning to buy and I told him that the radio wasn't working...

My Psychiatrist: 'How do you feel about that'?

The Patient(me): I said, 'Doc, I feel seriously offended by what he said to me...that he was being hugely 'arrogant' and 'condescending' to me in saying what he said to me...And more than that, I feel seriously shaken. I wake up now in the middle of the night -- you might have to give me a sleeping pill or an 'anti-anxiety' pill -- with a case of the cold sweats. I don't know whether I am losing contact with reality or whether someone -- specifically, in this case, the used car sales manager -- is trying to push me over the brink, push me into losing contact with reality... What do you think about that?

My psychiatrist: 'Well, I've been getting a lot of these types of cases lately. I call it 'corporate-political illusionism'. It's where the truth tends to be 'bent' by certain 'narcissistic personalities' in the direction of the almighty dollar and/or in the direction of the corporate person's 'narcissistic self-protection'. The truth is hidden or disquised -- and illusion becomes the truth'. The great French philosopher -- Voltaire -- once wrote that 'One great use of words is to hide our thoughts'.

The Patient(me): Well thanks, Doc. That makes me feel much better. So it's not just me. Other people have been having this type of 'borderline psychotic-paranoia disorder' as well. I was beginning to think it was just me.

My psychiatrist: No, it's not just you, Dave, there is a lot of corporate illusion syndrome out there...

The Patient (Me): Yeah, the sales manager wanted to bill me $270 for a GPS that he said some contractor had put into the van that I hadn't even bought yet -- in other words, his van. Before I cancelled the deal because of his rather 'snotty' comment, I asked him where in the van the GPS was, and he said he didn't know -- that it was a 'trade secrt'. He said that a GPS can cost anywhere between $300 and $600 -- which was mainly labour -- but he was giving me a break: he was only charging me the $270 that he had been billed (he was still waiting for the bill) to put in the van. The 'chip' itself, he said, costs peanuts, hardly anything, but the labour is where the price is.

I said, 'Wow, does that contractor charge $600 to put his magic GPS into a cadillac? Or does he charge that much when you need a little more 'profit padding' to build up the profit margin on a deal that doesn't have enough 'meat' on it yet?

He said that he could bring the contractor back, and I could invite all my friends and family over to see the contractor take the 'magic GPS chip' out from under the hood...But he would have to charge me for that too...He'd give me a discount...only charge me half as much...

I said, 'Wow, do you do this often, and does the contractor give you a discount in these types of cases where he has to pull the chip back out from its secret hiding spot in the van to satisfy the skepticism of an unbelieving customer? And is the customer actually willing to pay another $150 to see the contractor do this? If so, that's quite a vaudeville act you and your contractor have going on there... It must be worth quite a bit of money...

Well, needless to say, I cancelled the deal that wasn't a deal yet, hadn't been signed yet -- was dead in the water because I didn't like to be told 'to sing to myself' when I was about to commit myself to paying $4700 for a van that was not even offically e-tested and certified -- and was still in his name, not mine. Everything was starting to feel very 'shady'...and 'quasi-metaphysical'...'reality and perceptions and misperceptions were starting to seriously playing with my mind'...

That was when he started to delve more seriously into his 'theory of misperceptions' and how people can 'misperceive' what they think they heard and didn't really hear...Then the 'guilt trip'... 'Wasn't I a man of my word', he asked me, even though no deal had ever been completely consumated, never signed, and here he was giving me a lecture on 'integrity' and 'being a man of my word' when the meaning, definition, description, monetary value, of his words -- 'administration fees', 'GPS fees', 'perceptions' and 'misperceptions' -- kept changing every minute I listened to him...

How could he say that there was a 'deal' when the 'deal' kept changing every day I walked into see him -- which is why I believe the deal was never written up in the first place. He was always looking for new 'sliders' -- things that he could either 'slide into' the deal (like 'administration fees' and 'GPS fees') and/or things that he could 'slide out' of the deal (like an e-test and safety-certification slip, and the ownership of the vehicle staying in his name...)...

My Psychiatrist: Sounds like this used car manager doesn't really do much of anything by the book and, as you say, that he is operating a rather 'shady' deal or no deal here...

The Patient (me): That's what I think......but that's where he starts going back into his 'theory of misperceptions'...and I start wondering whether I should be questioning my perception of reality or not..

The Psychiatrist: No, Dave, I take back my original preliminary, presumptive diagnosis...I think you have a pretty good grasp of 'perceptual reality'....We are all partly caught up in a world where Corporate and/or Political Capitalist Illusionism tries on a pretty regular basis to 'bend our perception of reality'...

The Patient: Well, Thanks Doc. This session was well worth the money. I never knew that a seemingly simple endeavor to try to buy a new van could lead me into such a murky world of perception and misperception, epistemology and metaphysics -- like, When is an 'almost sale' -- a sale, and when is an almost sale a 'not a sale'?, and 'when is a 'not a sale, a 'sale'...you get the idea....these perceptions and/or alleged 'misperceptions' were starting to really mess up my mind...

This session was very important to me because I have to see this guy again today and I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't 'losing it'...

My Psychiatrist: Well, Dave, be assertive, be strong, be firm...don't let him walk over you....Regarding one of your 'bi-polarities', be your Doberman, not your chihuahua...

Aftermath...I was probably more chihuahua than Doberman...actually at a loss for words when he gave me most of my deposit money back...case resolved...unfortunate words on both our sides and probably some misperceptions...I am a terrible negotiator...I shake my head and move on...

-- dgb, April 19th, 2011,

-- David Gordon Bain,

-- Dialectic Gap-Negotiations...

-- Are Still in Process...

-- David Gordon Bain

On The Relationship Between High Unemployment Levels and Global Capitalism

2011-04-14T14:43:00.001-07:00

This is a quick oversimplification of a whole myriad of very complicated business, economic and political problems...

However, like everything else, if you want to understand and/or do something better and better, you have to start at the beginning -- and/or the bottom -- and work your way up 'The Abstraction Knowledge, Skill and Performance Ladder', until you are -- metaphorically speaking -- 'swimming with the sharks'.

Although my 'knowledge expertise' is not geared specifically to business, economics, and politics, still the narcissistic, epistemological, and ethical principles that I have learned from studying philosophy and psychology in significantly more detail, are just as applicable to the study of business, economics, and politics -- indeed, any and every aspect of human culture and human living -- as where these principles came from in the study of philosophy, science, medicine, and psychology.

Let us start with the concept of a 'free market'.

Now this is an extremely complicated -- and 'ideal' (among 'free market capitalist' advocates) -- concept that has another complicated myriad of intertwining co-factors and forces attached to it that are impossible to explain or understand in one sitting.

However, I think that most of my readers will agree that there is a significant difference between an 'ethical free market' and an 'unethical free market', and also that in today's North American and International economy, there are a whole host of overt and covert, regulated and unregulated, controlled and uncontrolled, manipulated and unmanipulated, forces at work that make this market far from 'free' -- and far from 'fair', the latter concept of which is an 'adjective' that is often contrasted against 'free', implying that 'free' -- whatever your definition of 'free' is -- is not neccessarily anywhere in the same ballpark as the concept of 'fair'.

President Obama was right when he first was campaigning and put his 'accusing finger' on 'NAFTA' as one very important 'cause' of the 'very high unemployment levels' in both America and Canada -- and connected with this -- the 'abandonment' of North American 'manufacturing plants' and other 'goods and services' businesses from North America.

In a nutshell, why make goods in Canada or America if you can make them 10 times cheaper in Mexico -- or any other 'underdevloped, poor country' in the world -- that has no 'exporting tariffs' to deal with when businesses in these countries sell their goods and/or services to Canada or America? That line of thinking is not rocket science.

Then you go back to see who put their signatures on NAFTA and you find out that from America it was Bush and from Canada it was Mulroney -- Big Business and Corporation men -- and you start to understand why when you realize that 'more and more powerful Unions in North America' were making labour costs more and more expensive here -- and gave large (and medium size) Corporations an 'escape route' away from high labour costs and unions in North America by allowing them to 'freely set up shop' iin some of the 'poorest countries in the world' with the cheapest labour forces.

However, what was good for the largest Corporations in North America -- the ones who gave the largest 'support donations' to 'Conservative' and 'Republican' Political Parties (indeed, to ANY Political Party that is likely to be in power including the Liberals here in Canada and the Democrats in America) -- was obviously not good for North American workers, the middle class, and the lower class. Thus, 'Global Capitalism and Free International Trade Agreements' have set up the current 'Class Warfare' between the 'Richest Business Owners and Polticians in North America' -- and the middle and lower classes in North America who are finding less and less businesses to work in, because of the 'evacuation' of these businesses to 'third world countries' since the signing of NAFTA.

In effect, as what used to be the 'poorest and/or third world countries' in the world are becoming wealthier and more powerful -- to the point where both Canada and America are becoming 'financially enslaved' to these countries because they now own most of North America and/or are becoming larger and larger 'loan creditors' to Canadian and/or American governments and/or businesses -- essentially buying up North America because we can't -- or won't -- properly take care of our own businesses dometic business practices.

In essence, both America and Canada have given North America businesses more than enough sufficient motivation to simply abandon North America and take their good and/or services businesses to the 'cheapest labour -- and most pro-favorable corporate countries' -- in the world.

Welcome to the 21st Century and Global Capitalism. While the largest North American Corporations and Businesses are still finding ways of getting richer and richer from goods and services businesses that have been re-established elsewhere in the world, many, many North American workers -- and worded otherwise, the North American Middle and Lower Classes which have been under siege since the signing of NAFTA -- become poorer and poorer.

Add into this equation, the amount of government money going to international wars, and massive immigration policies that simply exasperate the 'work problem' here in North America -- and you have a bad problem for a very significant portion of The North American workforce and middle and lower classes.

Get rid of these 'international free trade agreements' with the 'poorest countries and workforces in the world', start putting 'export-import tariffs' back on goods and services coming from these same countries, and let's see how long it takes for our internationally based North American businesses and corporations to 'come back home' again.

Now, let me make one more clear statement before I leave this little presentation.

I do not like to see, or want to see, any good business, with good business ethics, destroyed by overly high workers' wages, as may be arrived at in some cases by an overly 'narcissistic, aggressive, powerful Union'.

The same goes for any one-sided 'Collective Bargaining Agreement' that may be destroying a sports industry and/or franchise -- based again, on overly high player wages.

I was brought up by an 'Adam Smith/Ayn Rand idealistic business owner' for a dad, so I know all about the 'anti-union' argument'. Unions -- and Labour Boards -- are there for a reason: to make sure that 'powerful owners don't exploit powerless individual workers'.

However, I know that Big, Bad Unions can be just as bad as Big Bad Corporate Owners -- and Big, Bad Bankers, and Big Bad Wall Street Investors, and Big, Bad Politicians... The Automobile Industry in North America seems to be in much better shape since the Automobile Unions were battled down to a seemingly much, more reasonable power size... Now that editorial comment is being made from a spectator's distance without any deep internal insight into the history and evolution of the industry, and each company, as a whole...

Any economic agreement has to work both ways -- for the individual worker and for the Corporation as a whole that should be entitled to a 'reasonable floating and self-sustaining profit margin' -- however, we 'reasonably' arrive at 'what a reasonable profit' it. That of course, is likely to be a continual source of theoretical and practical disagreement...and dialectic debate...

How do you ever arrive at what imight be deemed 'reasonable' when the subject matter is -- money? The 'free market' capitalists, of course, would forever advocate that 'the market determine what is deemed reasonable' based on the principle of 'econonomic equillibrium' but again, the problem here, is that both the idea of the 'free market' and the idea of a 'fair market' are forever 'ideal concepts' that will never happen in reality.

Markets can be -- and are - 'manipulated', left, right, and centre. Coming from CCNN, unethical Wall Street investors sell 'bad stocks' to 'naive, unknowing investment customers' -- then, the same unethical Wall Street investors 'bet against' the 'bad stock' they have just sold. How can that type of behavior ever move us toward a 'free -- and/or a fair -- market'?

If I were grasping at economic straws, I would pick 15% to 35% net profit margin off the top of my head for most products and/or services...but again, that is a 'shot in the dark', a largely to totally 'generic and unresearched, uninformed range of percentage numbers'...But it came from somewhere deep in my mmemory banks, maybe from working for my dad's company. More research needed...I am writing above my head right now...

The high-rolling Wall Street investors would probably be laughing at this range of percentage figures...but then again...some of them should probably be in jail right now...I shake my head that American politicians 'bailed them out' -- and more than once -- through two different administrations and political parties...So much for protecting the middle and lower classes...

A working 'economic equillibrium' (EE) -- or in my philosophy-psychology words, a working 'Homeostatic-Dialectic-Democratic Balance' (HDDB) -- needs to be successfully arrived at between employer/owner and worker/employee/player.

If either side is being 'financially exploited', and perhaps, in the case of an owner or group of owners -- financially destroyed -- then it is time to either close down the business and/or the franchise, or work out a new EE/HDDB labour agreement.

-- dgb, April 14th-16th, 2011,

-- David Gordon Bain

The Death of Common Sense

2011-01-13T05:35:00.000-08:00

An Obituary printed in the LondonTimes - Interesting and sadly, rather true.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend,Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn), and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, are a few examples which only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents; Truth and Trust, by his wife; Discretion, by his daughter; Responsibility, and by his son; Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers:
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Premier Fitness leads in gym complaints: report

2011-01-08T03:12:00.000-08:00

Premier Fitness leads in gym complaints: report

Marketplace investigation indicates many Canadians pay club fees needlessly.

Last Updated: Friday, January 7, 2011 | 8:49 PM ET Comments101Recommend112.

CBC News

Ontario-based Premier Fitness, one of the country's largest private fitness chains, also came out as a leader when CBC-TV's Marketplace asked consumers about overcharging by gyms.

The biggest issue to emerge from a national survey is that Premier continued with automatic withdrawals from bank accounts or charged the credit cards of many consumers who said they had already cancelled their memberships.

Ontario-based Premier Fitness was the leader when Marketplace asked consumers about being overcharged by their gyms. (CBC)As well as the Marketplace survey, a cross-country poll on private fitness facilities was conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of the show. It found that 39 per cent of people who joined a fitness club said they had issues with overcharging. The poll, conducted online between Oct. 12 and 18, included a total of 2,004 adults, of whom 738 were current or former gym members.

Based on the poll and feedback from survey respondents, it's estimated various Canadian fitness businesses have taken half-a-billion dollars from consumers in overcharges over time.

Toronto resident Norm Jezioranski, one of the consumers who spoke to Marketplace, continued to be charged by Premier for three years after he cancelled his membership at the company's Davenport facility.

He even went to small claims court for the more than $2,000 he said the gym owed him, and won. But the gym didn't pay up.

'Honestly, I almost feel like these fitness clubs are above the law.'
—Norm Jezioranski, former member of Premier Fitness"Apparently when a judge orders you to do something, there's a lot more that you can do in terms of dragging your feet," he told Marketplace.

"Honestly, I almost feel like these fitness clubs are above the law," he said.

When Jezioranski made his final trip to small claims court, no one from the gym showed up. However, following the Marketplace investigation, Jezioranski received a cheque for $2,100 from Premier.

Pays by cheque
Danielle Marchese of Burlington, Ont., never expected to find unauthorized charges coming out of her bank account after she paid by cheque for her membership at a Premier facility in the city.

Danielle Marchese of Burlington, Ont., was surprised to find money being taken from her account under the name of P-S-C. (CBC)"Sometimes it happens. People have unauthorized payments coming out of their accounts so I thought, 'Oh OK, I'll pay by cheque. That won't happen to me, I'll pay in full."

However, after cancelling her membership, Marchese noticed a charge coming out of her bank account every two weeks, under the name P-S-C.

She went to her bank, assuming that it was some kind of service charge.

"They said, 'That's not us, it's your gym.' So I don't belong to a gym anymore and they said, 'Yup, yup.' And they actually were not surprised because I guess it's happened to a lot of people."

'They said, 'That's not us, it's your gym.'
—Danielle Marchese, former Premier Fitness memberMarchese set up an appointment to meet the manager of the gym to try to recover the $200 that had been taken from her account.

The manager didn't show up. Instead, she met with a sales representative, and Marketplace was there too, with a hidden camera.

During the discussion, the sales rep admitted there had been billing problems at the gym.

"It has happened. I'm not going to sit here and play like it hasn't. It has," she told Marchese.

During an interview, an official with Premier said it had no proof that Marchese had ever cancelled her membership.

Noticed 'real strange activity'
Marketplace also discovered that when signing up for a membership, cash doesn't cut it, because what Premier Fitness really wants is a customer's bank information.

'I sent up requests for cancellation, but it wasn't done.'
—Craig Thompson, former Premier Fitness managerWhen customers pay in cash, they're still asked to leave banking information. Otherwise, according to salespeople with the gym, they won't get a commission.

Former trainer and Premier Fitness manager Craig Thompson says he saw a similar pattern at all four of the company's locations where he worked.

Former Premier Fitness manager Craig Thompson said he would send cancellations to head office, but often they would not be processed in a timely fashion. (CBC)"Started noticing some real strange activity, like mainly the cancellations," he told Marketplace. "I knew I sent up requests for cancellation, but it wasn't done. And it would just sit there for maybe three, four months, and then they would cancel it."

"It made no sense to me," he said.

Thompson couldn't get any answers from head office when he complained on behalf of his customers.

"We call the office and there's no answer. We don't get a response because I guess we're not really supposed to know."

Premier partner denies wrongdoing
Neil Proctor, a partner in the Premier Fitness chain, bristles at any suggestion the company is doing anything wrong.

"I'm disappointed in the picture you're trying to paint of our company," he told Marketplace 's Tom Harrington.Premier Fitness partner Neil Proctor says the company has done nothing improper. (CBC)
"We cancel 35,000 people per year. We process the paper, we cancel people — 35,000, that's a lot. That doesn't indicate to me a company that doesn't cancel people. It's ridiculous."

However, the company's practices were enough to catch the attention of the Hamilton police fraud squad in 2004, when the unit was headed by Mark Simchison.

"We had reams and reams of information from consumers who had been victimized," he told Marketplace.

"I mean that got our backs up and said, 'OK, is this a glitch in the system or is this fraud?'"

The case was eventually dropped because the police couldn't prove that anyone at Premier had issued a directive to keep charging customers after they had cancelled.

Proctor defends the company's record, as well as its practices, including using only the initials P-S-C on bank charges.

"What you're insinuating is that it's vague and people wouldn't notice it," he told Harrington. "My answer to that is, if you read your bank statement and there's something on there that you totally don't understand, you ask and find out."

'No intent ever to bill people improperly'
On the need for a customer's banking information — even when a person pays upfront in cash — Proctor explains it as a contractual issue, that allows people to secure a favourable rate.

Former police officer Mark Simchison, who investigated Premier Fitness, says: 'We had reams and reams of information from consumers who had been victimized.' (CBC)"We've contracted to do something, we need billing information to carry out that contract," he said. "It's for no other purpose other than to facilitate the contract that our member has asked us to enter into with them.

"There's no intent ever to bill people improperly, to bill people without their authorization, to hold, to not process their cancellation. It's absurd," he said.

Proctor said anyone who has issues with the fitness centre should first go to the club and speak to the manager. If the consumer is still not satisfied, he or she can talk to head office.
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Falling Into The Nietzschean Abyss

2010-11-12T10:06:00.001-08:00

I'm falling...

Falling...

Into the Nietzschean Abyss...

Quick...

Anybody have a trampoline...

A really, really long ladder...

A fire department...

A parachute...

Even a set of mountain gear...

Some shoes and gloves with spikes...

To grab onto the walls...

Perhaps a ledge...not that I've seen a ledge...

I can't see anything..

It just keeps getting darker, and darker, and darker...

I can barely see the light above me...

Does this abyss...

End in water?

Or hard rock ground...that is going to break all my bones...

And kill me...

Anybody got a super big, thick mattress...

That they can throw beneath me...

Perhaps this abyss...

Goes right through the earth...

To China...or Australia...or New Zealand...

Or more likely it ends in fire and rock...

Perhaps I will meet the Devil himself...

Did I do something wrong...

Go down a bad path...

Or make a wrong choice...

Make a whole bunch of bad choices...

To get me here....

Is this my 'Un-Divine Punishment'...

Or might I learn something down here...

Can I learn something about myself...

And turn myself into a better person...

My own personal Phoenix re-born...

Whatever doesn't kill you,

Makes you stronger....

How much deeper must I plunge?

And who or what am I going to meet down here?

Or is this going to end on a deathbed of cold rock...

Or burning lava...

Deep water maybe I can survive...

Although with my momentum,

I'll probably run out of air long before I resurface...

Assuming I resurface at all...

Is this a dream?

A myth?

A nightmare?

Please, be a nightmare!

And let me wake up!!

Now!! Before I have a heart attack!!

If I must be down here,

Let me at least walk around...

Not keep falling...

Man, did I ever miss The Nietzschean Bridge...

Even the Nietzschean Rope...

Anybody...give me a Nietschean Rope...

That I can once again feel some Nietzschean Hope...

Climbing is far better than falling...

Give me some mountain gear...

And I'll take on Mt. Everest...

Or let me land safely below...

And I will take on...

Narcissus...Dionysus...Even Satan himself...

The 'Unholy Trinity'...

No deals with The Devil...

Well, maybe some detoxified compromises...

(My bargaining power isn't very good right now...)

But I'm not going to sell my Soul...

Maybe I did already sell my Soul...

Maybe that is why I am down here...

I sold out on My Self...

I sold myself to The Devil...

Where did I go wrong?

What bad choice did I make?

Or was it a whole slew of them?

How did I sell myself to The Devil?

By failing my parents when they need me most?

By looking powerless and weak in front of my kids...

And in front of my long-time girlfriend?

Maybe I have become powerless and weak?

How did that happen?

By turning my back on corporate owners...

Who had already sold themselves to The Devil?

Who every day were choosing Profit over People?

But in walking a way...

I was making things worse for myself...

Throwing myself into this economic abyss?

Is a 'Personal Economic Abyss'

The same as a 'Nietzschean Abyss'?

Or are the two abysses just connected together?

Different holes down to the same landing pit?

Not enough money and you can't pay your bills properly...

Take your kids and/or your girlfriend out for dinner...

Help your parents out of their own Economic Abyss...

You/I feel weak inside...

You can't chase your own dream...

Because you are too busy just trying to get out of...

Your Own Economic Abyss...

'Recession' is too weak a word to describe...

The Personal Economic Hell that you feel going on inside you...

And all around you...

As you battle your personal demons...

And meet some of the people you need to meet...

To work your way out of your Economic Abyss...

And not the ones who want to keep you down there...

The psychology, economics, and politics

Of Insufficieny...and Deficiency...

Keep you deficient...

And they can keep the 'puppet controls' on your destiny...

A bloated, unemployed work force...

Willing to work for less and less..

Makes unethical Corporate Owners....smile in smug self-satisfaction...

'Keep the immigration coming...'

Chirp the corporate owners to the politicians....

'More tax dollars and votes for you....

And a cheaper and cheaper labour force for us...

Pretty soon, we won't have to build our plants...

And offices...

Overseas...

Cause we'll have what we need here!

The minimum wage is $10 an hour...

We can get around that...

Here in Toronto, just get Ford to dump the 'fair wage policy'...

I like much of Ford's mandate....but not that one...
You can't justify a two or three tiered workforce...

Where contracted, privatized workers become essentially discriminated against...

And treated like 'Third World Workers'...

Turn a blind eye while they get paid half -- or a third of -- the wages of the workers still left over in City Hall...

This is what I call 'Downloaded' and 'Downsized' Worker Contracts'...

Where hundred thousand dollar earning civil politicians...

Allow private contractors to treat their workers like 'Third World Slaves'...

The Importation of 'Third World Wages' into Canada to become competitive with..

China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, The Philipines, Mexico, South America...

While politicians keep the borders open, the immigration tap on full blast...

Like the bathtub tap running full at full throttle while water spills over the top of the bath...

More immigration, cheaper labour, unethical corporate owners, and/or even corporate owners simply trying to remain competitive with outside countries' cheaper labour forces...

What we need in as international monetary system...and an international minimum wage system that puts all countries, and all corporations on the same equal footing...

Otherwise, the countries with the cheapest work forces win the battle of Globalization...

Canada, and particularly Ontario...seems to be trying hard to get there...

What used to be Canada's wealthiest province....

Is being trashed by Free Trade, Globalization, Uncapped Immigration, Paying more attention and giving more favoritism to new immigrants than to the senior citizens and the workers who have lived in Canada all their lives...

I am all for cultural diversity, cultural integration, AND EGALITARIANISM

BUT EGALITARIAN TAKES A VICIOUS NOSE DIVE WHEN CANADA IS TRYING TO RE-CREATE ITS OWN 'INTERNAL GHETTO WORK FORCE' TO COMPETE WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES...

I ADVOCATE FAIR WAGES TO EVERYONE WHO LIVES AND WORKS IN CANADA, NOT JUST TO THOSE WHO WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT, AND/OR THE HIGHEST ECHELONS OF PRIVATE CORPORATIONS...

For anyone who has done well in Canada, I tip my hat to you...as long as you have maintained your ethics and integrity getting to where you are...

But beneath you, and amongst the 'front line blue collar and white collar workers' there is a movement going on...and it is not a good one...

I call it creating a 'ghetto work force' -- even to the point of ignoring and/or finding ways around provincial 'minimum wage' laws....

One very efficient way around Ontario's minimum wage laws...

Is simply to create a 'worker's contract'...

No benefits, no minimum wage...

Maybe they are paid 'ghetto commissions'....

Or maybe they are given an hourly wage...and then told...

It includes your gas expenses....

That is a very popular trend these days...

Dowload rising gas prices onto the 'worker with a contract'...

Turn most of Ontario taxi drivers, or limo drivers, or courier drivers...

The ones who can't figure it out, or have nothing better to turn to...

Into a provincial 'Ghetto Work Force on Wheels'...

Let's see if we can get them down to $5 an hour....or less...

While our politicians turn a blind eye to what is happening...
'Oh Canada, We Stand On Guard For Thee!'

Keep those borders open, all you Republican and Democratic politicians...

And keep all those New Mexico farmers and corporations happy...

How can you know how much a worker is making?

If you don't even know that he or she is in the country?

If you want cheap 'home-grown' products and services, North America...

Then, you have to accept The New and Already Here, 'Third World Working Wages'...

Otherwise, stay at home, stay unemployed...

And we will simply produce our products, create our services...

Elsewhere, in other parts of the world...

It's called 'Free Trade'....

And 'Globalization'....
Don't you just love it?

It is bringing more and more workers...thousands...millions...

To a much clearer understanding of what at least one part of...

The Nietzschean Abyss is...

Fewer and fewer Big Unions...or for that matter, any type of unions...large or small...

As the whipped cream and the cherry on top...of the Banks and Mortgages 'Almost Financially Collapsing'....But somehow, with The Presidents' and The Senate's help....managing to escape with millions and millions of dollar of 'separation contracts'...and then 'Stimulus Packages' to coax them back....We need you...kind sirs...to steal more and more of our hard earned money...

We can't live with you, but we can't live without you either...

So we will give you millions of more money...'Stimulus Money'...to not go out the back door and leave an empty bank or mortgage company behind you...They must have learned from the Fitness Clubs...they used to do that...Go bankrupt under one name after stealing 'years of contract membership money'...and then open another Fitness Club...under a different name...
Only in America...

Well....correction...it seems to be a 'Global Financial Game' these day...

Here's to Globalization...

China is doing well...

I better not write too loudly...

China is in the process of owning North America...

If it hasn't essentially gotten there already...

Anyway, hats off to China and India in one respect at least....

They know how to balance budgets...and pay by cash, not credit...

I have no problems with these countries, or any other country, wanting to do better...

I just ask how North Americans are making their own lives better?

Canada used to be scared of being 'swallowed up' by America...

Now both Canada and America deserve to feel rightfully afraid...

Of being swallowed up by China...

America...home of the brave and free....

America...fighting on foreign shores to preserve its freedom and integrity...

While Foreign Corporate Forces Are Taking that same freedom and integrity away...

Coming in through a different door...

'Free trade' is not the same as 'fair trade'...

The generations of politicians and capitalists before us knew that...

That is why they had 'tariffs'....for purposes of 'national protectionism' and/or a 'more equal international trading foundation'....

If foreign corporations are paying a pittance of the labour costs that North American corporations are paying....

How is that 'fair' in a very competitive global market?

It is like one gigantic 'teeter totter game'...

China, India, Pakistan, The Phillipines, Taiwan, Mexico, South America...

Are all going up...

As America and Canada go down...

The Economic Abyss....bringing with it economic despair...

Soon funnels into the Niezschean Abyss....

Until our whole existence is essentially poisoned by economics...

We still have freedom...some freedom...less freedom...

I take my hat off to those who are doing well...when many are not...as long as you have kept your ethics and integrity reasonably intact...

Meanwhile, I still write about the politically...

And economically...

Incorrect...

My problems pales compared with those who are fighting...

In foreign wars...

Or are fighting devastating health problems...

Or are living on the street or in temporary shelters...

At least when I step away from this computer in a few minutes...

I still have a solid home base from which to leave and come back to, and enough time, money, and energy to fight another economic day...

In between my forays into writing about philosophy, psychology, economics, politics, mythology, religion...

Lose your body, lose your mind...and you lose everything you have to fight your economic, creative, professional, and/or personal battles with...

At least in between bad jobs, I can still write in Hegel's Hotel...

Write about Nietzsche and The 'Anti-Christ'...

Write about Jung and Mythology...

Write about Freud and Transference...

And still find a way to help my parents...

And take my kids and girlfriend out to dinner...

Together or separately,

As long as we are living, breathing, and still have hope, energy, and willpower...

We can still climb our way out of Nietzsche's Abyss...

No Faustian deals with The Devil...

Are needed...

Just faith in ourselves, and what we can do...

Both individually...

And collectively...

In dialectic...

And pluralistic...

Union...

-- dgb, Nov. 12th, 2010,

-- David Gordon Bain
Posted by david gordon bain at 6:27 AM Links to this post

Top 6 most indebted countries (and why)

2010-08-19T15:47:00.001-07:00

Top 6 most indebted countries (and why)
by Michael Sanibel, Investopedia.com
Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Provided by:

The recent financial crisis and recession have been a worldwide occurrence. The events in the United States since 2008 have garnered most of the headlines because the U. S. has the world's largest economy and national debt, but the reality is that many countries in Europe are in worse financial shape and continue to deteriorate.

More from Investopedia:

• 7 Currency Blunders You Could Cash In On
• 6 Things You Didn't Know About The U.S. Budget Deficit
• 7 Smart Steps Every New Homeowner Should Take

There are various ways to rank indebtedness, such as debt per capita and deficit or debt as a function of gross domestic product (GDP). This ranking is based on cumulative debt as a percentage of GDP and is limited to an analysis of the 25 largest economies. It is further limited to "external" debt, which is the portion of the national debt that is owed only to foreign creditors. The source for the debt and GDP amounts is the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook most recent numbers from mid to late 2009.

1. Ireland - Debt/GDP: 997%
The days of Ireland enjoying one of the fastest growing economies in Europe are over, at least for now. The story is all too familiar, as easy credit fueled a housing bubble that burst and damaged consumer confidence.

After recording budget surpluses in the prior two years, the economy reversed course in 2009 and contracted 7%. This eroded tax revenues and sent the annual deficit to a record 14.3% of GDP. The European Union set a target for Ireland to reduce that figure to 3% by 2014, but the International Monetary Fund has indicated that the deadline will be missed. Moody's has subsequently lowered its bond rating.

2. Netherlands - Debt/GDP: 467%
The national debt in the Netherlands has reached record levels as a result of the world financial crisis and recession. Much of the added burden was caused by significant government support for the country's banking sector. The increase in debt per capita is second only to that experienced in Ireland.

The Netherlands joined the eurozone with a hard guilder a decade ago, but its current debt would likely disqualify it for membership.

3. United Kingdom - Debt/GDP: 409%
Investment bank Morgan Stanley fears that Great Britain could face a severe debt crisis in the near future if it continues down its current path. According to the bank's report, this is a case of not putting aside sufficient reserves when the economy was sound. During the peak of the boom, it still ran a budget deficit of 3% of GDP when other European countries were running surpluses exceeding 2%.

Like many other countries, Britain bought time during the financial crisis by implementing massive fiscal stimulus and forcing the public to fund losses in the private sector. Without the restoration of fiscal credibility, there is a significant danger of a government bond sell-off, pound weakness and a flight of capital.

4. Switzerland - Debt/GDP: 273%
Generally regarded as having one of the world's most stable economies, Switzerland has taken its budget crisis seriously. When the national debt began to escalate in the last decade, the Swiss voted to approve a constitutional amendment forcing the government to balance expenses and revenue during each economic cycle. While annual deficits may still occur, this has instilled discipline in the process and lowered the country's borrowing costs as investors rushed to safety.

This so-called "debt brake" was implemented in response to increasing debt stemming from a slowdown in economic growth. Deficits climbed as spending rose for unemployment benefits and tax revenues declined. While government expenditures were cut across the board, rising revenues have not been sufficient to pay down the incurred debt.

5. Portugal - Debt/GDP: 228%
With last year's deficit coming in at 9.4% of GDP, the Portuguese government has instituted a growth and austerity program with the objective of reducing that number to 2.8% by 2013. These measures have sparked strikes in the public sector including postal and transportation services. Those events have been further propelled by unemployment above 10%, the worst in 40 years.

The root problem has been low productivity and virtually no economic growth in the past few years. Portugal ranks last in GDP growth among countries that adopted the euro as a common currency. Demand for goods and services has stalled, along with innovation and business momentum. In addition, Portugal's exports have been undercut by cheap labor in countries such as China. (For related reading, see The Economics Of Labor Mobility.)

6. Austria - Debt/GDP: 214%
The recession and government assistance to banks have contributed to the budget crisis in Austria. The finance minister has rejected the notion of higher taxes in favor of administrative reforms to cut spending. He has predicted that the annual deficit would grow from 3.5% to 4.7% of GDP between 2010 and 2012 before starting to decline. That peak would be the third-highest since 1976 when such data were first recorded.

Rising unemployment has resulted in increased expenditures for unemployment compensation and other government benefits. In addition to the reduced payrolls, tax reforms have driven down overall tax revenues.

The Bottom Line
While the U.S. and Canada have large economies, their respective debt-to-GDP ratios are 93% and 62%. The U.S. gets most of the attention because of the size of the numbers that comprise the ratio - $13.5 trillion debt (June 2009) and $14.4 trillion GDP (2009 estimate).

By comparison, China and India have ratios of 7% and 20% respectively. Their economic growth rates have also exceeded the western nations over the past few years, thereby keeping their debt ratios relatively low. If the western nations don't implement policies to reduce their debts, they run the risk of jeopardizing future economic growth and prosperity.

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Good and Bad Bargains: Modern Day Capitalism, The Free Trade Agreement, Globalization, and Schisms Both in The Individual Personality and In The Socio-Economic-Political National and International Order

2010-05-08T08:46:00.001-07:00

Freshly modified...and just finished...May 9th, 2010...

'The difference between a 'good Capitalist' and a 'bad Capitalist' is the difference between a person who cares about people and one who doesn't. The same goes for the difference between a 'good' and 'bad' Socialist. In this regard, the good Capitalist and the good Socialist have more in common than the good and bad Capitalist or the good and bad Socialist. I will trumpet the work, efforts, and ideals of good Capitalists AND good Socialists, while I will rhetorically seek to destroy the work and efforts of both 'narcissistic Capitalists' and 'narcissistic Socialists' alike. The worst narcissistic Capitalists in the world have more in common with Lenin, Stalin, and Mao Tse Tung -- and visa versa, than they do with anything Adam Smith or Ayn Rand wrote...' -- dgb, May 8th, 2010.

Introduction

This essay is probably my most definitive work so far on what I mean by 'good' and 'bad' Capitalism or between 'ethical' ('good will') Capitalism and 'narcissistic' ('bad will') Capitalism.
I look at this essay as hopefully being the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is coming down the chute in this realm of politics, business and economics. My passion -- largely from recent personal business traumacies -- reigns supreme here.

I both live and die for both the 'good owner' and the 'good employee'....I hate 'bad deals' between sellers and buyers and/or between employers and employees, producers and consumers...

I am always looking for that magic, highly elusive point of 'win-win, narcissistic-altruistic, homeostatic balance'...

To the extent that I can promote 'good harmonious relations' between governments at all levels and corporations, employers and employees, sellers and buyers -- without anyone getting 'ripped off', exploiting and/or being exploited, and/or 'colluding' in the process -- that is the extent to which I may one day be able to rest in greater peace that my mission here in Hegel's Hotel is largely coming to an end... Until then, and at this point in time, I am both crying and raging about what I see inside the mainly 'pathological' corporations I come into contact with in my working day...It is a pleasure when I hear about owners who run good, fair corporations and who treat their employees like humans, even like family, as opposed to 'things' that are there to be 'exploited'....

In Hegel's Hotel, Adam Smith and Karl Marx shake hands...as do Erich Fromm and Ayn Rand...

With yours truly continuing to play the Central Mediator...

Marx was the first protector of human rights in the work place, especially in his early work -- Marx was the first 'union steward'; whereas Adam Smith always had concerns about keeping the 'ethics' in businessmen and business transactions...

Have a seat...mediation is now in process...

Until we can find that ideal -- and always changing -- point of 'dialectic-democratic, humanistic-existential, narcissistic-altruistic, homeostatic balance...'

We haven't gotten there yet...indeed we have a very long road still to travel...a lot of floors still to build...

But the economy is starting to get better...

And the workers are back and building Hegel's Hotel again...

Pounding their hammers and nails again...

Ah, the sweetest of sounds...

Coming out of a bad economy, there is no sweeter sound and sight,

Than the sound and sight of workers building...

Hegel's Hotel carries the spirit of Ayn Rand's 'The Fountainhead'...

Just as much as it carries Hegel's 'Phenomenology of Spirit'...

And Fromm's spirit of 'Man For Himself' and 'The Sane Society'...

They all come together in the lobby and the negotiating rooms and the cocktail lounges of Hegel's Hotel...

-- dgb, May 8th, 2010.

..............................................................................................

As I have discussed in previous essays, the personality can be viewed from a host of different perspectives -- both wholistically and/or reductionistically using a variety of different theories and/or models of the personality.

Personally, I like to view the personality as being run like a partly authoritarian, partly democratic, government or corporation, with a distinction that can be made between the main Central Ego in the personality, which can be viewed as being like the CEO or President of a company or a country, surrounded by a host of partly competing, partly co-operating, auxiliary, 'lobbyist' and/or 'partisan' ego-states, that are like the partisan political parties and/or members of a government working in parliament, and/or like the 'special interest lobbyist groups' that solicit the government out in the hallways, in the front rooms, the back rooms, over the phone, in back alleys, with brief cases, in whatever style or manner seems to work most effectively in terms of getting what they want...legitimately or illegitimately...

Personally, in government, I think we should pull all the different lobbyists into Parliament -- call it a 'lobbyist session' -- and let each and everyone of them have their say with mikes and cameras on, give each of them 20 or 30 minutes in front of a mike to make their presentation and argue their case -- and wow, what do we have -- 'democratic transparency' -- the quality that every campaigning politician talks about on the campaign trail -- along with ethics, integrity, and accountability -- that is, until they get into office and grow increasingly quiet on these matters...when push comes to shove, deciding that they would prefer to have their 'expense accounts' and 'agenda books' remain 'private' -- and holding hands in one big circle with their fellow politicians in establishing a 'secret, unwritten collusion' on this matter. Very much like Freud's inner circle in this type of matter.

The unwritten code seems to run something like this:

'We shalt not give away our secret, narcissistic expense benefits that come with minding the country's cash register and bank account. The public doesn't need to know where I had lunch the other day and how much I spent. As long as it makes its way through the government expense account department -- which of course is made up of people who are enjoying the same expense benefits that I enjoy. We, in the government, call this a 'win-win situation' The public doesn't need to know everything'.

I am partly getting side-tracked here but partly not because the similarities between how we run our internal personality and how we run our external government are similar, and indeed, connected -- our external relationships projecting and reflecting our internal relationships between our different ego-states and our general personality dynamics.

In this regard, The Central Ego can also be viewed as being like a Supreme Court Judge and/or Mediator in the personality, ideally in charge of the rest of the courtroom/personality, but in less than ideal circumstances, being over run by politicians from above and/or by 'special interest lobbyist groups' running amok in the courtroom/personality and 'having their way' with a 'weak' Central Ego. When the Central Ego is not fully in control of the personality, and running a 'balanced courtroom', then either 'over-restraint' and/or 'over-impulse' (bi-polar disorder, manic-depression...) is likely to create pathology and disorder in the personality.

In an ideal political-socio-economic and legal world as well as in an ideal intra-psychic personality, each lobbyist and politician, like each auxillary ego-state would simply assert democratically and rhetorically what it wants... and leave the final decision in the workings and executive action of the Central Ego, The President, and/or The CEO..(as well as there being full public disclosure, transparency, integrity, and accountability in the case of politicians holding a public office.

But alas, as most of us are well aware, we live in a far from 'ideal' world.

In our 'real world', one-sided righteousness, narcissism and greed as well as conflict of interest situations evolving between public office holders' public responsibilities and private, personal interests become almost inevitable over time...and the temptation of the devil...indeed, with all of us, not just politicians...The corporate world is overflowing with 'conflict of interest' situations that impair socio-economic as well as ethical, legal, and political judgment...

Let's face it...Everyone wants what they want...and in all aspects of our world righteousness and narcissism intermingle...Oftentimes, righteousness is the cloak that hides inner narcissism and/or the pseudo-justification for inner narcissism....

Power and narcissism has the potential to corrupt all levels of inner and outer government...

We see this -- or at least I do -- over and over and over again in our entire interconnected socio-economic-political-legal-corporate-personal world...

Schopenhauer stirs in his grave...with an arrogant 'I told you so'...

The type of Capitalism I see all around me is not the same type of Capitalism that I remember reading about in Ayn Rand's 'The Fountainhead'.

Without being a 'Marxist', a 'Socialist' and/or a 'Communist', I can still tell you that Hegel's classic analysis of 'labour' in connection with his discussion of the 'the master/slave relationship', jumped on by Marx in his searing indictment of narcissistic Capitalism, comes much closer in awareness and insight as far as getting to the heart of what is the matter with modern day Capitalism.

Modern day Capitalism lacks integrity, ethics, character, transparency, accountability, and a sense of good will towards the person one is bargaining with...all of the things politicians keep saying they are going to fix...and rarely ever do...

Adam Smith would most certainly frown on modern day Capitalism if he could see the full extent of the type of corporate-political greed and narcissism that I see around me each and every day. He would say something like 'This is not the type of Capitalism I envisioned when I wrote 'The Wealth of Nations'...

................................................................................................................

From the internet...'Brainy Quote'...University of Liverpool...

No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.
Adam Smith

No complaint... is more common than that of a scarcity of money.
Adam Smith

Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.
Adam Smith

Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with another. Adam Smith

..................................................................................................................

I find Adam's most intriguing quote to be the last one cited above...

It is at this point -- the point of 'bargaining' -- that Adam Smith's philosophy starts to dialectically collide with the philosophy of Hegel and Marx...

Hegel was no Marxist but it was from Hegel's work on 'labour' and the 'master/slave relationship' that Marx was inspired to write his thousands of pages critiquing the pathological evolution of Capitalism...

You see, it makes all the difference in the world as to what type of Capitalist Leaders we have in order to determine whether we have a 'good or bad Capitalist System' or not.

Just as the character of a hockey or basketball or baseball team tends to take on much of the character of its coach, so it is with 'Capitalism' as Capitalism is played out in each and every corporation and in each and every corporate transaction, both internally and externally.

It makes all the difference in the world as to the ultimate evolution of Capitalism as to whether a person -- particularly the owner of a business -- is negotiating 'narcissistically' and only narcissistically, or whether he or she is negotiating narcissistically and altruistically at the same time.

Put another way, is the bargainer looking for an 'I win; you lose' bargain, or is he or she looking for an 'I win; you win' bargain.

The last type of 'win-win bargaining encounter' tends to be much more endearing and enduring to a long term negotiating relationship whereas the first type of 'win-lose encounter' tends to tarnish if not outright annihilate all future negotiating transactions...

However, here is where Marx steps in and starts to launch his anti-Capitalist tirade...

If the power of the owner (in Marx's language, the 'bourgeoisie') is far greater than the power of the individual employee (the 'proletariat' in Marx's language), and you have a narcissistic, unscrupulous, greedy owner, then 'bad employee bargains' can become the name of the game, the rule of thumb, unless and/or until the individual employees either leave or take a 'collective confrontational stance' against the 'bargains' of the unscrupulous owner. At this point in the evolution of Capitalism, we have the beginning of 'strikes' and 'unions'...and changes in the 'corporate power balance' -- both good and bad.

Short of this, the only other power that an individual employee has is to 'leave' if he is being essentially 'forced to either take or leave a bad bargain'. In a good economy, and even in a bad one, one of the 'surest signs of a bad corporation with bad, unscrupulous leaders' is 'constant employee turnover'.

Now if you have a bad economy with high unemployment levels and/or high immigration levels intermixing with a bad economy, then what is going to happen? Advantage: unscrupulous owner...who is going to take advantage of a 'desperate work force' in order to lower wages and/or instigate other 'bad employee bargains'... If one prospective and/or current employee doesn't take the 'bad bargain' that an 'unscrupulous owner' has laid on the table, the next one coming in for the next interview -- will. Unless as an employee, you have a 'special skill', you have essentially no negotiating power in such a circumstance.

One would hazard a pretty safe guess that most unscrupulous business owners would 'welcome with open arms' a larger unemployed workforce, higher immigration levels, importing 'cheaper labor', and 'exporting jobs to countries with cheaper labor' -- all in the name of the almighty Unscrupulous, Narcissistic Capitalist Ideal -- specifically 'Profit Margin'. There is an imperative distinction that needs to be made relative to the practice of 'Good' or 'Bad' Capitalism relative to a 'fair but healthy profit margin' vs. an 'unscrupulous, gouging profit margin'....

Which is why the Government -- any Democratic Government with Integrity, Character, Ethics, and Accountability in mind -- needs to step in and regulate 'profit margins'. To prevent or at least discourage 'consumer price gouging' as well as 'employee intimidation, coercing, manipulating, extorting...etc.'

Back in the late 1980s (1988 to be exact), not too many people -- at least private citizens, including me -- knew whether 'free trade' was going to be a 'good thing' or a 'bad thing'. All many of us knew is that it 'sounded good' -- probably because it had the word 'free' in it...

Now looking back at things, 22 years later, perhaps we can come to some more definitive, experientially based conclusions: specifically, 'free trade' is not going to be a 'good thing' for countries with 'higher labor wages' -- at least in terms of the workers who are used to getting these higher labor wages.

Again, from an 'unscrupulous employer's point of view -- and even from the point of view of business owners with 'good integrity and intentions towards their workers' but who may be getting slammed by 'merciless unions' -- say goodbye to 'manufacturing plants' and 'service industries' in Canada and America as corporations move their operations to 'third world countries' in order to take advantage of 'lower (to practically non-existent) employee wages'.

In short, the 'free trade agreement' put together by Brian Mulroney in 1988 (in conjunction with Bush from the American side), would increase the economic and corporate speed of 'globalization', and the overall improvement of 'third world economic countries' at the expense of North American jobs in the manufacturing and 'goods and service' industry. Mulroney and Bush obviously did not either foresee and/or want to advertise the 'negative side effects' of the free trade agreement...

..............................................................................................................................................

From the internet...see free trade, George Bush...

George W. Bush on Free Trade

President of the United States, Former Republican Governor (TX)

Sub-sections under Free Trade:
NAFTA + WTO
Other issues under Free Trade
Linked trade agreements to participation in Iraq War

Examples of using economic diplomacy for the common good have been overshadowed in recent years by the priorities set under the influence of the Bush pre-emptive war doctrine. Entering the war in Iraq based on erroneous information, has forced us to go shopping around the world for friends, armed with carrots and with sticks. In order to pull together what was called a willing coalition, they went to the poorest developing countries and said, 'If you can't send a soldier, send a policeman." And, "If yo don't have the money, can we give you some?"

Deals were made. Once in a small country I joined the US ambassador for a meeting. The US ambassador made it clear to this president that if he withdrew the handful of soldiers he had sent to Iraq, it would be very difficult for him to get a trade agreement with the US. I was shocked and clarified that I was opposed to the war and as far as I was concerned the deal for the trade agreement had nothing to do with his willingness to send troops.

Source: A Bad Day Since, by Charles Rangel, p. 168 Aug 5, 2008

Open more markets to keep America competitive

Keeping America competitive requires us to open more markets for all that Americans make and grow. One out of every five factory jobs in America is related to global trade, and we want people everywhere to buy American. With open markets and a level playing field, no one can outproduce or outcompete the American worker.

Source: 2006 State of the Union Address Jan 31, 2006

Fact Check: Free trade tempered by steel protectionism

FACTCHECK on Trade: In speaking of benefits of international trade, the President failed to mention his own steps to protect the politically important US steel industry.

BUSH: My Administration is promoting free and fair trade, to open up new markets for America ‘s entrepreneurs, and manufacturers, and farmers, and to create jobs for America ‘s workers.
FACTCHECK: Not mentioned: Bush’s imposition of tariffs on imported steel, which pleased US labor unions and steel executives but which were found to violate World Trade Organization rules. Bush lifted the steel tariffs Dec. 4 after trading partners threatened retaliation against US exports.

Source: FactCheck.org on the 2004 State of the Union address Jan 20, 2004

Tariffs over free trade, for steel industry

On March 5, 2002, the President announced he would impose tariffs of up to 30% on imported steel in an effort to shore up the long-declining industry. Steel executives praised the President and said that the tariffs might save jobs. Free trade advocates wondered how other countries would respond and what the effect would be on the cost of a wide array of goods.

Source: The Price of Loyalty, by Ron Suskind, p.238 Jan 13, 2004

Repeals steel tariffs he imposed in 2002

The Bush administration has decided to repeal most of its 20-month-old tariffs on imported steel to head off a trade war. European countries and Japan had vowed to respond to the tariffs, which were ruled illegal by the WTO, by imposing sanctions on up to $2.2 billion in exports from the US, beginning as soon as Dec. 15.

Bush advisers said they were aware the reversal could produce a backlash against him in several steel-producing states of the Rust Belt-including PA, WV, & OH. That arc of states has been hit severely by losses in manufacturing jobs and will be among the most closely contested in his reelection race.
Bush decided in March 2002 to impose tariffs of 8% to 30% on most steel imports from abroad for three years. The decision was heavily influenced by the desire to help the Rust Belt states, but the departure from Bush’s free-trade principles drew fierce criticism from his conservative supporters. After a blast of international opposition, the administration began approving exemptions.

Source: Mike Allen, Washington Post, p. A1 Dec 1, 2003

Don’t link trade to environment and labor

Free trade is a subject on which both candidates appear to start from the same position, commitment to free trade. From that point, their positions swiftly diverge. Bush would:
supports restoration of “fast-track” negotiating authority for the president
opposes linking trade agreements to labor and environmental issues
supports the expansion of NAFTA throughout the Americas
supports the admission of China and Taiwan to the WTO
wants strict enforcement of anti-dumping and other laws against “unfair” trade
intends to revise export controls to tighten control over military technology and ease restrictions on commercial technology
wants to make international financial institutions more accountable and transparent
strongly supports free trade, saying that the case for it is “not just monetary but moral” and pledging to make the expansion of trade a consistent priority“

Source: The Economist, “Issues 2000” Sep 30, 2000

Sow free trade and farmers will reap

Q: What will you do as president to help farmers get sufficient pay for their work?
A: I would be a free trading president, a president that will work tirelessly to open up markets for agricultural products all over the world. I believe our American farmers. can compete so long as the playing field is level. That’s why I am such a strong advocate of free trade and that’s why I reject protectionism and isolation because I think it hurts our American farmers.

Source: Republican debate in West Columbia, South Carolina Jan 7, 2000

A free market promotes dreams and individuality

[After visiting China], I’ll never forget the contrast between what I learned about the free market at Harvard and what I saw in the closed isolation of China. Every bicycle looked the same. People’s clothes were all the same. a free market frees individuals to make distinct choices and independent decisions. The market gives individuals the opportunity to demand and decide, and entrepreneurs the opportunity to provide.

Source: “A Charge to Keep”, p. 61. Dec 9, 1999

Import fees are not the answer to foreign competition

In 1999, when a glut of foreign oil drove prices below $12 a barrel, many of my friends in the oil business wanted the government to rescue them through price supports. . . I understand the frustration of people. but I do not support import fees. . . I believe it makes sense to use the tax code to encourage activities that benefit America. But I do not want to put up fees or tariffs or roadblocks to trade.

Source: “A Charge to Keep”, p. 65-66. Dec 9, 1999

The fearful build walls; the confident demolish them.

I’ll work to end tariffs and break down barriers everywhere, entirely, so the whole world trades in freedom. The fearful build walls. The confident demolish them. I am confident in American workers and farmers and producers. And I am confident that America’s best is the best in the world.

Source: Candidacy Announcement speech, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Jun 12, 1999

Click here for 13 older quotations from George W. Bush on Free Trade.
Click here for definitions & background information on Free Trade.
Click here for policy papers on Free Trade.
Click here for a profile of George W. Bush.
Click here for VoteMatch responses by George W. Bush.
Agree? Disagree? Voice your opinions on Free Trade or about George W. Bush in The Forum.
....................................................................

dgb...continued...

In contrast to 'unscrupulous, narcissistic business owners' who tend to follow the 'God of The Highest Profit Margin' and will exploit workers and customers to get there, 'ethical, win-win business owners' tend to look for that magic point of 'dialectic-homeostatic balance, fairness, unity, and harmony'...that stabilizes their business...

'Good Social Will' business owners may not get the highest profit margins in the short run but, over the long haul, Good Social Will' business owners tend to create the best businesses -- as long as they protect a 'healthy profit margin' -- because they are not constantly self-destructing on the basis of employee resentment, rebellion, anarchy, and the 'bad reputation' that the 'self-indulgent business owner's corporation will quickly or slowly establish in the work community both amongst prospective workers and prospective customers. The last thing an employer -- good or bad -- wants to hear is, 'Well, who's working for your company this week?' That is generally not a 'healthy sign' for the corporation.

Health in the personality, in the body, and in the corporation are all built upon the same principle: the principle of 'good self and social will' which in turn is based on the principle of 'dialectic-homeostatic balance'.

In the body, in the personality, and in our socio-economic world, we should all be looking for 'win-win solutions' with no serious 'negative side effects'.

Narcissistic people tend to foster 'a negative social willpower against them' -- they continue to chase 'short term profit gain' without caring one iota about the extent of the 'social pain they leave behind them' in their dust...

If their employees or their customers will eat 'dog food' disguised as 'health food'....the narcissistic owner doesn't think twice....because he or she serves 'The God of Profit Margins'....

Personally, I love to see such corporations run by unscrupulous business owners eventually crumble in the dust...or fold like a house of cards...

When such a business folds like a house of cards...

It reflects the personality, character, and integrity of the person who ran the company into the ground...

Adam Smith would say that this is the 'Free Market' work of 'The Invisible Hand'...

That is, until our North American Governments -- both in America and in Canada -- let these corporate parasites...

Escape their corporate ruins...

With Golden Bailouts and Parachutes...

Then even Adam Smith is crying...

-- dgb, May 8th, 2010.

-- David Gordon Bain,

-- Dialectic-Democratic, Ethical-Good Will-Capitalism, Negotiations...

-- Are Still in Process...

-- Democracy Goes Beyond Narcissism...

GG draws attention for declaring slavery an ongoing practice in Africa

2010-04-18T06:18:00.001-07:00

GG draws attention for declaring slavery an ongoing practice in Africa
Fri Apr 16, 5:59 PM
By Alexander Panetta, The Canadian Press

GOREE ISLAND, Senegal - First she drew attention in Africa for bluntly declaring that slavery remained widespread, and then Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean visited a dungeon with a dark past to illustrate her point Friday.

Jean's statement about the plight of children in Senegal was widely reported by media in that country, where an in-depth survey has concluded that at least 50,000 boys are being exploited and frequently beaten at their religious schools.

Her sentiments are supported by a new report from Human Rights Watch, an organization that also describes as "slavery" a common Senegalese custom: Islamic schools that send children out to beg for money all day, then often beat them when they don't return with enough cash.

The country's so-called talibes, boys as young as four, can be seen wandering through traffic in tattered clothes and pleading for money. Because charity is considered a religious duty, people hand over enough donations to make the schoolmasters wealthy by local standards.

Jean's visit made the front page of several newspapers Friday.

"Exploitation of Children In Senegal: Michaelle Jean Calls It Slavery," was one headline in Le Quotidien newspaper, the day after Jean surprised some journalists at the presidential palace by making that assessment at a joint press conference with the country's president.

Human-rights groups estimate that as many as 27 million people live in modern-day slavery - and that there are more slaves in the world now than at any point in human history.

They include unpaid labourers who work for room and board, women forced into the sex trade, underage soldiers, and child workers who are paid a pittance.

The UN's High Commission on Human Rights has suggested a variety of means to fight the problem, including product boycotts and mandatory labelling of goods in industries - like carpet-weaving - where child exploitation has been a problem.

This week's report on Senegal by Human Rights Watch urged the Senegalese government to better regulate religious schools, which are popular because they offer the promise of a free education.

As she visited a former slave-trading centre Friday, Jean used the occasion to illustrate her point for the second day in a row.

She was received jubilantly by dancing and singing locals on Goree Island. Now a pastel-coloured tourist destination and UN World Heritage Site, the French used this island to imprison slaves traded for guns and alcohol.

Jean toured the former prison where slaves were once chained to walls by their necks; where children were crammed, in the words of her tour guide, "like fish in a sardine can," with 150 kids crowded into a separate dungeon half the size of a bowling alley; where men were sold for the price of a barrel of rum, while women fetched the same price if they had attractive physical attributes.

"These captives were not considered human beings," said Jean's guide, Eloi Coly.

"They were considered merchandise."

People had their names taken away, and were assigned a number. They were marched down a stone hallway through the infamous "Door of No Return," then loaded onto ships that carried them on a three-month - often fatal - journey to the new world.

A teary-eyed Jean, after the tour, said descendents of former slaves and former slave-owners can work together today on a common cause: ending modern-day slavery.

"This place is not about the history of black peoples. It's about us all," Jean told Canadian and Senegalese journalists.

"Whether we are of European descent, and probably related to those who committed that crime of slavery and slave trade, or whether we are of African descent, we all belong to that history."

She delivered a similarly contemporary message four years ago during a visit to Ghana. During a visit to a similar prison there, she knelt on the ground and broke into sobs, then waved off a question about what special meaning the place carried for someone like her, the descendant of African slaves.

Jean repeated Friday that it would be a mistake to view slavery uniquely through the prism of African history.

"It's about us all. And it's about how life can triumph over barbarism. And we must stand together today, to really fight every situation that denies rights, dignity and humanity to people in the world today. Slavery is still a fact today, in so many different ways," she said.

"Human-trafficking, injustices, are still a reality today. But we are together - and we can say no to it. It's a responsibility."

On Friday, Jean also addressed a school where Canadian aid money has helped train young Senegalese journalists over the years and, on the second full day of her 10-day trip to Africa, she met with a women's group after touring Goree's House of Slaves.

Just outside that old prison, young Amadou Guisse spends the whole day working. He started three years ago, when he was only 10. Guisse follows tourists onto a ferry and, to earn a few dollars on the ride back and forth from the capital, Dakar, he goes around the boat urging tourists to let him shine their shoes.

Guisse shook his head when asked whether he keeps any of the money he earns.

"It's for my family," he said. "Everything."

Canadian Pensions...

2010-04-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Canada Pensions...

Only in Canada
* It is interesting to know that the federal Government of Canada allows :
A monthly pension of : $1,890.00 to a simple refugee
plus : 580.00 in social aid
==========
A grand total of : $2,470.00 monthly
X 12 months
==========
$28,920.00 annual income

· By comparison, the Old Age Pension of a senior citizen who has contributed to the
development of Our Beautiful Big Country during 40 or 50 years, CANNOT receive more than :
Amount/month $1,012.00 in Old Age Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement
X 12 months
============
$12,144.00 annual income
A difference of : $16,776.00 per year

* Perhaps our senior citizens should ask for the Status of Refugees instead of applying for Old Age Pension.

* Let us send this message to as many Canadians as possible, and maybe the allowance of refugee could
then be reduced to $1,012.00, and that of our Canadian pensioners raised to $2,470.00 per month.
(who actually deserve it) the money that they have been paying in income taxes for 40 or 50 years.

AN INCREDIBLE NONSENSE !!!
OUR CANADIAN SENIORS CITIZENS, DESERVE BETTER

The Proposal of a New 'Ethical Harmony Tax'....Regarding The Subject of Political and Corporate Narcissism, and Unethical Lobbyist Practices...

2010-03-29T07:32:00.001-07:00

Regarding, the subject of political and corporate 'lobbyist narcissism' and unethical lobbyist malpractices...

If there are 'corporate lobbyists' hanging around heads of pertinent government departments -- or 'power politicians' even above heads of government departments -- and 'contracts' or 'drug approvals' are at stake worth millions or even billions of dollars...and 'money' is either directly or indirectly (through 'political contributions') passing hands from 'private corporations' to 'government officials'...
then we all know that this is 'blatant conflict of interest', violating 'private competition laws'....and a form of direct or indirect bribery which obviously is illegal -- or should be.

However, like the 'back of the food package', often if not usually, we would just as soon not 'read or hear what we do not want to read or hear'....and when we read or hear these political-corporate scandals coming out in the daily news, we deem ourselves to be more or less 'helpless' on these matters, and eventually just let the whole scandal slide....which is what the accused and/or guilty politicians want us to do...

Meanwhile, the lost government money goes out the back door, or into the hands of some fired government official who walks away with a multi-hundred thousand dollar 'separation agreement', and to compensate for all the lost money, government just raises our taxes in the next budget meeting -- for example turning our 'Goods and Services Tax (GST)' into a more lucrative, all-encompassing, and hard-hitting 'Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)'....See, even the name of this new tax sounds nice and 'harmonious'...like the front of the package that says: 'No Trans Fats!'...

Every prime minister-to-be, or president-to-be has the greatest ideals for 'cleaning up government conflict of issue problems'...until they actually get into power...and then their 'ethical clean up program' seems to get swallowed up by the gigantic 'Government Establishment Whale'... Personally, I would create a whole system of new taxes geared towards reducing government and corporate corruption...

A brand new network of 'EHTs -- Ethical Harmony Taxes' such as: 1. The 'GOT' (as in 'GOT CAUGHT!') -- i.e., The 'Government Overspending Tax' -- this would be a 13 per cent 'Ethical Harmony Tax' applied to the personal income tax of any government official convicted of having a 'lavish and grossly inappropriate personal/government expense account' in any particular budget year. 2. The 'UGLYT' -- i.e., The 'Unethical Government Lobbyism Yearning Tax' -- this tax could be applied to either government officials and/or private corporate lobbyists who are convicted of any type of unethical government lobbyism malpractice -- such as:

Brian Mulroney and the 'suitcase full of money' episode with the German arms dealer.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/francis/archive/2007/11/19/brian-mulroney-stevie-cameron-and-sleaze.aspx

At the very least, the Government of Canada could have hit Mulroney with the UGLY Tax -- a 13 per cent surcharge on his personal income tax plus another 13 per cent corporate tax on any company owned by Mulroney or anyone else associated with this debacle (we would hope that, in this case, the German arms dealer would have been banned from any further business dealings with The Government of Canada... however, I doubt it......this might be partly laughable but at the very least, any 'contract chaser' inside or outside Canada convicted of UGLY (Unethical Government Lobbyism Yearning) would be hit with a 13 per cent 'EHCT'' (Ethical Harmony Contract Tax) on any further government contract dealings, as well as an additional 13 per cent corporate surcharge tax, and a personal income tax surcharge for the particular convicted lobbyist and the owners and/or shareholders of the company the lobbyist is working for. It could be applied to anyone 'reasonably assumed to knowing what shenanigans were going on'.

In Ontario here, there was the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Scandal in which the terminated CEO, Kelly McDougald walked away with a$750,000 termination settlement...

http://blog.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/toronto_employment_lawyer/2009/12/ex-olg-exec-gets-750000-wrongful-dismissal-settlement.html

And there was the EHealth Scandal which the auditor said was a '1 billion dollar waste'...

His report says the board of directors at eHealth Ontario felt it had little power over CEO Sarah Kramer because she had been hired by chair Alan Hudson "with the support of the premier." That, McCarter said, gave Kramer the impression she had approval to ignore normal procurement procedures.
It was revealed late Tuesday that Health Minister David Caplan resigned because of the report.
Just minutes after the release of the report, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that Children and Youth Services Minister Deb Matthews would take over the health portfolio.

Too much power in too few hands

McCarter's probe, which went back to 2000, criticized unnamed consulting companies for driving up each other's fees to artificially create a higher rate for their services and putting too much power in too few hands in awarding of contracts.
In his report, the auditor general also slammed unnamed officials at the Ministry of Health for thwarting his efforts to get investigators into the ministry for a routine audit in the summer of 2008. In the end, the audit didn't happen until February 2009.
McGuinty has since announced new rules to keep a closer eye on the expenses of about 300 top executives at 22 of Ontario's 615 arm's-length agencies, boards and commissions by having them approved by the province's integrity commissioner.
EHealth was set up in 2008 to create electronic health records after Smart Systems for Health spent $650 million but failed to produce anything of lasting value.
Smart Systems for Health was quietly shut down last September.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/10/07/ehealth-auditor.html#ixzz0jZX5E7cj

Sarah Kramer walked away with, I believe, around a $300,000 termination settlement...Meanwhile here was what was said about her 'government performance as former CEO for The EHealth Department...

Kramer's $114,000 bonus was double eHealth's allowable rate
Cancer Care Ontario CEO says no one there was getting such bonuses
Last Updated: Friday, June 5, 2009 | 2:26 PM ET
CBC News
EHealth Ontario CEO Sarah Kramer's six-figure bonus was double the maximum rate allowed at the Crown-owned agency, a spokeswoman for the organization has confirmed.
EHealth Ontario first came under scrutiny last week for nearly $5 million doled out in untendered contracts, with more than half questioned over personal ties to company executives. (CBC)
In early March, four months after Kramer started her post at the newly created agency, its board of directors approved a $114,000 bonus, on top of her $380,000 salary.
Under eHealth's regulations, however, executives are permitted to receive a bonus ranging from zero to 15 per cent of their salary, spokeswoman Deanna Allen told CBC News.
Fifteen per cent would amount to $57,000 under Kramer's current salary. However, she received a bonus worth 30 per cent.
Asked by CBC News whether she had an explanation for why Kramer's bonus was double the highest allowable rate, Allen responded, "No, I don't."
The letter notifying Kramer of her approved bonus was signed by Dr. Alan Hudson, chairman of the board of directors and the former head of Cancer Care.
Hudson and Kramer have been under fire since late last week for awarding more than $5.5 million in untendered contracts, more than half of which have raised questions about personal connections to the vendors.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/06/04/ehealth-ontario-cancer-care-bonus-kramer.html#ixzz0jZXobnoq

So who is paying for all of this overspent Ontario government money? The new 'Harmony Sales Tax' start on July 1st, 2010.

I think my 'EHT' and/or 'EHCT' ideas would have been, and still would be, much more appropriately suited here...There are a lot of potential 'ethical culprits' who could have, and should have, been taxed a new 'Ethical Harmony' tax....Without the McGuinty Liberal Government having to turn in the direction he has always turned in since he took power -- by taxing the citizens of Ontario more for his government's ethical transgressions and indiscretions...

Everyone maligned in 'The Gomery Report' regarding 'The Liberal Adscam Scandal' could have been hit with the EHT (Ethical Harmony Tax) and/or the EHCT (Ethical Harmony Contract Tax). You see, in Canada, Liberals and Conservatives alike have both been found guilty of such 'Unethical Lobbyism Scandals' (ULS). One might almost be tempted to say that it is in 'the blood of many, if not most, seasoned politicians'...not to mention the corporate lobbyists that they deal with behind closed doors, in bars, in alleys, and in untaped phone conversations...As far away as they can reasonably get from the probing public eye and ear...This is called the 'narcissistic capitalist subversion of democracy'... AIG....banks, mortgage companies, insurance companies, stock trading companies...which brings me to another two proposed taxes associated with the newly proposed EHT network of taxes...

3. The 'UGCBT' -- The 'Unreasonable/Unethical Government/Corporate Bonus Tax' -- charged against any and/or all government and/or private, corporate executives charged with, and convicted of receiving 'unreasonable and/or unethical bonuses' for performances not rendered...and/or not appropriate to their job...Sarah Kramer, are you listening? AIG, are you listening?

4. The 'UCSCT' -- The 'Unreasonable/Unethical Corporate Service Charge Tax' -- applied to any corporations and/or associated executives and/or shareholders who are found guilty of charging private citizens and/or employees for 'service charges and/or administration charges where there is no service delivered or delivered sufficiently to warrant the service charge'... Banks would probably be the number one offender here...

5. The 'CGT' -- The 'Corporate-Customer Gouging Tax' -- applied to any corporations and/or associated executives and/or shareholders who are found guilty of overcharging private citizens and/or employees for goods and/or services rendered (or not rendered)...

6. The 'RCBWT' -- The 'Rollover Contract and/or Bank Withdrawal Tax' -- applied to any corporation and/or executives and/or shareholders who are found guilty of coercing/seducing/manipulating customers into signing 'rollover contract agreements' that allow the particular corporation to keep withdrawing money from the customer's bank account even after year end and/or without any overt and/or direct consent on the part of the customer to continue with the contract basically until the customer is dead...or rather, the bank account is dead...All 'rollover contracts', or 'multi-year' contracts in cases such as 'gym memberships' and 'cell phone contracts' should be illegal and/or failing that, also hit corporations and their executives and/or shareholders who indulge in such 'unethical profit gouging' practices with a 13 per cent personal and/or corporate RCBWT...

7. The 'CMMMCT' -- The 'Corporate Monopoly and/or Collusion Tax' -- should be applied to any corporation and/or its executives and/or shareholders who are found guilty of artificially raising consumer prices because it is a monopoly goods and/or service company, and/or because it has found a way to 'manipulate the market' to artificially raise prices, and/or because two or more companies have banded together and colluded, in effect, to create a 'non-competition monopoly' in order to artificially raise consumer prices...

Let us add one more final Ethical Harmony Tax before I sign off for today...

8. The 'GSOTT' -- The Government's (President's, Prime Minister's, Premier's, Mayor's...) Special Over-Taxing Tax' -- designed particular for any and/or all of those politicians held accountable for creating and passing into law the existence of a 'new citizen tax' -- such as the HST -- which is deemed inappropriate by a court of law based on the government's (President's, Prime Minister's, Premier's, Mayor's...) own accountability in the government's waste of taxpayers money relative to government overspending and/or lobbyist and/or bonus and/or expense account overspending scandals that should put the accountability for such overspending squarely back on the government's broad shoulders -- and any and/or all particular officials within the government who are dutifully (or non-dutifully) held accountable for such scandals -- through the administration of the GSOT on any and/or all of the accountable government officials on his or her: 1. personal income tax; 2. private expense accounts; 3. salary bonuses; and/or the elimination of all such future salary bonuses and/or expense accounts all together....

9. One more thing: A 'three strikes and you are out' policy where any and/or all politicians and/or corporations and/or corporation lobbyists who are convicted three times for 'overspending transgression's -- if they have not been let go already after the first or second transgression -- will be removed from all government jobs and/or government-corporate business transactions...forever...

That is about the limit of my political-corporate ethical imagination for today...

-- dgb, March 29th, 2010

-- David Gordon Bain

-- Dialectic Gap-Bridging Negotiations...

-- Are Still in Process...

-- Democracy Goes Beyond Narcissism....

Beware Your Righteous, Theoretical Boundaries!!

2010-03-19T16:50:00.001-07:00

10 tips to get out of debt

2010-03-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

10 tips to get out of debt
by Gail Vaz-Oxlade, For CNBC
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Provided by

From the internet...

How can you get out of debt and back on the road to recovery? Renowned financial author and Til Debt Do Us part host Gail Vaz-Oxlade takes a tough-love approach to helping couples in a financial crisis to face reality. Here are Gail's top 10 tips to get out of debt..

Cut Your Credit Cards and Set A Budget

Every family that finds themselves in debt should cut up all their credit cards and live on a cash budget, keeping a log of each and every expenditure made. Use the following formula to set a budget. Keep in mind that the "life" category includes everything from groceries, to gadgets to entertainment. Housing: 35%, Debt: 15%, Life: 25%, Transportation, 15%, Savings 10%.

More from CNBC.com:
Top 10 Tips For Building Wealth

Biggest Types Of Personal Debt

Which Country Gets The Most Vacation Days?

Reduce Your Interest Rates

Reducing your interest cost is one way to fast track your way out of debt. Some people have interest rates as high as 30%. When they pay their monthly minimum, all they're doing is paying off interest rather than chipping away at the principal. By calling to negotiate with creditors, high interest rates can be brought down. If you call and a representative says they can't help you, ask to be connected to a supervisor until you get to someone with the authority to reduce your rates.

Bring In Extra Money

Do anything you can to bring in extra money to throw at your debt, even if you work a full time job. Consider overtime at work, dog walking, baby sitting, tutoring, or using any skill that's unique to you to bring home the bacon…some creative ideas we've seen on the show: web designing, party planning, teaching music lessons and much, much more!

Get Your Priorities Straight

When deciding how to tackle debt and putting a plan in place to save for the future, you have to consider all of your options. Ask yourself the tough questions and prioritize…if going to grad school is important, then maybe you can be a student but take on a part-time job. If having a child is important, do you need to take a full maternity leave? Should you consider buying a home - maybe renting is a smarter option? Make a list of things you want to do and discuss them thoroughly with your partner to help make the best decisions for you and your relationship.

Chip Away At The Debt

To reduce debt, make a list of every single debt that you have and rank them in order of the highest interest rate, not the highest balance. Pay off the highest interest rate card first. Every time you have extra money, throw it at the debt you've targeted until it's gone and then stop using that card! Reward yourself by making a checklist and crossing out the debt, you'll feel better as you start to see it disappear. When your debt is paid off, take the money you were allocating for debt repayment and put it towards savings.

Keep Things In Perspective

Getting out of debt isn't easy, but you have to remember that you cannot let debt consume you and hurt your relationship. You and your partner need to work through the debt together, making sacrifices but focusing on what's important as well - your family and your relationship. Get a babysitter and make time to do something special with your spouse so you can remember why you fell in love, set time aside to do group activities as a family to involve the kids as well. Don't let your debt get the best of you.

Getting Out of Debt Doesn't Mean You Can't Ever Spend Again

When working your way out of debt you can still spend on things that are important to you, you just need to plan and save for them. So for example, if you're planning to get married, don't rush out and cancel your wedding - re-think your wedding plans and see if there are cheaper alternative ways to spend on what you want. If you really love to travel, don't cancel your trip for the year, figure out a way to do it on a tighter budget and save a little each month for it so you don't have to put it on credit cards.

Stop Eating Out

Eating out costs way more than buying food and cooking at home, not to mention that the latter option is much healthier as well. Make cooking dinner a family activity, something that can be done to together to make the experience more enjoyable - and when you're done cooking, sit down and have dinner together, discuss the day's events and catch up. Having dinner parties at home is also a way to cut down on entertainment with friends. If you're planning a romantic dinner consider taking the kids to their grandparents' and having dinner at home rather than in a restaurant. If you're going to get together with friends, consider the same thing. Remember, it's not about the food, it's about the company.

Get Organized

When it comes to working your way out of debt it's all about organization - believe it or not getting your documents in order will help you pay down your debt because it puts you in control. Organize your paperwork so you know where every important document is and so that all documents are easily accessible. Use a collapsible file folder, label the tabs clearly and most importantly, do this with your spouse so you both understand the system.

Be Willing To Part With Toys

Sometimes to get out of debt you'll have to sell something that's really important to you or that you love. The reality is dealing with the heartbreak of losing material things will be far less than dealing with the damage that these things can do to your finances. If you have to sell a car, house, piece of jewelry, artwork or anything else, take a deep breath and realize that what you're doing will help your future and your finances - and just let it go.

The Essence of 'The Will to Power', 'The Master/Slave Relationship', and How It Affects Modern Philosophy, and Modern-day Living...The Dialectic of The Will to Power vs. The Will to Democracy

2010-03-05T06:34:00.001-08:00

Life is full of opposites...and much positive energy and results can be derived from engaging opposites -- opposite perspectives, opposite concepts, opposite theories, opposite personalities, opposite characteristics...-- into contact with each other, playing both sides towards the middle in a way that brings creative new integrative possibilities into existence where none existed before...

As Carl Jung has stated, the energy comes from the tension of the opposites interacting with each other...sometimes in the heat of attraction, passion, and sexuality, other times, in the heat of argumentation, disagreement, and conflict...Either way, I call this the 'dialectic force of Nature/God/Evolution'...

The first 'dialectic philosopher' in the East goes back to whoever created the concepts of 'yin' and 'yang'...the 'feminine' and 'masculine' forces in Nature and Evolution...I have this philosopher pinned as Lao Tse. However, the roots of Chinese philosophy go very, very deep, and it could have been someone unknown before Lao Tse who created the yin/yang dialectic concepts...

Over in the West, back in Ancient Greece, before Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, I have Anaximander pinned as the first Western dialectic philosopher. Anaxamander's philosophy was both very mystic and primitive on the one hand, but interpreted in a particular way, it becomes very profound and wise, and just as relevant today as when he created it somewhere back about 650-700BC...

Anaxamander's idea -- and I am paraphrasing and interpreting -- was that opposites are born from Chaos (The Apeiron, The Universe, The Boundless, The Infinite, The Shadows...Jung/Gestalt Psychology)...From Chaos and The Shadows are born opposites (night vs. day, hot vs. cold, men vs. women...) which are differentiated from each other and enter the World as we know it, and experience their differences in contact with each other. From this contact of differences, boundaries become apparent, and a Battle For Power ensues...(Nietzsche's 'Will to Power'...)...

Out of this 'battle for power', 'winners' and 'losers' become apparent based on the difference of 'superiority' and 'inferiority' (Adler)...and based on this principle of superiority and inferiority becomes the beginning of what Hegel would come to call over 2000 years later, 'The Master/Slave Relationship'... Translated into Marxian Philosophy, this becomes 'The Bourgeoisie' vs. 'The Proletariat'...translated into Capitalist Philosophy, this becomes 'The Employer' vs. 'The Employee, The Union, The Workers'...translated into Feminist Philosophy, this becomes the old 'Dominant Husband vs. Submissive Wife role positions'...translated into Religious Philosophy this becomes the tension between the Catholics and the Protestants, the Christians and the Muslims, the Palestinians and the Jews...translated into Political and Economic Philosophy this becomes the tension between the Capitalists and The Socialists, The Liberals and The Conservatives, the Republicans and The Democrats...the Politicians and the Citizens...

Everywhere we look the 'fight for power between opposites' is evident....

In some cases, we at least partly strive to 'balance this power' in the idea of a 'democracy' or 'egalitarianism'... The idea of 'balancing opposite powers' goes back to Heraclitus in the West (following in Anaxamander's footsteps but taking Anaxamander's philosophy to a different level in the idea of 'balancing opposing forces'); and again to the East and the idea of 'balancing yin and yang forces for the purpose of obtaining and maintaining health'...In contrast, the idea of 'an imbalanced power force' between yin and yang forces -- either yin dominating yang, or yang dominating yin, becomes associated with the idea of 'medical pathology'...This idea can easily be transferred to psychology and to much, if not all, of life....

Thus, even in the realm of 'yin and yang (masculine/feminine; testosterone/estrogen) relationships', we can talk about Hegel's idea of the 'master/slave relationship'...which has roots in the ancient 'Power Philosophy of Anaxamander'...

Now this 'master/slave relationship' is a little more complicated than we usually assume it to be, and Hegel was the first to point this out...Indeed, the relationship of the 'master' and 'slave' is often a relationship of 'co-dependence'...and 'attraction' as well as 'repulsion'...People want freedom and yet they are afraid of freedom and in the words of Kierkegaard, Sartre and Eric Fromm often get 'terrified by freedom' and 'back up' to 'Escape From Freedom' (Fromm)...

They often 'retreat to the Master/Slave Relationship' in order to 'escape the terror of their own individual freedom'....

Regarding the issue of 'co-dependence', the Master and The Slave are often tied to each other in a co-dependent relationship in which both perceive that they need each other -- just as often, they resent and hate each other for the same reason. They both have a different type of 'power' and a different type of 'weakness'. The Master knows how to 'lead' and how to 'tell other people what to do' but at the same time, often he or she is either incapable of, and/or unwilling to, do the work the Slave knows how to, and is capable of, doing...

Thus, take away the Slave, and the Master becomes terrified -- he or she loses his or her power and doesn't know what to do because he or she doesn't know how to do the work that The Slave was doing...The Master feels a deep emotional and behavioral void and vacuum in the absence of the Slave...unless the Master knows how to, and is capable of doing, the work just vacated by The Slave...

Now the Slave may feel terrified of running away from The Master for any or all of a variety of different reasons: provocation, intimidation, prosecution, persecution, victimization, loss of food, shelter, and/or money...

Which heightens the Master's power....

Until the 'cycle of power' changes...

This was the essence of the wisdom of Anaxamander's 2700 year old philosophy...

The cycle of power always changes...

People do injustices upon each other...

The Master exploits injustices onto the Slave...

But The Slave, over time, learns how to exploit injustices back onto the Master...

And over time, the powerful (the Master) becomes weaker, while the less powerful (the Slave) becomes more powerful...

To the point, where one day the Slave becomes Master of either his or her own freedom, and/or the Slave becomes Master over The Master...(Adler, 'superiority striving', 'the mastery compulsion')...

But there are a lot of steps -- and steps backward -- to getting here....

For both the Master and the Slave...

The Master needs to learn how to 'give up control'...to 'listen' to the Slave...and to 'learn' from the Slave...to learn from the Slave how to do those things that the Master may not know how to do properly...

And the Slave needs to learn from the master how to take more 'initiative' and 'risk'...to have more 'courage to leap into the unknown'....'to take chances'....to 'jump across the Nietzschean Abyss from Being or non-Being to Becoming'...

In short, the Master needs to learn more 'social sensitivity skills', more how to 'give up self- control',

While the Slave needs to learn more 'self-assertiveness skills', more how to 'take self-control'...

The Master too often has no ears to listen...

While the Slave too often has no mouth to speak...

The Master usually has too much 'yang'...

And the Slave too much 'yin'...

They both have 'gaps', 'holes', 'voids' in their personality....

They both long for freedom and strive to achieve and/or maintain power, while avoiding self-accountability for their own respective 'weaknesses',

They both can learn from each other...

Such is the nature, essence, the ongoing dialectic, between The Will to Power and The Will to Democracy and Egalitarianism...

In the combined words of a number of historical, philosophical friends of mine...

'Thus, Anaxamander, Lao Tse, Hegel, Nietzsche, Zarathrusta

And dgb...

Spoke...'

-- dgb, March 5th, 2010,

-- David Gordon Bain,

-- Dialectic Gap Bridging Negotiations...

-- Are Still in Process...

Singer Billy Bragg to stop paying taxes over bank bonuses

2010-01-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

Singer Billy Bragg to stop paying taxes over bank bonuses
Mon Jan 18, 10:52 AM
LONDON (Reuters) - British singer Billy Bragg has threatened to stop paying taxes, and called on others to follow suit, unless the government acts to limit bonuses paid by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

The 52-year-old singer, well known for his left-wing views and political activism, aims to tap public anger over "fat cat" bonuses at U.S. and British banks rescued with taxpayers' money during the financial crisis.

The huge bailouts have left the British government holding 84 percent of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and 43 percent of Lloyds Banking Group.

"I understand that the Treasury had little choice but to use taxpayers' money to safeguard savings and stabilize and restore confidence in the financial system," Bragg wrote on his page on the Facebook social networking site.

"What I don't understand is why, now that we taxpayers are the majority shareholders of these banks, we seem totally powerless to curb their excessive bonus culture?"

He quoted reports estimating RBS will pay its investment bankers around 1.5 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in bonuses next month.

At the same time, he added, Britain's main political parties are warning voters that national debt will mean tough cuts in public spending after the next general election.

"I believe that the government have their priorities wrong.

"I have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister), Alistair Darling, to inform him that I am no longer prepared to fund the excessive bonuses of RBS investment bankers. Unless he acts to limit them to 25,000 pounds, I shall be withholding my tax payment on 31st January." In his Facebook campaign titled "NoBonus4RBS" he invited other British tax payers to do the same to exert pressure on the government to curb bonuses.

RBS has been forced to agree to slash payouts and hand the state a veto on its 2009 bonus pool, but the government has also said that going too far to restrict pay could dent the bank's ability to compete.

When asked about Bragg's initiative, a Treasury spokesman said: "We can reassure people there will not be a significant amount of taxpayers' cash going to bonuses at RBS."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

Health bosses accused of flu-mongering

2009-12-11T12:20:00.001-08:00

Health bosses accused of flu-mongering
December 11, 2009

Comments on this story (32)

Theresa Boyle

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Public health officials are misleading Canadians by continuing to characterize the H1N1 virus as a threat in the hopes of unloading millions of doses of unused vaccine, charges Ontario's former chief medical officer of health.

They are trying to save face because of an expensive overreaction, Dr. Richard Schabas said Thursday as lineups for the vaccine continued to dwindle.

He made his comments the day after the Public Health Agency of Canada unveiled a new advertising campaign aimed at encouraging Canadians to get vaccinated.

"Spending Christmas in bed or in an ICU unit is no fun and the only way to actually avoid that is for a large number of Canadians to be immunized," agency head Dr. David Butler-Jones told a teleconference.

He also said discussions are underway with the World Health Organization on what to do with the surplus vaccine.

Schabas, who is medical officer of health for Hastings and Prince Edward Counties, estimates that 35 million of the 50.4 million doses of vaccine that Canada has ordered, at a cost of more than $400 million, will not be used.

"They bought 50 million doses of vaccine and it's an embarrassment to them that it's not being used," he said, adding that it became available too late.

"I think if you are going to make that push, you at least need to tell people that the outbreak is essentially over and you have to say to people any future risk of H1N1, at least this year, is extremely small. ... You shouldn't mislead people." Schabas said.

The number of Canadians visiting doctors with flu-like symptoms peaked in late October, he noted.

"The real story is the disconnect between what the senior public health officials, provincially and nationally, have been saying to people and what's actually been going on," Schabas argued. "They have been misrepresenting the state of the outbreak and the level of risk."

Schabas said health officials have been preparing for years for a deadly avian flu pandemic and have had trouble switching gears to respond the mild H1N1 pandemic.

He added, people aren't buying into the fear as is evidenced by closing flu clinics. Toronto's eight remaining clinics were all to close Sunday but three of them shut their doors earlier this week because of little traffic.

While government officials now acknowledge the pandemic has turned out to be not as bad as initially feared, Schabas said they have been slow to adjust their responses.

"I think they got their knickers in a knot because they responded to their preconceptions. There was a preconception that a pandemic was going to be a terrible event," he said.

Ontario's 600-plus-page pandemic plan, like pandemic plans around the world, is modelled on a "moderately severe" pandemic with assumptions based on the 1957 flu pandemic. It anticipated 13,000 could die and up to 54,000 could require hospitalization.

The latest provincial numbers show 104 H1N1-related deaths and 1,656 hospitalizations so far.

Toronto Star

On The Prospect Of Any 'Ultimate, Final, Absolute Synthesis'

2009-11-17T08:50:00.001-08:00

There will never, ever be any 'Ultimate, Final, Absolute Synthesis'. Hegel was dead wrong on this account.

The only 'Ultimate Synthesis' -- is death.

What I mean by this, is that as long as we are living and breathing, we will always be in a fight for restoring 'balance in our lives' in a way that keeps us alive and fighting for life -- at least unless, or until, we decide to give up this fight.

Thus, the 'teeter-totter' or 'swinging pendulum' process in life is always with us -- both internally and externally -- until our life is over.

Only then can we talk about any 'Final Synthesis' -- complete entropy.

Until then, nothing is ever, ever going to be 'final'.

Any thought of a 'final ultimate Life Utopia' is completely bogus -- and simply gives new fodder for the gristmill of a whole host of new 'Counter-Utopias'...and 'New Syntheses' which in turn may be either warmly or coldly perceived and received...or both...and nothing ever ends unless or until there is some ultimate Holocaust...and even out of the ashes of this potential Holocaust new forms of life will likely spring anew...like new saplings springing out of the remnants of a Giant Forest Fire...

-- dgb, Nov. 17th, updated Nov. 22nd, 2009.

-- David Gordon Bain

On The Dangers of 'Pigeon-Holing' Life Processes Into 'Neat' Verbal Concepts, Categories, and Theories: Aristotelean Either/Or Logic vs. Hegelian Dialectic Logic

2009-11-17T04:40:00.001-08:00

At the risk of redundancy, I want to once again emphasize the dangers of attempting to pigeon-hole life into neat, verbal concepts, categories, classification systems, and theories...

This includes the danger of over-using -- to the point of abusing -- Aristotelean Logic. Now what exactly 'Aristotelean Logic' means is in need of some discussion. We will get back to this point very shortly.

Hegel was the first philosopher to strongly emphasize the dangers of Aristotelean Logic. From a slightly different standpoint, Alfred Korzybski would do the same thing about 125 years later in the latter's classic book, Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelean Systems, 1933. You can read this book in its entirety now on line for free although it is not entirely an easy read...http://esgs.free.fr/uk/art/sands.htm).

In Hegel's Hotel, I wish -- because of the extreme importance of this message -- to repeat, emphasize, modify, update, and extrapolate on the same messages that were passed on to me, and those others who have read either Hegel and/or Korzybski, and/or interpretations of their work -- in particular here, relative to the dangers of Aristotelean logic.

What is Aristotelean Logic?

Well, there are two aspects of Aristotelean logic that we need to look at: 1. the syllogism; and 2. the law of identity and non-identy. I do not profess to be an expert in formal logic but, from what I can see, the syllogism is not reallya problem as long as it is used properly. However, the law of identity and non-identity is a problem. Let's take a look at both these aspects of Aristolean logic and how they inter-relate.

A/ The Syllogism

Major Premise: All men are mortal.

Minor Premise: Socrates is a man.

Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.

There is nothing wrong with this logic. If both the major and minor premise are right, and connected in such a way that the major premise represents an assertion or proposition about a certain class of things having a particular characteristic that is universal to that class of things; and the minor premise represents an assertion or proposition about a particular member of the class of things asserted in the major premise as having the particular universal characteristic asserted in the major premise -- then the conclusion should be 'logically right'.

Here is another example:

Major Premise: All snakes have no legs and slither when they move.

Minor Premise: This animal I am looking at has legs and is not slithering

Conclusion: Therefore this animal I am looking at is not a snake.

This type of Aristotelean logic can be otherwise stated like this:

If all members of a particular class of things have a particular universal characteristic.

Then a particular member of that same class of things is also going to have that universal characteristic.

B/ The Law of Identity and Non-Identity (Aristotelean Either/Or Logic)

So far so good. But here is where we get into trouble in a couple of different ways -- one emphasized by Hegel; the other emphasized by Korzybski.

A is A and B is B. A cannot be B. And B cannot be A.

This can be referred to as 'Aristotelean Either/Or Logic'.

Quite simply, this 'Law of Either/Or Logic' may be good for mathematics but it is not good for biology, physics, chemistry, medicine, psychology, politics, philosophy, religion, art, engineering, architecture, fashion, or any of a hundred other things that make up either 'evolution' or 'human culture'.

Worded otherwise, evolution does not work according to the principle of 'either/or' -- or at least not entirely. It works to the point where we can say that this bull seal won the battle against that bull seal in order to win 'mating rights' relative to a particular female seal.

However, it does not work to the extent that 'bi-polarizing' life only works to the extent that you allow for the possibility of a 'middle, interactive-integrative dialectic zone'.

It is in this sense here that what Aristotle did was he left out the excluded 'middle zone' in his multitude of 'bi-polar classification systems'. He excluded the 'gray zone', where 'gray' is both 'black' and 'white' as well as neither completely 'black' nor 'white'. 'Gray' borrows the partial characteristics of both black and white. Aristotle's 'either/or' logic does not reflect the 'gray zones' in life, in nature, in evolution, in human culture...

In this sense, evolution is often 'dialectically integrative evolution'.

'A' breeds with 'B' and the offspring become members of a new set which is partly both 'A' and 'B' but at the same time neither completely 'A' nor 'B'. In this regard, the offspring represents a new class of 'AB'. This is dialectic evolution which depends on the principle of 'biodiversity' based on the almost infinite potential of 'intermixing' different genes from different males and females, or for that matter, even different viruses, bacteria, molecules, and atoms.

Every modification in life creates a new life form.

A coyote is a coyote and cannot be a wolf.

A wolf is a wolf and cannot be a coyote.

Wrong! A wolf breeds with a coyote and now we have a 'new species of animal' -- we have a 'colf'.

A colf is both a wolf and a coyote but not entirely either a wolf or a coyote. It reflects particular characteristics of both a wolf and a coyote which takes life into a middle gray zone of dialectic evolution.

Aristotelean logic did not reflect this aspect of life.

Hegelian dialectic logic moved into to compensate for that 'gray area of life' that Aristotle did not account for.

Thesis intermingled with anti-thesis becomes a 'dialectic synthesis'. Hegel compensated for what Aristotle ignored or missed.

The problem is that many, many people today still use Aristotelean 'either/or' logic in context situatons where they should be using Hegelian Dialectic Logic instead. Not all the time. But in many, many cases which in turn causes many, many problems.

People try to 'pigeon-hole' life into two Aristotelean opposing categories -- A and B -- where they should not be leaving out the very viable and often superior Hegelian 'middle dialectic zone' of AB. That is why DGB Philosophy-Psychology-Politics...uses a ton of 'hyphenated words' such as:

1. 'Liberal-Conservative' or 'Conservative-Liberal';

2. 'Republican-Democrat' or 'Democrat-Republican';

3. 'Apollonian-Dionysian' or 'Dionysian-Apollonian';

4. GAP Psychology (a mixture of Gestalt Therapy, Adlerian Psychology, and Psychoanalysis);

5. DGB Philosophy (Dialectic-Gap-Bridging Philosophy-Psychology-Politics-Science...)

A/ Is 'Bi-Polar Disorder' an 'illness' or an 'excuse'? (Aristotelean Either/Or Logic0

B/ Can 'Bi-Polar Disorder' be both or either an 'illness' and/or an 'excuse'? (Hegelian Dialectic Logic)

A/ Is 'sczhizophrenia' a 'biochemical disorder ' or a 'transference neurosis'? (Aristotelean Either/Or Logic)

B/ Can 'sczhizophrenia' be both a 'biochemical disorder' and a 'transference neurosis'? (Hegelian Dialectic Logic)

A/ Is orthodox prescription medicine superior to natural health medicine or visa versa? (Aristotelean Either/Or Logic)

B/ Can both orthodox prescription medicine and natural health medicine learn from each other and become 'Integrative Wholistic Medicine'?

We will talk about Korzybski on another day. That is enough for today.

-- dgb, Nov. 17th, 2009.

-- David Gordon Bain

-- Dialectic Gap-Bridging Negotiations...

-- Are Still In Process...

More Thoughts On The Self-Destructive Direction of Uncontrolled Individual and Cultural Narcissism...

2009-11-16T05:30:00.001-08:00

Practicing good ethics is like exercising each day and/ or like eating a good, calory restricted, healthy, nutritional diet...Tough work...but if you keep practising it more and more, day by day, you become much better, much more proficient at living an ethical, well-balanced lifestyle over time -- just like what it takes to get into a good, steady habit of healthy eating and exercising.

In contrast, practising narcissism is like eating a piece of cake, even worse, gorging on the whole cake, or like eating any and every type of junk food we can get our hands on and put into our mouth...It tastes great, it's easy, it satisfies at least a part of our hedonistic-narcissistic (pleasure-seeking) impulses...but there are not too many good vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fiber and enzymes in what we are eating...most of what we are eating has no nutritional value at all and the older we get, the worse this can become as a health problem, especially as our metabolism slows down, usually exasperated by less and less exercise...

This is not to say that all hedonism and/or narcissism is bad -- because it's not -- our survival depends very much on our narcissistic genetics, biochemistry, and psychology. When our body tells us to eat, we need to eat. And similarly, with the other life-preserving impulses in our mind and body that help to keep us alive, both as individuals and as an ongoing species.

Indeed, like many things in life, narcissism becomes a paradox in our lives -- too much narcissism is not a good thing in our lives but so too is not enough narcissism in our lives.

Healthy aspects of narcissism include: self-assertion, self-confidence, self-awareness, self-propelled action...

Indeed, as humans we are probably largely programmed to be narcissistic unless or until we are taught differently -- or better -- to bring this, and keep this, in proper balance and perspective. Even teaching 'altruism' and 'ethics' and 'morals' does not completely, or even closely, eliminate or minimize our underlying narcissistic impulses. But for a 'civilized person and society' these counter-balancing beliefs and values of such things as altruism, social sensitivity, empathy, caring, love, ethics, morals... are essential in order to make our own lives and the lives of the people around us work properly.

Greed, selfishness, manipulation, corruption, fraud, collusion, abuse of power -- these are some of the different things that happen in our personal, social, business, and political lives when self and social narcissism start to slip and slide downhill and out of control....It becomes harder and harder to restore proper ethical, moral, and legal balance, the greater we let self and social narcissism slide down hill and out of control.

Nature injects us with narcissism. It doesn't really 'inject us' with much 'altruism' or 'ethics' or 'morals' -- these are all mainly culturally, religiously, educationally taught beliefs, values, and skills that take great time, energy, effort, and practice to develop. Like running uphill, in contrast to narcissistic self-absorption that requires little effort, energy, self-discipline...like running down hill with gravity as opposed to against gravity.

Living in a culture, an economy, an environment of 'unbridled narcissism' where narcissism -- like a fast, growing weed -- has 'propelled' itself beyond 'healthy civilian, egalitarian, fair and democratic boundaries', and into the area of 'crime, immorality, and corruption' where everyone develops a mindset of 'He's doing it so why can't I?' Or 'The company I work for or my government is being blatantly narcissistic -- using and abusing money unfairly, even corruptly, so therefore I am going to take certain narcissistic counter-measures as a way of compensating for the way that I am being unfairly treated -- these are the types of things that provide greater and greater 'fertilizer' for a larger and larger 'culture of unbridled narcissism'.

Most notably power corrupts -- unless or until there is some faction of society that says 'Enough is enough. This unbridled narcissism has to stop and brought back to more normal, healthy boundaries. If I don't say or do anything about what is happening here, who is? Everyone is passing the buck, remaining ethically passive, and letting their own ethics slip-slide away in the process...'

In Ontario here, we have a Liberal Government that is bringing in a new 'Harmonization Tax'. What a juxtaposition of words -- 'harmonization' and 'tax'. This is from a Liberal Government that has been audited as basically 'mispending millions if not billions of taxpayers money' in the just recently passed 'EHealth Scandal'. There is no Government Accountability here. If the government 'mis-spends' money -- with a lot of Liberal politicians and lobbyists getting 'quietly rich' in the process -- the government just shrugs its shoulders, perhaps offers one politician as a 'sacrifical lamb' (even though I am sure she has already made enough money off of Ehealth to retire for the rest of her life) -- and waits for the scandal to pass. Then they introduce the 'Harmonization Tax'.

As citizens of Ontario, we are far too passive not to mention probably mainly ignorant of the full extent of what this new tax is fully going to mean. We just shrug our shoulders and basically let the politicians get away with 'narcissistic mayhem'. Similarily to what happened on Wall Street. Unbridled and unethical narcissism permeates our culture like the dandelions in my front and back yard a few years ago. It took a lot of digging, over and over and over again, to get rid of most of these weeds. It still didn't get rid of them all.

I can't say that I am any type of 'ethical saint'. How many of us can? But there comes a point where narcissism eventually will destroy all semblence of what it means to be a 'civilized nation'.

Cultural narcissm propogates individual narcissism, and individual narcissism in turn propogates cultural narcissism. The two are 'dialectically entwined'. Without cultural and individual ethics counter-balancing the combined force of cultural and individual narcissism taking us all on a fast or slow roller coaster ride to self-destruction, bad things start to happen like we are seeing in the current recession. As a whole, we are all suffering from the malaise of personal and cultural narcissism destroying the ethical and economic balance in our society. We need more 'win-win' solutions -- not 'me-me', 'I win, you lose' solutions...In the end, we all lose...

One only has to go back and read some of Thomas Jefferson's quotes about how 'power corrupts'...and all of the other Enlightenment Philosophers -- John Locke, Diderot, Voltaire, Tom Paine, Montesquieu...to read how much work and effort has to be continually exercised in order to keep unethical power and narcissism out of government agencies and processes not to mention businesses... to fully understand that we cannot let this type of thing slide without drastic consequences eventually hitting us all...like the collapse of the major financial institutions on Wall Street and their essentially being 'rewarded' afterwards for their ethical and/or legal transgressions at the individual and collective expense of the rest of us, many of us who are fighting for our very economical survival...

Let me close with a few of the quotes that I mean...

...............................................................................................................................................

A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.
Thomas Jefferson

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.
Thomas Jefferson

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
Thomas Jefferson

All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.
Thomas Jefferson

An association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing which has never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations down to a town meeting or a vestry.
Thomas Jefferson

Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto.
Thomas Jefferson

Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government.
Thomas Jefferson

Delay is preferable to error.
Thomas Jefferson

Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition.
Thomas Jefferson

Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it.
Thomas Jefferson

Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.
Thomas Jefferson

Don't talk about what you have done or what you are going to do.
Thomas Jefferson

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.
Thomas Jefferson

Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.
Thomas Jefferson

Errors of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.
Thomas Jefferson

Every generation needs a new revolution.
Thomas Jefferson

Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.
Thomas Jefferson

Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.
Thomas Jefferson

Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.
Thomas Jefferson

Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.
Thomas Jefferson

For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.
Thomas Jefferson

Force is the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism.
Thomas Jefferson

Happiness is not being pained in body or troubled in mind.
Thomas Jefferson

He who knows best knows how little he knows.
Thomas Jefferson

He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.
Thomas Jefferson

...........................................................................................................................

-- dgb, Nov. 14th-16th, 2009.

-- David Gordon Bain,

-- Democracy Goes Beyond Narcisism

-- Dialectic Gap-Bridging Negotiations...

-- Are Still in Process....

On Properly Functioning Democracies vs. Pseudo-Democracies, Pathological Ideology -- and 'Snake Oil'

2009-11-03T05:09:00.000-08:00

When the people at the top of the Corporate, Business World cannot control and police themselves -- which, obviously, many of them can't, or won't -- then the Government has to do it for them, creating and policing laws that discourage and minimize 'white collar crime' -- particularly, 'corporate plundering' of 'corporate business coffers' at the top.

When the people in different Government Sectors who have control over their own spending and paycheques and who specifically they give government contracts to without a democratic bidding, cannot control and police themselves -- which, obviously, many of them can't or won't -- then, people above them in more powerful Government Positions have to do it for them, creating and policing laws that discourage and minimize this type of Government exploitation of taxpayers' money -- and 'white collar plundering of public coffers'.

When the people at even the highest levels of Government Positions and Trust cannot or will not police the people in charge of significant amounts of government funds below them -- and exploitation results -- then it is the duty of journalists and philosopher-writers and film makers (Michael Moore) to hammer certain 'unpleasant, unethical government and corporate truths (or even 'half-truths') home until the proper government people are 'impeached', 'resign', are 'fired', and/or arefinally voted out of office.

Failing this, we as individual citizens in a properly functioning democracy, need to continue to apply pressure on the particular guilty parties, or at the very least, vote them out of office when their time for potential re-election comes due.

Anything less than this is a 'pseudo-democracy' -- a 'fascade' of a democracy. It is 'Ideology' in the Marxian pathological sense of the word where 'Ideology' means 'hiding what is really happening underneath the superficial rhetoric and campaign promises and white-washing and pretenses of what transgressing politicians and/or corporate bigwigs and/or marketing people are trying to sell you.

'Ideology' in this pathological sense of the word is nothing more than -- as Senator Barney Frank has aptly put it -- 'snake oil'.

-- dgb, Nov. 4th, 2009.

-- david gordon bain

-- democracy goes beyond narcissism

-- dialectic gap-bridging negotiations...

-- are still in process...

On The Positive and Negative Side of Narcissism (Hedonism, Egotism, Individualism)

2009-11-03T04:19:00.001-08:00

I heard a commercial this morning on tv that sparked this brief DGB commentary.

The ad said something like this:

'When a man does something special -- something one of a kind -- he is proud to put his name to it.'

This beckons back to my dad's Ideal Capitalism influence and his introducing me to 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand when I was in my late teens.

Succinctly put, narcissism - and egotism -- and pleasure-seeking -- and searching for the self-fulfillment or self-actualization of one's own Self, one's own Soul -- is not all bad. It is only bad when it gets twisted out of control, and you start moving down a path of one-sidedness, self-absorption to the point of everyone else's needs becoming inferior to your own, down a path of self-destructiveness and/or towards the destructiveness and/or tearing down of others around you. It is only narcissism out of control, narcissism gone wild, narcissism that excludes all others, that eliminates any and/or all feeling of compassion and sensitivity and humanism towards those around you, either close to you or far away -- that is the point where narcissism, hedonism, and egotism all become 'pathological' -- 'psycho-pathological' and 'socio-pathological'.

As for the healthy type of narcissism that I am talking about here, it is well described in this internet (Wikipedia) summary of Ayn Rand's famous book, The Fountainhead (1943).

....................................................................................................................................................

The Fountainhead is a bestselling 1943 novel by Ayn Rand. It was Rand's first major literary success and its royalties and movie rights brought her fame and financial security. More than 5 million copies of the book have been sold worldwide and the work has been translated in several languages. [1]
The Fountainhead's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an individualistic young architect who chooses to struggle in obscurity rather than compromise his artistic and personal vision. The book follows his battle to practice modern architecture, which he believes to be superior, despite an establishment centered on tradition-worship. How others in the novel relate to Roark demonstrates Rand's various archetypes of human character, all of which are variants between Roark, the author's ideal man of independent-mindedness and integrity, and what she described as the "second-handers." The complex relationships between Roark and the various kinds of individuals who assist or hinder his progress, or both, allows the novel to be at once a romantic drama and a philosophical work. By Rand's own admission, Roark is the embodiment of the human spirit and his struggle represents the triumph of individualism over collectivism.

......................................................................................................................................................

Howard Roark -- and my dad's own real-life vision and self-enactment of him -- became one of my own earliest idealistic role models.

However, without character, integrity, fairness, compassion, accountability, humanism, and the ideal of a 'fair deal' -- a 'win-win business deal for both and/or all sides' -- Ethical, Humanistic-Existential Capitalism becomes Unbridled, Narcissistic Corrupt Capitalism where collusion and exploitation and kickbacks and bribery and 'Golden Parachute Contracts and Bonuses' rule the day. Employers exploit employees. And/or unions exploit businesses. Lobbyists exploit Governments. Governments exploit Lobbyists. Sellers exploit buyers. Governments and businesses exploit taxpayers.

And we wonder why we have a recession.

Capitalism has stopped playing by ethical rules. Businesses have stopped looking for 'win-win solutions'.

Everybody who has significant monetary power at the top is looking for their own narcissistic Golden Parachute, their Golden Retirement Package. Plunder the corporation. Plunder the taxpayer.

And we wonder why we have a recession.

-- dgb, Nov. 4th, 2009.

-- David Gordon Bain

-- Democracy Goes Beyond Narcissism

-- Dialectic Gap-Bridging Negotiations...

-- Are Still in Process...

..........................................................................................................................

More Comments On The Similarities and Differences Between Classic Hegelian Philosophy and DGB (Post-Hegelian) Philosophy

2009-10-25T11:15:00.001-07:00

Just finished, Oct. 25th, 2009.

A friend of mine asked me to put together an essay aimed at capturing the main energy, focus, and driving force of Hegel's Hotel: DGB Philosophy.

This, I have aimed to do in other introductory essays in the past, coming at the 'wholistic' issue from different angles, but given the fact that it has been a while now, I do believe, since I have written an 'all-encompassing' essay of this sort that aims to link everything I have written, and want to write, about together in one clear, readable package, and due to the fact that my writing has been more sporadic and without much seeming direction and/or overall vision lately -- I would agree that such an essay is once again in order. Even my Table of Contents is outdated and again needs a 'renewal' that reflects the clarity of vision of Hegel's Hotel.

So let me start by stating as clearly as possible what Hegel's Hotel: DGB Philosophy has aimed to do in the essays that I have written, and is still aiming to do, in the remaining essays I would like to write:

1. Firstly, Hegel's Hotel: DGB Philosophy-Psychology-Politics... is an 'open philosophical system or treatise or forum' that continues to change and evolve from day to day, as its author changes and evolves -- that's me -- and it will continue to change and evolve until the day I die. Nothing is written in stone here. As life changes, and particularly as life changes for the main author who is writing Hegel's Hotel (again, that's me), I will continue to have something to write about as I continue to process other books and authors who I have read, and/or will continue to read, and as I continue to process my own life experiences in the context of those who I will continue to come into contact with, both good and bad, and as I continue to play 'the fitting game' as Fritz Perls used to call it, which can be both good in bad as we try to 'classify' and 'label' the life structures and processes we see around us, and in my case here, aim to compare and contrast the good with the bad, the right from the wrong, and the real with the ideal...

2. Secondly, Hegel's Hotel: DGB Philosophy-Psychology-Politics...looks upon its main mentor, G.W. Hegel, and his main philosophical work, 'The Phenomenology of Mind/Spirit', 1807, as the centrepiece -- as the philosophical 'Bible' if you will -- upon which everything I write gravitates from like the planets around the sun, or like ripples or waves of water that spread outward from a rock or stone that has just landed at some point and time in the middle of a large body of water -- call this, if you will, the main centrepoint, mind-body and 'multiple-bipolarity' of 'life', 'death', 'structure', 'process', 'evolution', 'non-evolution', and everything that runs in between....

3. Just because I call Hegel's classic philosophical work my 'philosophical Bible', does not mean that I treat it as a 'perfect philosophical work' nor do I view it as being like the closest thing to 'God' that any philosopher has ever written, and/or will ever write. I do not even view the Bible this way. I view the Bible in the same manner that Spinoza did, as something that was written by humans, as a philosophical/mythological treatise that has some messages that are important to read about life, man, and how we should behave, but not something that should be treated as a 'perfect treatise from God'. Both The Bible -- and Hegel's classic philosophical work, 'The Phenomenology of Mind/Spirit' -- are worthy of great respect in certain areas of endeavor, but this does not mean that either of them is beyond human criticism in those areas that these human works could/can be better...Even the Bible is nnot always 'humanistic'. Just read the story of God, Abraham, and Isaac meeting on the mountain in an intended or 'pseudo-intended' human sacrifice. Just because God 'called off Abraham at the last minute' doesn't make the story any less 'barbaric'. Nor does Abraham sacrificing a ggoat instead of his son Isaac alleviate the story in any less sadistic manner. If I was Isaac, I would be wanting to 'sacrifice' both Abraham (i.e., his father) -- and God who played the ultimate 'sadist' in this twisted series of events. Perhaps, if anything, the ultimate 'humanistic-existential' message here was for Abraham and for all of us to know when and where to separate from authoritarian orders regardless of when and where they come from -- in the name of 'humanism' when humanism separates itself from God, or God's purported 'message of authority'. This is the humanistic-existential message that DGB Philosophy takes from the story of God, Abraham, and Isaac...

4. One of the most important words in the title of Hegel's most famous philosophical work is the word 'Geist' which in German can be -- and has been -- translated into English as either 'Mind' or 'Spirit'. I usually translate the German word 'Geist' (not that I know any German) as meaning both -- i.e., like this -- 'Mind/Spirit'. To leave out the word 'Spirit' -- and its intended meaning -- in my opinion, is a grave mistake. Hegel's own high degree of both 'Abstractionism' and 'Rationalism' partly contradicts the intent of his own philosophy which I believe is to blend 'Humanistic Enlightenment' Philosophy and 'Humanistic Romantic' Philosophy in the same philosophical work -- in his classic 'dialectic triadic style': 1. thesis: Enlightenment Philosophy in the context of German Idealism'; 2. anti-thesis: Romantic Philosophy in the context of German Idealism; 3. synthesis: Classic Hegelian Philosophy in the context of German Idealism.

Now, personally, I think that Schelling did a better job of handling 'the romantic-idealistic side' of 'dialectic idealism' than Hegel did. Hegel, as a whole, functioned more from 'the neck up' in his 'rational' dialectic philosophy whereas Schelling came closer to the 'romantic idealism and wholism' of Spinoza in the direction that Schelling took 'dialectic idealism'. The primary difference between Spinoza and Schelling is Schelling's 'dialectic romanticism and pantheism' vs. Spinoza's 'monistic' version of romanticism and pantheism. I prefer Schelling's dialectic-romantic-pantheistic philosophy over Spinoza's monistic version. I have not read much of Schelling's work -- from what I have read, it lacks the comprehensive, organizational structure of Hegel's more 'rational' dialectic philosophy. But it seems that Schelling was much clearer on the full extent of his dialectic-romantic-pantheistic-spiritual vision. On this level, I give Schelling full credit and perhaps even influencing Hegel more than Hegel influenced Schelling.

In this same respect, I am critically hardest on Hegel because Hegel's dialectic romanticism and pantheism, for the most part, gets buried beneath his high degree of abstractionism and rationalism -- even to the point where his so-called 'rationalism' is not rational -- or even humanistic -- in any sense that I believe in the word 'rational' or 'humanistic' should mean. Something like God on the mountain with Abraham and Isaac. From Hegel's 'deterministic-historical-rational' point of view, the so-called rational can be 'barbaric' and visa versa (following a very controversial and much contested Hegelian quote: 'The rational is real and the real is rational.') -- the idea here being that even when the 'rational' is seemingly 'irrational', the dialectic always leads to a 'rational self-correction' that could not and/or would not have happened without the historical context of the preceding 'irrational event' that made the following 'rational-dialectic-self-correction' possible based on historical 'hindsight'.

This is the alleged 'underlying rationality' of the dialectic engagement between human irrationality and rationality eventually correcting itself in human rationality. I can partly see Hegel's 'brand of dialectic logic' at work here but still, this point of view, I strongly take issue with as I aim to see such 'impending irrationalities 'ahead of time' -- or as they are happening -- in Hegel's Hotel: DGB Philosophy.

Likewise, with Hegel's concept of 'The Absolute'. Absolute barbarism -- in any historical context of the dialectic in evolutionary process -- still does not constitute any form of either 'rationalism' or 'humanism' in Hegel's Hotel: DGB Philosophy. Nor does DGB Philosophy, in any way, support -- as Hegel did -- the barbaric 'will to power' of Napoleon (especially against his own Prussian-pre-German State').

Actually, I should modify that last statement. None of us is either totally good or totally bad. And likewise with Napoleon. Napoleon stabilized France from/after 'The Reign of Terror'. Napoleon also abolished serfdom and emancipated the Jews when he conquered Prussia. (Introducing Hegel, Lloyd Spencer, 1996, 2006, p. 10. Napoleon then, can fit under one of those: 'Does the end justify the means?' questions. And Napoleon might be one of those examples that Hegel was referring to where 'Napoleon's brutal behavior actually led to some 'rationality' after he was finished 'conquering' different countries. I don't support Hegel's support of Napoleon's barbaric war actions anymore than I support the overcompensatory measures taken afterwards by Prussia, pre-Germany, and Germany towards 'German Nationalism, Arrogance, Superiority -- and its own evolutionary 'National Will to Power' over 'non-German States and ethnic groups. Germany, in essence, became worse than its main pre-German national victimizer (i.e., Napoleon) who seems to have been used as a 'Subconscious, National Idealistic Role Model'. This is an example of what I call 'National Transference and Identification With The Aggressor'...

...........................................................................From the internet...

Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry, where this is not to be expected. Thus, some philosophers may hold that the Universe is really just one thing, despite its many appearances and diversities; or theology may support the view that there is one God, with many manifestations in different religions.

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Let me use the rest of this essay -- as I have also done in other essays but new material keeps coming into the forefront of my consciousness faster than I can process it all -- to compare and contrast some of the main similarities and differences between DGB (Post-Hegelian) Philosophy with Classic Hegelian Philosophy.

Put most simply, DGB Philosophy does not share Hegel's (or Fichte's, or Schelling's) enthrallment with the idea of 'The Absolute'. As much as I don't like Schopenhauer -- neither the person nor the one-sidedness of his overall 'cosmic, pessimistic, narcissistic' philosophy -- still, Schopenhauer's narcissisticly based philosophy cannot be overlooked, because everywhere we look around, we can see it exemplified in the many injustices, corruption, and wars that we see in the world today, and indeed, throughout most, if not all, of human history.

Man's perpetual greed, selfishness, and one-sided righteousness cannot be overlooked, no matter how much we indulge in the idea of 'The Absolute' or 'Absolute Knowledge' or 'Absolute Being'. Maybe these ideas are useful human ideals, maybe the dialectic -- and 'dialectic logic' -- can at different points, move us closer to these absolute ideals, but still, the dialectic just as often moves us away from these ideals as it moves us closer because the human dialectic process is fraught with individual and group 'power pushes' or 'wills to power' that are just as often, if not more often, aimed at one-sided outcomes of selfishness, greed, money, property, power, revenge, sex, and righteousness -- all of which I capture under the term 'human narcissism' than it is aimed at anything we might call 'human balance, harmony, unity, justice, democracy, equality, freedom, integrity, character, fairness, wholeness...

In short, there will always be a perpetual ongoing conflict between man's striving for balance, justice, equality, and democracy on the one hand vs. his more one-sided striving for all of the things that I have labelled above as human narcissism on the other side. This perpetual ongoing conflict -- and the dialectic process that continues to negotiate these two different sides of human nature and behavior -- will never take us to anything that we can remotely call 'The Absolute' -- unless, along Schopenhauer's line of thinking -- we call this 'Absolute Narcissism, Chaos, Corruption, and Self-Destruction'.

I am sorry to say this but 50 plus years of living on this earth have dulled my 'Enlightenment and Classic Hegelian Idealism' to the point where it is at least equally countered -- probably greater countered - by my perception of the realism of Schopenhaurian pessimism, whether we call that 'cosmic' or 'the darker side of being human'. (I remember reading Freud when he said very much the same thing.)

Thus, probably the main difference between Classic Hegelian Philosophy and Classic Hegelian Idealism is my basic, overall rejection of his concept of 'The Absolute'.

Now, this does not mean that we need to start jumping out of windows or take on an attitude of 'perpetual despair' -- a type of Schopenhaurian philosophical bleakness, and/or 'Lord of The Flies' mentality.

I read in a quote the other day -- and I am paraphrasing -- that no monument has every been erected of a 'pessimist'. I wonder if this is true. Are there no statues of 'The Sceptics', 'The Cynics', Thomas Hobbes, and/or Arthur Schopenhauer out there? Most certainly, there are monuments or statues or paintings of Sigmund Freud -- and by the end of his career at least -- Sigmund Freud was very much a 'pessimist' in terms of his not having much faith in the future of mankind. Freud had seen and experienced two World Wars.

I am looking around me in the world today at Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan...I think of AIG and a collapsing Wall Street. I think of CEO's abandoning their bankrupt companies -- or managing government-funded bankrupt companies -- and either running away with Golden Parachute Contracts, or continuing to manage a government funded bankrupt company like they should be paid like the wealthiest man on earth, I think of government and corporate lobbyism, and the human narcissism and corruption behind all levels of corporate and government politics -- and it is hard not to be pessimistic, even cynical.

Hegel's Hotel is still being built to foster and worship a particular type of human 'spirit' -- call this Hegel's 'Phenomenology of The Human Spirit' if you wish -- a particular type of Enlightenment integrity and idealism built around the ideals of reason, rationality, justice, fairness, equality, democracy, truth...in combination with a particular type of Romantic Human Idealism that can be captured in art, mythology, music, and even a Religious-Spiritual-Pantheist Idealism that embraces Humanism -- not the type of institutionalized and/or extremist-righteous religion that seeks to eliminate and destroy all of those people who are 'non-believers'...

Hegel's Hotel trumpets Hegel's main driving spirit of 'Enlightenment-Romanticism' and/or 'Humanistic-Existentialism' as developed before Hegel by such noted Enlightenment philosophers as John Locke, Adam Smith, Diderot, Montesquieu, Tom Paine, Jefferson, Rousseau, and after Hegel by the likes of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Sartre and complemented by 'Constructive Deconstructionists' like Socrates, Sir Francis Bacon, David Hume, Voltaire, Nietzsche at his best when he wasn't going off the deep end, Foucault, and significant elements of Derrida....

Hegel's Hotel trumpets the 'Dialectic Pantheism' of philosophers and/or philosophies like Heraclitus, Lao Tse, Daoism, Schelling, even the 'Mono-Wholistic-Pantheism' of Spinoza....

And Hegel's Hotel trumpets the 'pessimistic' evolutionary wisdom and understanding of the significance of 'human narcissism', 'freedom', 'alienation', and 'the will to power' as passed through the many years to us by such noted ancient and more recent philosophers as Anaxamander, Diogenes, Hobbes, Machiavelli, Hegel, Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Foucault, Derrida...

And throughout all of this Hegel's Hotel strives for its own 'idealistic-realistic', 'Enlightenment-Romantic', 'Humanistic-Existential balance....

DGB Philosophy, in the spirit of Hegel and his masterpiece, 'The Phenomenology of Spirit' views the dialectic as the ultimate, central, driving, both uniting and separating, force of nature and evolution.

The dialectic is a self-correcting mechanism. But it is also a self-destructing mechanism. It is both a life and a death force at the same time. It is like the contradiction of oxygen -- which acts as both the breath of life on the one hand, and the ultimate destruction of life on the other hand (through the side-effect of oxidation.)

Indeed, at least in part, the dialectic might be viewed as the ultimate contradiction, the ultimate paradox of life. Hegel has stated that any theory, any perspective, any characteristic, taken to the limit -- will ultimately self-destruct in its own self-contradiction. We use the term 'bipolarity disorder' to describe a certain biochemical and psychological illness that we used to call 'manic-depression'. And yet everything we do in life is connected to the idea of 'bipolarity'. Indeed, 'health' and 'illness' is a bipolarity. And every bipolarity is connected by a dialectic process and/or alienated by the absence of a dialectic process.

Indeed, the dialectic might be viewed as being even more fundamental to life and evolution than oxygen (air) as well as water, earth, and fire. This argument goes back to some of the earliest arguments of the Pre-Socratic, Greek philosophers (and hundreds or thousands of miles away -- I don't know my geographical distance here too well -- to philosophers like Lao Tsu and Confucius in ancient China. They were working on the same types of philosophical problems -- i.e., the origin and dynamics of the world -- and coming up with similar answers.)

While monistic philosophers like Thales, Anaxamenes, and Heralclitus each trumpeted what they believed to be the original essence of life -- i.e., water, air, or fire respectively, Anaxamander -- in a much more metaphysical but more philosophically important manner -- trumpeted the beginning of 'dialectic philosophy' -- talking about 'The Apeiron' which might be translated as either 'Chaos' or 'The Wholistic, Preorganized Universe', before 'life is split into polar opposites which compete with each other for their very existence, or at least their primary, dominant existence (for the winner) and a return to 'The Shadows' of The Apeiron (for the loser to re-group, re-energize, and re-fight another war for supremacy with its more dominant polar opposite. In such a fashion, in Anaxamander's ancient Greek thinking, day dominates while night recedes back into the Apeiron. Then night overtakes and dominates day, and day retreats back into the Shadows of the Apeiron.

As primitive as Anaxamander's argument may seem, given the example cited above, this line of thinking became the essence of Hegelian thinking which still has a dominant place in philosophy, psychology, politics, biology and evolution theory today, and indeed can be incorporated into every aspect of human thinking, behavior, and culture. This continuation of Anaxamander's thinking -- through Heraclitus, through Lao Tse (in the start of Daoism), through Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel, through Schopenhauer, Marx, and Kierkegaard, through, Nietzsche, Sartre, Foucault, and Derrida, through Freud, Adler, Jung, and Fritz Perls -- is the direction of philosophical movement -- the evolution of the dialectic phenomenon and concept in both Western and Eastern Philosophy -- that Hegel's Hotel: DGB Philosophy is both striving to historically trace and to continue to advance along its more idealistic 'Enlightenment-Romantic', 'Humanistic-Existential' path

In this last context, I will return to the German word 'Geist' which I will translate here as 'Spirit'.

Without the best of the human spirit implicit its every evolutionary development, Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit -- becomes Spiritless. Lifeless. Dead. It becomes just another form of the type of 'alienation' that Hegel introduced to the many profound philosophers who he most influenced -- even as many rebelled against him, and more specifically, his 'over-abstractionism' and 'over-rationalism'.

And similarly too this is probably the most important area where I do indeed follow -- and elaborate on -- Hegel's intended German 'Dialectical-Enlightenment-Romantic-Humanistic-Existential' Idealism.

Because the same thing can be said for Hegel's Hotel: DGB Philosophy-Psychology-Politics...

Without the best of the intended human spirit implicit in its every driving force, its every driving essay, Hegel's Hotel: DGB Philosophy becomes just another philosophical treatise. Indeed, worse than just another philosophical treatise. It becomes spiritless, lifeless, alienated, humanistically and existentially -- dead.

In most of my philosophical essays I write about the need for 'homeostatic' or 'dialectic-democratic' balance between opposite, bi-polar forces and perspectives. I write about the potential and real scourge of unbridled human narcissism -- gone mad and out of control.

But in this essay, I am writing about the need to choose one human bi-polarity over another.

I am writing about the need for the soaring of the human essence and spirit -- in dialectic contact and embracement with our and each and every day existence -- over the alternative: a lifeless, spiritless, humanistic-existential death.

As I just heard coming fresh out of the mouth of another limousine driver who I work with each and every day, we chase the supposed idealism of Capitalism as we are taught it in Western Society: more individualism, more freedom, more money, more time, more commodities, more human spirit...

And paradoxically, again coming out of the mouth of the fellow driver I was talking to just yesterday, we see all around us people chasing a dream that doesn't seem to have either a happy process and/or a happy ending -- we see an American-Canadian dream that, for many or most of us, is definitely heading down the wrong life path.

We see people working more hours, some putting in 50, 60, and 70 hour work weeks, spending less time with their families, spending less time with their loved ones, we see less human spirit, we see more and more human alienation, less freedom, less time, less energy, less money, less commodities, less individualism -- except in the most alienated and negative respect of individuals being more and more lonely even in the throngs of more and more people that they connect -- but don't really connect with -- in their day to day existence.

And this is where our so-called American-Canadian Dream seems to stand right now.

Hegel's Hotel wants to take this dream down a different path.

Hegel's Hotel: DGB Philosophy wants to help re-create 'The Phenomenology of Spirit' -- with an elaborated Enlightenment-Romantic-Humanistic-Existential component -- in man.

That is where Hegel's Hotel stands today as it moves forward in its both its construction and its evolution...

-- dgb, Oct. 25th, 2009.

-- David Gordon Bain,

-- Democracy Goes Beyond Narcissism,

-- Dialectic Gap-Bridging Negotiations...

-- Are Still In Process...

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Harper's Conservative Government Fails on Unemployment Insurance Policy

2009-10-09T08:21:00.001-07:00

Freshly reconstructed, Oct. 9th, 2009.

This is an essay mainly directed at Canadian politics and Canadian leaders but there are enough references and parallels to American politics in this essay to warrant the essay being included here too...

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They call it 'unemployment insurance'. But perhaps it should be better called 'unemployment non-insurance'.

While other political parties -- specifically the Liberals and the NDPs -- have been harp(er)ing on adding more unemployment insurance to the tail of the benefits program, or allowing self-employed citizens to collect unemployment insurance during a parental leave of absence, I for one, am particularly disturbed about the 'front end' of the program and how many ex-workers are actually screened out of the program before they even get on it.

.................................................................................

Employment Insurance program

Employment Insurance (EI) provides regular benefits to individuals who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.

.....................................................................................

You pay into it for your whole adult life while you are working. Then you find out that you are ineligible for it you resign from your job -- or you are 'dismissed for violating a corporate policy'.

What's with this?

What if the 'corporate policy' is blatantly unethical -- if not illegal? What if someone working on Wall Street before the American mortgage and banking collapse, had told his or her boss:

'I am resigning. I don't like 'hedge funds'. I think they are unethical. And/or 'I don't like duping people into accepting sub-prime mortgages only to fleece them a few years later with unbearable interest rates.'

In Canada, such a person would not be eligible for Unemployment Insurance. Nor would anyone who was dismissed in this type of toxic work environment for 'violating corporate policies'.

I have a better idea.

How about a 'no fault-finding' Canadian Unemployment Insurance Department?

We have 'no fault' insurance.

We have 'no fault' divorce.

It is time -- long past the time -- that the government of Canada, and particularly the Unemployment Insurance Department, should get out of the 'fault-finding' business. They have no business being in it -- especially when an agent of the UI department says that you are ineligible for UI because you 'violated a corporate policy'. What this statement blatantly asserts is the prejudice that the government is showing in favor of corporations (as socio-pathological as they may be with possibly 'corrupt corporate policies') and, at the same time, the prejudice that the government is showing against the individual working who may be rebelling against a pathological work environment.

The government of Canada obviously does not care.

Because it continues to be in the 'fault-finding' business while at the same time wording their government policies such that they assume corporate normalcy when everything over the last number of years -- from last year's collapse of the Wall Street mortgage and banking businesses
to the collapse of the car industries, and the exporting of North American jobs to cheaper foreign labour markets, to Michael Moore's latest film production, 'Capitalism: A Love Story', tells us that many if not most corporations today -- and their particular 'corporate policies' -- are far from 'healthy' or 'normal'.

What, in effect, the government of Canada is supporting then, or at least turning a 'blind eye' to -- and this shouldn't really surprise us, especially when it is Harper's Conservative Party -- is Corporate Pathology which includes: corporate narcissism, corporate greed, corporate gouging, corporate filtering of money out the top of the corporation into private bank accounts (even in the government as witnessed by the late eHealth scandal) while the people who put the money there for supposedly legitimate purposes, are in essence being scammed, corporations in this manner can in effect be either bled dry and/or bled alive while the corporation continues to survive while still scamming either customers and/or the people at the bottom of the organization who naively or not so naively continue to help to put the money at the top of the organization where it continues to be filtered out....

Need I go on in this regard?

Now the fact that our Harper-led minority Conservative Government continues to ideologically support and/or turn a blind eye to Pathological Corporations and Pathological, Corporate Narcissistic Capitalism through the government policies it continues to implement, and the wording in these policies -- such as UI -- tells us only one thing: specifically, that the Conservative Harper-led Government suffers from the same general malaise as the rest of Corporate Canada and North America does -- as far better depicted by Michael Moore in his new movie, than I could depict in any one of my individual essays on this subject matter.

Specifically,

'Corporate and Government Unbridled Narcissistic Capitalism -- Completely Gone Wild and Out of Control'

In essence, Marx's prophecy about 'Capitalism, in effect, destroying itself and all the people in its way through the pathology of its own process -- specifically, uncontrolled human power and greed' (my words, not his).

Forget about the 'market correcting itself'.

How can the market correct itself when all these top corporate executives are draining public and private coffers alike, and leading the rest of us to suffer from all this 'unpunished corporate thievery'? Oftentimes, there is nothing left to 'correct' unless it is a 'bonus stimulation or separation package' to these same corporate thieves -- which in effect calls upon the 'victim' (non-transgressing Canadian citizens) to further 'stimulate the victimizer' (the person at the top of the public and/or private corporate ladder who has just drained the corporate coffers).

These are the same people -- more and more often these days -- who we 'trust' (or at least our Harper-led Canadian government 'trusts') to tell us what is 'right' and 'wrong' as far as 'corporate policy'.

Meanwhile, the individual worker who 'resigns' or is 'dismissed' from this type of corporate environment, is told that he or she was 'wrong' for 'violating corporate policy'.

And we call this 'capitalist and corporate normalcy'?

We call this 'fairness to the worker'?

We call this 'no prejudice'?

We call this 'equal rights' between the corporation and the corporate worker?

Think long and hard about this one, Prime Minister Harper...

Because I call it giving more and more food to 'certain corporate pigs at the trough'...

Now to be clear, this type of harsh statement is not directed at every corporation and every corporate executive in Canada.

There are some corporate owners and corporate executives who treat their employees extremely well.

However, there are many who don't.

And in this latter regard, it is time -- long past time -- that the government started legislating 'corporate executive diets'...for those who do not know how to, or are unwilling to, stop eating at the corporate trough.

And this should apply to both public and private corporations.

At the same time, it is time -- long past time -- that the government of Canada addressed the blatant coporporate bias and prejudice inherent in its Unemployment Insurance Program.

As long as an employee has a good track record of paying into the UI system, his or her 'resignation' or 'dismissal' should not be discriminated against by the Government of Canada.

The Government of Canada has no right to put a 'great big black X on your forehead' -- eliminating you from the UI program -- just because you have resigning from, or been dismissed from, a job. UI should be in the 'no fault' business just like the divorce courts are.

I would even support a 'personalized user system' where you can use what you have available to you in your own account, and anything you don't use when your retire gets transferred to your 'personal Canadian Pension Plan'.

Let me be clear on this point: I have a strong 'Protestant -- and 'Conservative' -- work ethic. I don't think I missed a day of work in the last year of my last job.

But I do not support blatant Government prejudice in favor of often pathologically narcissistic Corporations, and against individual workers who to be sure may be partly or totally in the wrong, just as the Corporation may be.

Which is exactly why the government of Canada shouldn't have any 20 year old agent -- let alone anybody regardless of their age or experience level -- saying to a Canadian worker that 'you do not qualify for UI because you violated the corporate policy of the company you worked for'.

I support a more 'Dialectically-Democratic Unemployment Insurance' that gives equal rights and respect to both the corporation and the individual worker. And if the individual worker has been paying into the UI system for a long enough time to qualify, then he or she should be granted UI without any 'fault-finding' mission.

The key reason for UI should be to help a recently unemployed Canadian worker through that economically tough period of transition time while he or she is looking for a new job that will reasonably support him or her.

No prejudice.

No bias.

Just a 'safety net' to help the unemployed worker who has been paying into the insurance program for a sufficient amount of time to help him or her through this heavy period of economic stress.

Everything else is government -- 'snake oil' (to use Senator Barney Frank's famous words aimed at AIG).

The Government of Canada needs to get out of the 'snake oil' business.

Either it is protecting the Canadian worker with Unemployment Insurance,

Or it is not.

And if it is not,

Even though it is collecting UI premiums from these same denied workers...

Then this is the 'snake oil' business.

Indeed, it is very close to government fraud.

And when the government of Canada says that its 'numbers for unemployment insurance',

Have gone down since the previous month,

We should be very wary of this type of statement,

Because nobody in the Government is saying,

How many people are being 'denied' Unemployment Insurance each month...

Numbers -- taken out of their proper full context -- can be made to appear to say anything.

Prime Minister Harper may call it 'Capitalism: A Love Story' -- and mean it.

Michael Moore might call it 'Capitalism: A Love Story' -- and not mean it, the sarcasm dripping out of the side of his mouth as he says it.

Right now it is no Capitalist love story.

There are people out there drowning in economic bills and debt.

And there are many, many unemployed Canadian workers,

Who are being denied the 'supposed safety net' of Unemployment Insurance',

Because of the stringent -- almost fraudulent -- parameters that have been put on it.

And I say that the answers to all of these government and corporate parameters,

Lie at the top, not the bottom.

But only if and when the many people in the middle and bottom portions of the economic and corporate pyramid and hierarchy hold the people at the top of this pyramid and hierarchy -- accountable for their actions.

Now politicians love to use words like 'integrity' and 'accountability' and 'transparency' when they are campaigning for election.

It is just that these words often tend to disappear from their vocabulary as soon as they are elected.

What did you say you were going to do with the Senate again, Prime Minister Harper?

Well, forget about the Senate -- you obviously have, anyhow -- Prime Minister Harper.

Let's start with overhauling the Unemployment Insurance Department,

To show that -- dare I say this -- you might indeed have some compassion for the unemployed worker, regardless of how their work came to an end.

Otherwise, refund them their Unemployment Insurance money,

That they may have been paying to the Canadian Government for 20 or 30 years,

And call this their 'Unemployment Insurance Benefit' --

The money that you may have 'forgotten' that you collected.

-- dgb, Sept. 22nd, reconstructed October 9th, 2009.

-- David Gordon Bain,

-- Democracy Goes Beyond Narcissism

-- Dialectic Gap-Bridging Negotiations...

-- Are still in process.

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Stuffing the Senate

Aug 28, 2009 04:30 AM

There he goes again. After stuffing the Senate with Conservative bagmen, backroomers and election losers barely eight months ago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was dishing out the $132,000 cash-for-life prizes again yesterday, vaulting yet more cronies into cushy places instead of naming people who are respected leaders in their fields.

Carolyn Stewart Olsen, Harper's communications director, got her seat in the Red Chamber. So did Doug Finley, the Tory election campaign director. Don Plett, party president. Failed candidate Claude Carignan. And Judith Seidman, from the party national council.

Toronto writer Linda Frum Sokolowski also made the list.

And while Harper says they're expected to retire in eight years, the law lets them stay to 75. A nation is not holding its collective breath.

This glut of cronyism overshadowed the few credible appointments: Canadiens head coach Jacques Demers, Northwest Territories premier Dennis Patterson, and scientist/academic Kelvin Ogilvie.

In short, it was business as usual for a PM who once derided the Senate as a "dumping ground" for cronies, and vowed to reform it. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff's office duly howled "Harpocrisy," but without much conviction. Both parties have sinned.

Still, Harper well deserves the title "Senate patronage king," bestowed upon him by the opposition for naming a record 27 senators in a single year. For all his past preaching against patronage, the Prime Minister has now proven himself a master of dispensing it.

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Posted by david gordon bain at 9:53 AM

Harper photos removed from government website

2009-09-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

Harper photos removed from government website

Only a half-dozen of PM's 40 or more photos survive the cut after boosterism accusations
Sep 22, 2009 04:30 AM
THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA–The Government of Canada website set up to promote the Conservative economic action plan had a leaner look yesterday: more than 30 photos of Prime Minister Stephen Harper had been removed.

Critics have complained that the website, actionplan.gc.ca, looks like a partisan promotion – complete with a Tory-blue colour scheme, glowing third-party testimonials, more than 40 photos of Harper and repeated references to "the Harper government" rather than the Government of Canada.

Published reports have highlighted the $34-million budget for promoting the economic plan.

A story by The Canadian Press, published in the Star yesterday, noted that the $34-million budget for promoting the economic plan dwarfs the federal budget provided for informing Canadians about swine flu prevention as the flu season starts.

Non-partisan public service ads on preventing the spread of the H1N1 virus began airing yesterday. The Public Health Agency of Canada picked up the $2 million tab.

The latest TV ads promoting the stimulus package, part of a $34-million campaign, cost $5 million, and include Conservative-friendly tag lines such as "We can't stop now."

Rules on government advertising say it is to be non-partisan and not promote any party or individual.

There are also rules on government branding, including using the word Canada in any department or agency name, or including Government of Canada in close proximity.

References to the "Harper government" remained on the website yesterday. But photos of the Prime Minister were reduced to about seven, from the original 40-plus.

Ontario adopted a law in 2004 in an effort to prevent partisanship in taxpayer-funded provincial government ads. The rules include barring any images of the premier in government-paid promotions.

On Sunday, a PCO spokeswoman defended the Harper photos on the website, writing by email that "(Harper) is the chief spokesperson in the Government of Canada for the (action plan)."

Further written questions to the Privy Council Office about government policy on advertising received no immediate response yesterday.

On Patronage and Senate Appointments

2009-09-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Last updated at 8:29 AM on 14/09/09

Cheers & Jeers
CHEERS & JEERS
The Telegram

Jeers: to the continuing effort to fight patronage - by stuffing more of your own party members into federal jobs. Fresh from packing the Senate with cronies of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Tories have named a former Conservative cabinet minister to head the Federal Court of Appeal. And right on the heels of Harper being caught on videotape complaining about the Liberals appointing their own to the courts when they were in power. Apparently, it's not really hypocrisy when you're doing it yourself.

.................................................................................

dgb...

Ethics and integrity, transparency and accountability, congruence -- saying what you mean, and meaning what you say: all of these are 'election buzz words' that prospective leaders use all the time to try to seduce the public into giving them a shot at power.

Pessimism, cynicism, hyprocrisy, and narcissism often become the 'public sentiment and buzz words' after these former 'supposedly charging political idealists' actually take office for a year or less and start withering into complacency, entropy, and narcissistic consolidation.

In Canada -- and probably to a greater or lesser extent in America too -- ethics seems to be something that is largely left outside the Prime Minister's (President's) door as other more politically pragmatic characteristics seem to take priority.

Election promises are 'forgotten'. No more 'Senate Reform'. Just 'load the Senate with your own'.

As power increases, personal and party ethics tends to decrease while personal and party narcissism tends to increase. Such is the nature of politics and, indeed, seemingly any rise to more and more unbridled power.

Thus, the need for more and more journalist and philosophical candor -- to show how pre-election 'ethical idealism' changes to 'partisan righteous-narcissistic ideology' based solely on being either out of power, looking in, or in power, looking out.

-- dgb, Sept. 15th, 2009.

-- David Gordon Bain

MLA expenses: Openness welcome

2009-08-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

MLA expenses: Openness welcome

Mon. Aug 17 - 4:47 AM

NOVA SCOTIA MLAs should have to provide receipts for all reimbursable expenses.

Period.

There simply isn’t any justifiable reason why provincial politicians should be given $1,000 a month, to cite one current practice, when there’s no way to verify if the funds are being spent on legitimate public purposes.

Defeated MLAs in Nova Scotia also get $45,000, no receipts required, to wrap up their constituency offices.

As NDP Deputy Premier Frank Corbett put it succinctly last week, "when there’s no receipt, there’s a chance for misuse."

So we heartily applaud the NDP government’s intention, as laid out by Mr. Corbett, to reform all expense claim accounting procedures for MLAs.

The deputy premier said the government intends to make recommendations to the legislature on the issue this fall, likely around the same time the province’s auditor general issues his own report on MLA expenses.

Scott Hennig, a spokesman for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, says it is "very unusual" for provincial politicians to have significant expense accounts for which they do not have to provide receipts.

Earlier this year, a scandal over the misuse of MPs’ expense claims erupted in Britain, resulting in resignations of half a dozen cabinet ministers and reimbursement to the public purse of about $900,000.

We’re not suggesting there’s a similar problem here. The point is, however, that without records of receipts, it’s impossible to know.

Public cynicism about politicians is already well entrenched. A system that puts thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money into politicians’ hands every year, to spend without a speck of scrutiny, only deepens that public distrust.

Given that, it was also welcome to hear Mr. Corbett say the NDP government wants the legislature’s internal economy board, the committee of MLAs who meet in private to approve increases in various politicians’ expenses, to become "more open and transparent."

Overall, Mr. Corbett said, the government wants to look for "efficiencies" and "savings."

The NDP can certainly show the party is serious about changing the way politics is practised here in Nova Scotia by significantly tightening up MLA expense accounts.

The public will no doubt be supportive.

As of yet, of course, it’s too early to know just how far, or deep, such changes could — or will — go, if and when implemented.

Nova Scotians will certainly be watching closely to see if the new majority NDP government turns good intentions into concrete reforms.

( edits@herald.ca)

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Malachy wrote:
Oh I'm sure we'll see some changes from the NDP (well, not a name change...)but they will be small changes and enough to show the press and public that they "at least did something". Pittance really to what could - nay, should - be done. If the public truly knew how much money politicians wasted and how taxpayer dollars are really spent, when so many people go without and are barely able to feed, house and clothe themselves, there would be rioting in front of province house. Maybe that's what the city needs - a good, anarchy-like riot to slap the politicos across the back of the head. Or maybe its the people that need the slap to wake them up.

MarkyMark wrote:
I agree 100% with this editorial.

Although I do not suspect the majority of our elected representatives of taking advantage of the lax financial reporting rules, the potential for abuse is there.

Creating unambiguous transparency is an important part of the democratic process and the Dexter Government is to be commended for taking this next logical step.

The editorial cites the recent spending scandal in the UK parliament but we have one much closer to home in Atlantic Canada with the Newfoundland and Labradador legislative assembly, not to mention the sponsorship scandal in the Canadian parliament, as well as numerous cases of questionable past provincial legislative spending practices across this country.

Democracy 250 was a bust last year with the tomfoolery that went on here in Nova Scotia with the minority government of Rodney MacDonald. Please make a lasting legacy for D-250 and enact reforms such as this one to make this province the shining example of open transparent government - at the provincial and municipal levels.

Another beef of mine is all the in-camera sessions that municipal councils have - fix it !!!!!

JABBPR wrote:
Let's also remember that although $1,000 may not be a large sum to them, it's actually more then some incomes out there. Some people raise children on that amount of money. I'm a student and I'm earning hardly more then that a month. They're burning it up on drinks at the Old Triangle!

danby wrote:
Cancer patients often live on less than $1000 per month are expected to pay medicare and drugs so they must do without as well.Yes, they should live within our means and cut non-necessity perks.The money is no longer there to live the good life so people have to get real.

worldly wrote:

While I believe the vast majority of politicians are prudent with their expenses, and I have no issues with the salary and expenses, I do see the lack of accountability for the spending as a real concern. I'm glad to see that's being tackled. In fact, the honest politicians should be in support of any measure that shields them from undue criticism.

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Harper invites Ignatieff to rare tete-a-tete before critical vote

2009-06-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

From Yahoo News....

2 hours, 11 minutes ago

8:50pm Monday June 15th, 2009.

By Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - The threat of a BBQ-season election hovered over the nation's capital like smoke off the grill after Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Liberal rival made tactical moves designed to place the fate of Parliament in the other's hands.

Harper invited Michael Ignatieff to a rare tete-a-tete Tuesday to see if a truce could be forged before a critical confidence vote by week's end.

With the NDP and Bloc Quebecois committed to voting against supplementary budget estimates, the ball and the government's fate was in Ignatieff's hands.

Ignatieff took the ball Monday morning and tapped it softly at Harper.

Show me your plans for EI, how much has been spent so far on stimulus projects, when you'll pay down the deficit and what your plan is for medical isotopes, Ignatieff demanded gently.

But if meeting those demands takes longer than this week, that's OK too by Ignatieff.

Cooperation, not confrontation, was the Liberal leader's mantra. That conciliatory tone was carefully calibrated to betray neither weakness nor bloodlust.

"My party doesn't control the timing of elections in any case. It's the prime minister and his government's responsibiity to maintain the confidence of the House," Ignatieff told reporters.

"For our part, the Liberal party has consistently shown that we want to make Parliament work for all Canadians. The real question is does Mr. Harper want Parliament to work?"

Harper's response was equally measured, offering the slightest hint of compromise.

He noted that his government planned to announce changes that would bring self-employed Canadians into the EI program, but that they were not measures that could be finalized in a matter of days.

"I would encourage Mr. Ignatieff and his party if they want to contribute to that idea or if they have other ideas, to be clear about them, and we'll certainly be prepared to dialogue about them over the summer," Harper told reporters.

But that was as far as Harper would go, underlining that the opposition would be to blame for stalled stimulus spending if the government fell. That provided a glimpse of the prime minister's campaign rhetoric.

"It's quite a contradiction. You can't say you're concerned about spending not happening and then vote against giving the government the parliamentary authority to spend money."

NDP Leader Jack Layton scoffed at Harper's line.

"They can't have it both ways. They're saying all this money has gone out, but now they're saying this money won't go out if there's an election - which is it?"

Ignatieff later said that Harper had taken a "couple of milimetre steps," but "we're not out of the woods yet."

No party in the Commons wants an election. The Conservatives are declining in the polls, the Liberals are cash-strapped, the NDP are trying to regain ground they've lost since last fall and the Bloc Quebecois are also on shifting ground in their home province.

The public doesn't want one either. A Harris-Decima poll Monday pegged the number at 78 per cent opposed.

Pollster Nik Nanos, of Nanos Research, calls it a "game of poker where everyone's bluffing, but nobody's holding anything."

Nanos said Ignatieff made an impressive strategic play - exploiting perceived Harper weaknesses of transparency, accountability and intractability.

"The prime minister has to be looking at the current environment and the numbers and knowing that he can't really risk his government on an election, knowing that Michael Ignatieff hasn't set anything down that's a big ask," Nanos said.

But it's a high stakes game for Ignatieff too, who is haunted by the shadow of former leader Stephane Dion. The former Liberal leader made and lost a leadership career by excoriating the government's policies and then ensuring that his caucus turned up for confidence votes in insufficient numbers to bring the government down.

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MPs' secret meetings loosen rules for cash and benefits

2009-06-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

MPs' secret meetings loosen rules for cash and benefits

Sat Jun 6, 1:07 PM

By Tim Naumetz, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - Members of Parliament have exempted the cash and benefits they receive from political parties and riding associations from restrictions and public disclosure under the House of Commons conflict-of-interest code.

The move was unanimously approved without a vote in the Commons after a series of committee hearings conducted entirely in secret.

The closed-door decision counters a trend to more accountability in government and should have come under public scrutiny, a democracy advocate says.

The change also could erode the independence of backbench MPs and make them more beholden to party bosses instead of voters, adds Democracy Watch chief Duff Conacher.

All four parties in the Commons approved the change last Thursday after a House rules committee and one of its subcommittees held eight meetings on the topic that were closed to the public.

The watchdog over conflict of interest for MPs and public office holders, Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson, gave evidence and advice at four of the closed-door meetings.

But her comments will remain a secret, along with all statements and comments MPs made about the topic during the in-camera hearings.

Conacher - who says he gave an invited opinion at one of the meetings on condition that portion remain open to the public and then answered questions in camera - criticized Dawson for taking part in the secret deliberations.

"She's a watchdog," he said. "A watchdog does not meet behind closed doors with the people they watch."

A committee report on the change says Dawson advised MPs to replace a blanket prohibition on gifts related to their positions, other than those they receive as a normal expression of courtesy or protocol, with a more relaxed test that nonetheless is aimed at preventing improper influence.

The code requires MPs to disclose all gifts and benefits valued at more than $500.

The MPs expanded the change to specifically exclude money that is not repayable and property and services obtained from a political party or riding association from the definition of "benefit" in the code.

The amendment means there is no limit on money or goods and services MPs may receive in that context, and no obligation to report it on a public registry maintained by the ethics commissioner.

"Political parties and riding associations oftentimes pay, or reimburse, registration fees, travel expenses and hospitality to members for their participation at political events," the committee report says.

"These benefits cannot, under any circumstances, be seen to compromise their personal judgment or integrity, and, therefore, should be excluded from the definition of 'benefit."'

Conacher argues the change means MPs might be able to build up campaign war chests under the radar between elections - a practice Parliament itself ended several years ago with the elimination of blind trusts in riding associations.

He says the change could also lead to the kind of MP expense abuse that has rocked the British Parliament.

"If you look at the whole scandal of what happened in Britain, this will allow parties to give all those kinds of gifts, those were gifts of services and money, to MPs in secret," he said.

"It will allow the parties to buy off MPs in secret and make it much more likely that they will toe the party line instead of representing voter concerns."

Conacher also noted between 30 and 60 per cent of the coffers of federal political parties come from taxpayers through tax deductions for contributions, election reimbursements or public allowances from Elections Canada.

Dawson did not respond directly to the criticism that she took part in closed-door hearings to amend the code, but confirmed she earlier raised concerns with MPs about difficulties interpreting the previous ban on gifts.

"This committee decided to hold in-camera meetings to consider the provisions of the code that relate to gifts," Dawson's communications officer, Jocelyne Brisebois, said in an email.

"The commissioner was pleased to work with the subcommittee."

While MPs exempted the monetary and other benefits from their own conflict-of-interest code, an Elections Canada spokesperson said the transactions must be disclosed if they occur during an election campaign.

"If the benefit given to a candidate by a party or a registered association is given to the candidate personally and not for the use of his campaign, it is a gift and the candidate will be required to report it under the Canada Elections Act if the value exceeds $500," said Maureen Keenan.

"The cost of the gift would eventually be reported by the party or a registered association in its financial reports.

"If the benefit is used to directly promote the candidate during an election period, it constitutes either a monetary or non-monetary transfer and will be required to be reported both by the candidate and by the political entity that made the transfer."

MPs defended the secrecy of the hearings, arguing they wanted to discuss personal experiences with the conflict code.

"I guess we want to protect personal identities," said Liberal MP Marcel Proulx.

Canadian warship thwarts suspected pirates, helps boatload of Somali refugees

2009-04-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

DGB Editorial: It is about time someone started to do something about these Somalian pirates. They are not going to stop pirating these vessels unless or until there are significant negative consequences to those who do it? Who is standing up to the plate? Who is going to do anything about these Somalian pirates? At least this article indicates a start. Much more is needed.

Is there a NATO jail anywhere in the world? What happens to violators of international law? Obviously the Somalian pirates and North Korea are two entirely different cases. However, the dynamics are the same. Some bands of people/countries (The Somalian Pirates, The Taliban, North Korea...) are going to keep pushing The United Nations and/or NATO, transgressing international law at their leisure and whim, unless or until they are faced with, and confronted by, a more powerful international police force and/or army that is capable of destroying and/or at least imprisioning them.

It seems obvious to me that there is a growing need for a stronger, more powerful, more intimidating international governing body of politics, law, and soldiers/police force that is better than anything we have in existence right now. This concept goes right back to Thomas Hobbes philosophy. Diplomcacy and democracy must be essential features of this international governing body. But when push comes to shove, there has to be a very real powerful international army to 'outmuscle' the capabilities of any one democratically transgressing nation, or band of pirates, or international group of extremist-terrorists -- religious and/or political.

-- dgb, April 5th, 2009.

........................................................................

From the internet, Yahoo News...

Canadian warship thwarts suspected pirates, helps boatload of Somali refugees

2 hours, 27 minutes ago, April 5th, 2009.

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Warding off suspected pirates and coming to the aid of a boatload of fleeing Somali refugees is all in a day's work for the crew of HMCS Winnipeg in the Gulf of Aden.

In the past 24 hours the Canadian warship has sent its Sea King helicopter after several skiffs that were shadowing a commercial vessel, using a large red "Stop" sign to tell the speedboat crews to get lost.

Commander Craig Baines says the suspected pirates did just that when they saw the sign, written in Somali, hanging out to chopper's door - along with the aircraft's machine-gun.

The Pacific Opal vessel had earlier radioed for help.

Baines adds that today the Winnipeg saw more action when it spotted a boatload of Somalis, trying to get from Somalia to Yemen.

He says they had been at sea for two days and were hungry and thirsty, so crew from the Winnipeg were able to get supplies to them.

The Winnipeg is currently participating in a NATO-led counter-piracy mission known as Operation Allied Protector.

With a crew of approximately 240 officers and non-commissioned members, the warship has been at sea since early February, and won't return to Victoria until August.

PM, cabinet, soldier families decry Afghan rape law

2009-04-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

From the internet...Yahoo news...

PM, cabinet, soldier families decry Afghan rape law
April 1st, 2009, 6:15pm.

39 minutes ago

By Alexander Panetta, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - Angry Canadian politicians say the country hasn't sacrificed soldiers' lives and spent billions of dollars in Afghanistan so that men there could be permitted to rape their wives.

There's growing outrage over legislation that would restrict the rights of Afghanistan's minority Shia women, making it illegal for them to refuse sex to their husbands or even leave the house without permission.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he's deeply troubled by a move which flies in the face of what the international community wants to accomplish in Afghanistan.

"This is antithetical to our mission in Afghanistan," he told a Canadian media outlet in London, where he's attending the G20 summit.

"The concept that women are full human beings with human rights is very, very central to the reason the international community is engaged in this country. . .

"It's a significant change we want to see from the bad, old days of the Taliban."

Canada has lost 116 soldiers and spent up to $10 billion to support the government of President Hamid Karzai. Several members of Harper's cabinet voiced similar outrage, as did opposition politicians and one military family.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said he will use this week's NATO summit to put "direct" pressure on his Afghan counterparts to abandon the legislation.

"That's unacceptable - period," he said Wednesday. "We're fighting for values that include equality and women's rights. This sort of legislation won't fly."

The proposed Shia family law has cast a shadow over an international conference in Europe on Afghanistan's future.

Critics say Karzai approved the law in advance of his country's elections in the hope of winning critical swing votes from conservative Shia men.

But it remains shrouded in mystery: it has not been published, Karzai's office has refused to comment on it, and its alleged details have been made public by Afghan parliamentarians who opposed it.

There are even differences of opinion about whether the law is in effect; the Canadian government says it understands the law is not yet finalized.

Confusion over the legislation is so widespread that even Afghan diplomats appeared sideswiped by the news. Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada, Omar Samad, said he's unclear on its basic details and is working to get information from Kabul.

Canadian officials have contacted Karzai's office and demanded more details.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly upbraided Karzai over the proposed law during this week's 80-country Afghanistan summit in The Hague.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said he's outraged by the legislation and Canada must make it clear to Karzai that it's unacceptable.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda said she was in "disbelief" when she first heard about the legislation. She noted that the equality of the sexes is a key Canadian objective in Afghanistan.

"We've invested a lot, we've put a lot of energy and resources into that," Oda said.

"It's very problematic. It's of great concern, and it is going to be a difficulty for Canada - because of our investment and our commitment to human rights, the rule of law, and equality. . . the steps we're taking, the investment we're making, and the work we're doing."

The father of a dead soldier also expressed anger. But he said Canada must continue working to modernize the country.

"My son gave his life up for all these causes and to have President Karzai's government bring in a law like that, that's insulting," said Jim Davis of Nova Scotia, whose son, Cpl. Paul Davis, was killed in Afghanistan in 2006.

"The law is offensive but what is the alternative? We just have to continue on with our effort and hope that we can make some improvements. . . The country has a long way in the last six years so hopefully we can just continue on our efforts and see some more improvements."