One of the largest investors in the world is the Ontario teachers pension.They have 10's of Billions of dollars.
They invest heavily in these fat cat corporations. Why? Profit.
It is tiresome to hear and read about people who claim to despise greedy corporations when their own bottom line is heavily dependant on their success.
Dear Anonymous, groups like the OSSTF is attempting to create decent pensions for their members in a context in which fewer and fewer people have good pensions and more and more elderly people are living in real poverty. They invest where they can to because they have little choice. In other words, a prevailing economic system by its nature has as many people on the hook as possible. I would not expect people who object to certain (or many) parts of Capitalism to simply say "I object so I am going to live in poverty and let my children live in poverty."
Your critique is the conceptual equivalent of suggesting that peasant farmers in 17th century Lancashire were hypocritical if they criticized feudalism but continued to engage in a system of trade in kind with large estate owners. That argument, just like yours, is entirely specious.
Anonymous, you are desperately misinformed about almost everything.
Indeed the Utopia that the Greeks have been seeking is not attainable - but the "utopia" they have been seeking is entirely different from the one you seem to think that they have been after. Go back an look at government revenues in Greece (and most Western nations) over the past forty years and you will find rather than a "worker's paradise" you have a stagnation of working wages for forty years while the top ten percent own more than fifty percent of the national wealth. In the US alone four hundred families own nearly half the wealth. In places like Greece in particular the richest twenty percent pay de facto zero tax. The reason for the failure of these economies has nothing to do with high welfare rates or decent pensions it has everything to do with a growing concentration of wealth in fewer hands and the growing power of corporations who pay less and less tax while making more and more money.
The luck of the workers has nothing to do with anything and you simply lack a social and political analysis. For generations workers have been struggling and dying for a decent life while the globalizing capitalists are engaging the world in a race to the bottom. And people like you buy the spin of wealthy people who spend their time in multi-million dollar mansions and luxury yachts telling us that our society can't afford pensions or to keep the elderly out of poverty. NONSENSE! There is plenty of wealth, it is just concentrated in too many hands and each year that concentration gets worse.
Go ahead and buy the spin of the rich, and watch capitalism implode in economic and environmental disaster.
P.S. Your argument about lucky workers was the same one that Feudal Lords used about rural peasants, the same one that slave owners in the south used about slaves, and the same one that capitalists still use about those who live in the horror of maquiladoras today.
It has always been the same refrain - any worker is lucky for whatever crumbs they are getting, they should just obey and shut up.
I would call in these economic times a person with an almost 99% guaranteed job with their guaranteed indexed pension and health package "lucky"..Im pretty sure they think of themselves as "lucky" too. I have a very large number of friends who work for OPG and Hydro One....with any kind of luck they will collect their pensions longer then they will have worked...I'd call that "lucky". To afford the raises in teachers salarys the Board in my area have started the "rotating" school start times, its a busing savings, its a burden on parents with more then one child that now have seperate starting times, but, hey, we gotta give out those crumbs now dont we. I like the trickle down effect of paying Teachers and the PS and Hydro workers great salarys, afterall, its not like they horde their money in Switzerland, but, like it or not, they are a minority lucky bunch. billg
Ahhh crumbs. The teachers in Ontario work for crumbs. McGuinty gave many workers a 0% increase(remember there was no money),the teachers got more yet still it is crumbs.
11 comments:
People should be asking how the Tories could speak for Canadians when they are so tied to the "special" interests of multinational corporations.
They are probably right....
So on one hand we have alleged power-hungry union stooge, possibly ruthlessly seeking to improve quality of life for Canadian workers.
On the other hand we have power-hungry foreign multinational stooge, seeking to improve already fat bank accounts that offer little benefit to Canada.
And then we have the big red Mystery Door. What's behind it? No one knows! But it's targeted by a fleet of F35s loaded with attack ads.
One of the largest investors in the world is the Ontario teachers pension.They have 10's of Billions of dollars.
They invest heavily in these fat cat corporations. Why? Profit.
It is tiresome to hear and read about people who claim to despise greedy corporations when their own bottom line is heavily dependant on their success.
Dear Anonymous, groups like the OSSTF is attempting to create decent pensions for their members in a context in which fewer and fewer people have good pensions and more and more elderly people are living in real poverty. They invest where they can to because they have little choice. In other words, a prevailing economic system by its nature has as many people on the hook as possible. I would not expect people who object to certain (or many) parts of Capitalism to simply say "I object so I am going to live in poverty and let my children live in poverty."
Your critique is the conceptual equivalent of suggesting that peasant farmers in 17th century Lancashire were hypocritical if they criticized feudalism but continued to engage in a system of trade in kind with large estate owners. That argument, just like yours, is entirely specious.
Politics 101...define the opposition before they can. Its working for Mcuinty, so, what exactly is the problem?
Kirby;
You are making excuses. Tell me where they are doing it right.
Greece? France? U.S.? China? North Korea? Cuba?
The workers you make excuses for are damn lucky. They are lucky at the expense of other working Canadians.
The utopia you strive for cannot exist for long. Ask the Greeks...
Anonymous, you are desperately misinformed about almost everything.
Indeed the Utopia that the Greeks have been seeking is not attainable - but the "utopia" they have been seeking is entirely different from the one you seem to think that they have been after. Go back an look at government revenues in Greece (and most Western nations) over the past forty years and you will find rather than a "worker's paradise" you have a stagnation of working wages for forty years while the top ten percent own more than fifty percent of the national wealth. In the US alone four hundred families own nearly half the wealth. In places like Greece in particular the richest twenty percent pay de facto zero tax. The reason for the failure of these economies has nothing to do with high welfare rates or decent pensions it has everything to do with a growing concentration of wealth in fewer hands and the growing power of corporations who pay less and less tax while making more and more money.
The luck of the workers has nothing to do with anything and you simply lack a social and political analysis. For generations workers have been struggling and dying for a decent life while the globalizing capitalists are engaging the world in a race to the bottom. And people like you buy the spin of wealthy people who spend their time in multi-million dollar mansions and luxury yachts telling us that our society can't afford pensions or to keep the elderly out of poverty. NONSENSE! There is plenty of wealth, it is just concentrated in too many hands and each year that concentration gets worse.
Go ahead and buy the spin of the rich, and watch capitalism implode in economic and environmental disaster.
Lucky my A**!
P.S. Your argument about lucky workers was the same one that Feudal Lords used about rural peasants, the same one that slave owners in the south used about slaves, and the same one that capitalists still use about those who live in the horror of maquiladoras today.
It has always been the same refrain - any worker is lucky for whatever crumbs they are getting, they should just obey and shut up.
It is you who are making excuses!!!!!!!!!
I would call in these economic times a person with an almost 99% guaranteed job with their guaranteed indexed pension and health package "lucky"..Im pretty sure they think of themselves as "lucky" too. I have a very large number of friends who work for OPG and Hydro One....with any kind of luck they will collect their pensions longer then they will have worked...I'd call that "lucky". To afford the raises in teachers salarys the Board in my area have started the "rotating" school start times, its a busing savings, its a burden on parents with more then one child that now have seperate starting times, but, hey, we gotta give out those crumbs now dont we.
I like the trickle down effect of paying Teachers and the PS and Hydro workers great salarys, afterall, its not like they horde their money in Switzerland, but, like it or not, they are a minority lucky bunch.
billg
Kirby;
Ahhh crumbs. The teachers in Ontario work for crumbs. McGuinty gave many workers a 0% increase(remember there was no money),the teachers got more yet still it is crumbs.
You didn't answer my question. Who has it right?
Norway? Egypt? Sudan? Kuwait?
Name one.
You can't.
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