by Diane Wilson
I hope that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has lunch with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Naplitano and points out that the 49th parallel in no way resembles the Mexican border. In fact, Canada and the U.S. share the largest undefended border in the world, measuring 3,145 miles. The two countries do enormous trade. So much so, that according to a 2003 study commissioned by the Canadian Embassy, Canada–U.S. trade supported 5.2 million U.S. jobs.
Actually, perhaps Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner should join them for dessert because the Canada-US border will serve as a crucial part of the economic recovery. An efficient border affects retail, commodities, manufacturing and tourism. It matters to just in time delivery and it matters to a truly integrated economy. It matters to rolled steel and fresh fruit, to autos and plasma TVs.
Napolitano wants a tough border with passports, and says we are going to have accept this "culture of change," according to The Globe and Mail. The culture shift actually dates back to 9/11. But citizens of both countries living near the border -- in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Windsor -- know that we must have an efficient seamless border. Not a porous border, but an efficient border.
There have been contentious issues between Canada and the U.S. Think softwood lumber. But by and large, we have had one heck of a good relationship ever since the War of 1812. So it is sad to hear tourist industry officials predicting fewer cross-border trips when the passport rule hits June 1, because 75% of Americans are without passports. And manufacturers are making contingency plans for alternative suppliers and warehouses, in the event of delays in shipping.
Ms. Napolitano is more familiar with the U.S.-Mexico border, having lived in New Mexico and Arizona, and she has voiced concerns that the two borders should be treated equally. There are issues with Canada's immigration policies, the way we screen people and goods, etc.
I can't help but think of Europe and its easy flow of people within the EU countries. Why can't the US and Canada have a similar flow of people and goods?
Canada will proceed with its new Windsor-Detroit bridge, where one quarter of all Canada-U.S. trade flows, but it is time to build other bridges as well. Canada needs to work with Secretaries Clinton and Napolitano to create the type of border that best suits favoured nations depending on one another for just about everything. No fences, nothing too scary. How about sensible American and Canadian rules and regulations that promote trade and travel, while saving 5.2 million US jobs!
March 25, 2009
Stung: The Phantom and the Beekeeper
It may have been Livent co-founder Garth Drabinsky's big day -- the man who created North America's largest live theatre company with hits like Show Boat, Ragtime and The Phantom of the Opera has been found guilty of fraud and forgery -- but news comes from an Australian court about a very serious conviction.
We learn of Donald Alcock, a financially troubled man who murdered a highly respected beekeeper in order to get his hands on $40,000 worth of honey. According to The Globe and Mail, Alcock has been convicted of murder and will now spend 15 years in prison, hopefully wondering why he ever embarked on such a crime.
Alcock shot the esteemed beekeeper, Anthony Ross Knight, in the back as he slept and loaded the haul of honey onto his truck so he could sell it to a honey distributor. While unloading the sweet stuff, Alcock was pinned under an enormous vat and was rushed to hospital.
In court, with all of Knight's colleagues in attendance, the unfortunate Alcock pleaded not guilty, explaining that he assumed the bullet would go straight through Knight's body without killing him.
We learn of Donald Alcock, a financially troubled man who murdered a highly respected beekeeper in order to get his hands on $40,000 worth of honey. According to The Globe and Mail, Alcock has been convicted of murder and will now spend 15 years in prison, hopefully wondering why he ever embarked on such a crime.
Alcock shot the esteemed beekeeper, Anthony Ross Knight, in the back as he slept and loaded the haul of honey onto his truck so he could sell it to a honey distributor. While unloading the sweet stuff, Alcock was pinned under an enormous vat and was rushed to hospital.
In court, with all of Knight's colleagues in attendance, the unfortunate Alcock pleaded not guilty, explaining that he assumed the bullet would go straight through Knight's body without killing him.
March 20, 2009
Yet Another Fish Story
As concern mounts about the depletion of fish stocks around the world, British researchers have come up with a new smart fish. While not edible, these seal-size fish are going to be kept busy.
According to The Globe and Mail, these robot fish will be dumped into the sea off of northern Spain in an effort to detect pollution. They will be equipped with sensors to monitor oxygen levels in the ocean, as well as identify oil slicks from ships and other nasty contaminants. If the project works, these carp-shaped robots could soon be sniffing out hazardous pollutants at a lake or river near you.
At $28,000 apiece, the fish operate without human help. They transmit their information back to shore via Wi-Fi technology, undoubtedly listening to their I-Pods while swimming about.
According to The Globe and Mail, these robot fish will be dumped into the sea off of northern Spain in an effort to detect pollution. They will be equipped with sensors to monitor oxygen levels in the ocean, as well as identify oil slicks from ships and other nasty contaminants. If the project works, these carp-shaped robots could soon be sniffing out hazardous pollutants at a lake or river near you.
At $28,000 apiece, the fish operate without human help. They transmit their information back to shore via Wi-Fi technology, undoubtedly listening to their I-Pods while swimming about.
March 19, 2009
Yearning for Walter Cronkite: American Media Needs to Quiet Down
by Diane Wilson
I have watched CNN and CNBC and MSNBC and NBC, and I have come away thinking that Canadians really are different. CBC's Peter Mansbridge and company lack the frenetic sense of being. He is grounded. The interviews are longer, more news is covered, and people have the good sense not to all talk at once, yelling each other down. Come to think of it, Mansbridge and crew actually listen. Thank goodness.
CBC is much like our Canadian banks. Which many of us had knocked over the years, knowing they were just conservative cash machines for Bay Street. They never seemed to be the real deal, like say a Citigroup. They didn't have the right stuff to get into over their heads with exotic derivatives. They just stuck to their knitting. Who knew that the entire world would look to Canadian banks? Thank goodness.
Or, how about the decision to go to war? Prime Minister Chretien seemed to take forever to make up his mind over joining the US on Iraq. He wanted to study the issue. Meanwhile President Bush had laid out a solid case for invasion and the other allies were falling in line with the US. In the end, the PM said No, and Canada was not the most popular country in the Bush White House. Thank goodness.
I say this not out of malice for the U.S. but affection. America has always been Canada's neighbour and good friend. But the tone south of the border is worrying. Americans are more bellicose than ever. Look at CNBC's Jim Cramer and Rick Santelli, and their rants. It is also pretty weird that the finest American broadcast journalism is coming from a comedian, John Stewart.
It's enough of broadcasters stating that Obama has declared war on investors. It's enough of the hyperbole. Hope lurks in one little corner of MSNBC, with a show run by the very erudite Rachel Maddow. She refuses to have guests bicker and she spends longer on interviews. Come to think of it, I would like to see her do an interview asking why American TVsters are so busy yelling and what can be done about the matter. Are the anchors and the guests just reflecting the mood of the country or is it something more?
Because, deal with the issue, they must. Years from now, patients with hearing deficits are going to be asked a simple question: Were you around heavy machinery and American news?
I have watched CNN and CNBC and MSNBC and NBC, and I have come away thinking that Canadians really are different. CBC's Peter Mansbridge and company lack the frenetic sense of being. He is grounded. The interviews are longer, more news is covered, and people have the good sense not to all talk at once, yelling each other down. Come to think of it, Mansbridge and crew actually listen. Thank goodness.
CBC is much like our Canadian banks. Which many of us had knocked over the years, knowing they were just conservative cash machines for Bay Street. They never seemed to be the real deal, like say a Citigroup. They didn't have the right stuff to get into over their heads with exotic derivatives. They just stuck to their knitting. Who knew that the entire world would look to Canadian banks? Thank goodness.
Or, how about the decision to go to war? Prime Minister Chretien seemed to take forever to make up his mind over joining the US on Iraq. He wanted to study the issue. Meanwhile President Bush had laid out a solid case for invasion and the other allies were falling in line with the US. In the end, the PM said No, and Canada was not the most popular country in the Bush White House. Thank goodness.
I say this not out of malice for the U.S. but affection. America has always been Canada's neighbour and good friend. But the tone south of the border is worrying. Americans are more bellicose than ever. Look at CNBC's Jim Cramer and Rick Santelli, and their rants. It is also pretty weird that the finest American broadcast journalism is coming from a comedian, John Stewart.
It's enough of broadcasters stating that Obama has declared war on investors. It's enough of the hyperbole. Hope lurks in one little corner of MSNBC, with a show run by the very erudite Rachel Maddow. She refuses to have guests bicker and she spends longer on interviews. Come to think of it, I would like to see her do an interview asking why American TVsters are so busy yelling and what can be done about the matter. Are the anchors and the guests just reflecting the mood of the country or is it something more?
Because, deal with the issue, they must. Years from now, patients with hearing deficits are going to be asked a simple question: Were you around heavy machinery and American news?
AIG Anger Explodes, French Protest and the South Pacific Erupts
by Diane Wilson
Well, perhaps cable TV can move on to another subject. The House, reacting to anger on the streets caused by bonuses paid to AIG executives, voted 328 to 93 to retrieve the bonuses by slapping a 90% tax on the money. The measure had widespread Republican support. According to The New York Times, the lawmakers were responding to their constituents' anger.
Meanwhile, trouble is afoot in France, reports The Globe and Mail, as more than one million angry workers take to the streets demanding President Nicolas Sarkozy open new talks to tackle the deepening economic crisis. As the French economy contracted at the fastest pace in 30 years, workers from the biggest companies in the country were marching in Paris, Marseilles and Lyon.
And on and on, with mounting unemployment and anger the world over. So it is with a great deal of interest that we read in The Huffington Post that there is an underwater volcano that has been erupting for days, heaving smoke and steam high into the sky. Apparently, this volcano is not having a negative impact on the islanders of Tongatapu or fish and wildlife. However, the beaches of nearby Fiji, will be covered with pumice from the erupting volcano.
Long story short: It is better to give than receive. Paris is not always better in the springtime. And last, that Beatles song no longer makes sense when it enthuses, "I'd like to be under the sea...."
Well, perhaps cable TV can move on to another subject. The House, reacting to anger on the streets caused by bonuses paid to AIG executives, voted 328 to 93 to retrieve the bonuses by slapping a 90% tax on the money. The measure had widespread Republican support. According to The New York Times, the lawmakers were responding to their constituents' anger.
Meanwhile, trouble is afoot in France, reports The Globe and Mail, as more than one million angry workers take to the streets demanding President Nicolas Sarkozy open new talks to tackle the deepening economic crisis. As the French economy contracted at the fastest pace in 30 years, workers from the biggest companies in the country were marching in Paris, Marseilles and Lyon.
And on and on, with mounting unemployment and anger the world over. So it is with a great deal of interest that we read in The Huffington Post that there is an underwater volcano that has been erupting for days, heaving smoke and steam high into the sky. Apparently, this volcano is not having a negative impact on the islanders of Tongatapu or fish and wildlife. However, the beaches of nearby Fiji, will be covered with pumice from the erupting volcano.
Long story short: It is better to give than receive. Paris is not always better in the springtime. And last, that Beatles song no longer makes sense when it enthuses, "I'd like to be under the sea...."
March 4, 2009
Build Canadian! No Beggar Thy Neighbour We
by Diane Wilson
Howard Dean did it for me. Last night in an interview with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC Former DNC Leader Dean praised President Obama's proposed health care reform, saying it will be "a saviour for America. Maybe our automobile companies will finally be competitive with Canada's again."
Mr. Dean, Canada does not have any car companies. We have foreign car companies -- yours among them -- and they are not shy about going cap in hand to our federal and provincial governments. Recently, Chrysler and GM asked for C$10 billion in government aid, in a restructuring plan that will cut GM's workforce to from 20,000 in 2005 to a measly 7,000 in 2010, as noted on the CBC.
Dean spoke only hours after Pittsburgh-based US steel announced its plans to lay off 1,500 workers in Canada. According to The Globe and Mail, this will be the first time that the storied Stelco plant has been shut down. And these cuts follow a host of cuts by other foreign owners like Rio Tinto Alcan (1000)and Vale Inco (423). News late today confirms that Chrysler is eliminating the third shift at its Windsor, Ont. assembly plant, slashing 1,200 minivan workers.
In view of the cuts to Canadian workers, it is time to build Canadian. I would like Research in Motion creator Jim Balsillie to have lunch with Magna's Frank Stronach. I think these guys could dream up a fantastic new Canadian car before their entrees arrive on the table. They could buy Chrysler or GM -- both are cheap and come with loads of government help -- or pick up one of the shuttered plants in Windsor. We already have the aforementioned health care in place. We have great brainpower from places like Waterloo. Why can't Canada build a car that has the same Wow factor as the Blackbery? Maybe the Trackberry Hybrid. It can't come soon enough.
Howard Dean did it for me. Last night in an interview with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC Former DNC Leader Dean praised President Obama's proposed health care reform, saying it will be "a saviour for America. Maybe our automobile companies will finally be competitive with Canada's again."
Mr. Dean, Canada does not have any car companies. We have foreign car companies -- yours among them -- and they are not shy about going cap in hand to our federal and provincial governments. Recently, Chrysler and GM asked for C$10 billion in government aid, in a restructuring plan that will cut GM's workforce to from 20,000 in 2005 to a measly 7,000 in 2010, as noted on the CBC.
Dean spoke only hours after Pittsburgh-based US steel announced its plans to lay off 1,500 workers in Canada. According to The Globe and Mail, this will be the first time that the storied Stelco plant has been shut down. And these cuts follow a host of cuts by other foreign owners like Rio Tinto Alcan (1000)and Vale Inco (423). News late today confirms that Chrysler is eliminating the third shift at its Windsor, Ont. assembly plant, slashing 1,200 minivan workers.
In view of the cuts to Canadian workers, it is time to build Canadian. I would like Research in Motion creator Jim Balsillie to have lunch with Magna's Frank Stronach. I think these guys could dream up a fantastic new Canadian car before their entrees arrive on the table. They could buy Chrysler or GM -- both are cheap and come with loads of government help -- or pick up one of the shuttered plants in Windsor. We already have the aforementioned health care in place. We have great brainpower from places like Waterloo. Why can't Canada build a car that has the same Wow factor as the Blackbery? Maybe the Trackberry Hybrid. It can't come soon enough.
March 2, 2009
The Little Depression: An Ailing Economy Defies Description
by Diane Wilson
We don't know if we're in a depression, because nobody actually agrees on what a depression is, says The Globe and Mail. Ambiguity has come to characterize the 21st century.
Recent wars are fought not against countries with clearly delineated borders, but against amorphous groups lurking in mountains and caves. Similarly, the economic enemy is hard to pin down.
Clearly, the US and Canada are in recession, but what about depression? According to Professor Peter Morici of the University of Maryland, the US is likely in a depression right now. A depression is defined in many ways -- it can be a downturn of three years with a 10% drop in economic output and unemployment above 10%, or a sustained recession during which people actually hock their assets to make ends meet.
Since the States is only 15 months into this mess and unemployment is not yet 8% and output is only down 6.2%, the Depression parameters don't work. During the Great Depression, a quarter of the economy evaporated by 1933 and a quarter of the workforce lost employment. But, last year's stock market was the worst since 1931. And, this just does not feel like other recessions. Bring in Prof. Morici's other definition of a depression -- a recession that "does not self-correct" because of structural problems like bank credit and trade deficits. Which makes me think of how Uncle Sam has come to the rescue of banks, autos and insurers.
We are getting weary, and we need certainty. What if we assume the worst and call it The Little Depression, a limited recession characterized by structural problems? This way, we know where we are at. During this downturn, people will learn to save and eat at home. Stocks will get cheaper, but not that much cheaper. Companies will shore up their balance sheets, and exploit good opportunities. Baby boomers will learn how and why to buy bonds. But it will end, and as we exit this period, de-levered personal and corporate finances should stand us in good stead.
Perhaps the best news about The Little Depression could be that we do everything much faster now. I know I could be wrong about all of this, but I am beginning to think it will not take as many years to fix the mess. We just need to get out of the way, give President Obama and his team a chance to work their magic, and be patient. And then, boy oh boy, watch the sidelined money return from money market funds and treasuries.
We don't know if we're in a depression, because nobody actually agrees on what a depression is, says The Globe and Mail. Ambiguity has come to characterize the 21st century.
Recent wars are fought not against countries with clearly delineated borders, but against amorphous groups lurking in mountains and caves. Similarly, the economic enemy is hard to pin down.
Clearly, the US and Canada are in recession, but what about depression? According to Professor Peter Morici of the University of Maryland, the US is likely in a depression right now. A depression is defined in many ways -- it can be a downturn of three years with a 10% drop in economic output and unemployment above 10%, or a sustained recession during which people actually hock their assets to make ends meet.
Since the States is only 15 months into this mess and unemployment is not yet 8% and output is only down 6.2%, the Depression parameters don't work. During the Great Depression, a quarter of the economy evaporated by 1933 and a quarter of the workforce lost employment. But, last year's stock market was the worst since 1931. And, this just does not feel like other recessions. Bring in Prof. Morici's other definition of a depression -- a recession that "does not self-correct" because of structural problems like bank credit and trade deficits. Which makes me think of how Uncle Sam has come to the rescue of banks, autos and insurers.
We are getting weary, and we need certainty. What if we assume the worst and call it The Little Depression, a limited recession characterized by structural problems? This way, we know where we are at. During this downturn, people will learn to save and eat at home. Stocks will get cheaper, but not that much cheaper. Companies will shore up their balance sheets, and exploit good opportunities. Baby boomers will learn how and why to buy bonds. But it will end, and as we exit this period, de-levered personal and corporate finances should stand us in good stead.
Perhaps the best news about The Little Depression could be that we do everything much faster now. I know I could be wrong about all of this, but I am beginning to think it will not take as many years to fix the mess. We just need to get out of the way, give President Obama and his team a chance to work their magic, and be patient. And then, boy oh boy, watch the sidelined money return from money market funds and treasuries.
March 1, 2009
Why Some Letters of the Alphabet are Better than Others
Economics, Anger and Politics
by Diane Wilson
Nouriel Roubini, aka Dr. Doom, writes in the New York Times about how the US might proceed through this dreadful recession. He notes that it skipped the usual V and is in the 15th month of a U-shaped recession that will unquestionably be the longest since the Great Depression.
US GDP will not grow more than a muted 1% in 2010, while unemployment will rise to around 10%. What's more, even if the Government throws all necessary stimulative actions at the problem, Roubini does not see growth rising to 2% until 2011, meaning the recession could stick around for three years. That's the good news.
If the collective we do not put policies in place, the U-shaped recession could morph into an L-shaped near-depression or stag-deflation, much like the Japanese experienced in the 1990s.
That will give a lot of angry people more time time to get even angrier. Recently, CNBC's Rick Santelli, an otherwise affable man who reports on bonds, created an on-air diatribe against Obama's mortgage relief program. This vitriol cannot be ignored. The GOP has spent the entire week declaring the Democrats Socialists, while some of their more rational members, like Governor Schwarzenegger, wait eagerly for the postman to deliver the Stimulus money.
Frank Rich notes in his column in The New York Times "the genuine populist rage in the country — aimed at greedy C.E.O.’s, not at the busted homeowners mocked as “losers” by Santelli — cannot be ignored or finessed."
We are probably reaching the end of people's ability to absorb weird letters -- V-shaped, U-shaped and L-shaped recessions -- and frightfully large numbers. Most of us just cannot wrap our minds around $350 billion TARP here, $787 billion stimulus there and a $1.3 trillion deficit.
What to do. Fortunately, economists of all stripes are on board with the President. It is now up to the Democrats to put out a very large welcome mat for the Republicans and allow them to talk -- not yell -- about their differing ideas. There has got to be some consensus on some issues. Start with small initiatives, and gently get everybody going in the same direction, maybe by giving credit and even ownership to Republicans for some of their ideas. Also, it would be helpful to have leadership from the Republicans who are currently working with the President. The current anger is counter-productive. And at times, downright scary.
by Diane Wilson
Nouriel Roubini, aka Dr. Doom, writes in the New York Times about how the US might proceed through this dreadful recession. He notes that it skipped the usual V and is in the 15th month of a U-shaped recession that will unquestionably be the longest since the Great Depression.
US GDP will not grow more than a muted 1% in 2010, while unemployment will rise to around 10%. What's more, even if the Government throws all necessary stimulative actions at the problem, Roubini does not see growth rising to 2% until 2011, meaning the recession could stick around for three years. That's the good news.
If the collective we do not put policies in place, the U-shaped recession could morph into an L-shaped near-depression or stag-deflation, much like the Japanese experienced in the 1990s.
That will give a lot of angry people more time time to get even angrier. Recently, CNBC's Rick Santelli, an otherwise affable man who reports on bonds, created an on-air diatribe against Obama's mortgage relief program. This vitriol cannot be ignored. The GOP has spent the entire week declaring the Democrats Socialists, while some of their more rational members, like Governor Schwarzenegger, wait eagerly for the postman to deliver the Stimulus money.
Frank Rich notes in his column in The New York Times "the genuine populist rage in the country — aimed at greedy C.E.O.’s, not at the busted homeowners mocked as “losers” by Santelli — cannot be ignored or finessed."
We are probably reaching the end of people's ability to absorb weird letters -- V-shaped, U-shaped and L-shaped recessions -- and frightfully large numbers. Most of us just cannot wrap our minds around $350 billion TARP here, $787 billion stimulus there and a $1.3 trillion deficit.
What to do. Fortunately, economists of all stripes are on board with the President. It is now up to the Democrats to put out a very large welcome mat for the Republicans and allow them to talk -- not yell -- about their differing ideas. There has got to be some consensus on some issues. Start with small initiatives, and gently get everybody going in the same direction, maybe by giving credit and even ownership to Republicans for some of their ideas. Also, it would be helpful to have leadership from the Republicans who are currently working with the President. The current anger is counter-productive. And at times, downright scary.
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