May 5, 2008
Firstly, I have to tell you how I admire your radio station and the work it does in educating, informing and creating awareness of issues that may sometimes be ignored or even taken for granted. All things and issues have pros and cons and there are people that believe passionately and people that disbelieve, as passionately. What is important, is that the awareness is created and for those who care, it is some way of moving towards change and for those who don’t, well, I guess that does not really matter. I also enjoy the humour.
However, there are some underlying relevancy issues that need to be addressed about certain topics that have been discussed at length or just mentioned ‘as matter of factly’.
Firstly, the issue about China and the supporting of Chinese products; in today’s very expensive world, the most important issue is survival. The adage “survival of the fittest” is true to its word. In college and school, the hip, intelligent and good looking survive, in business the most ambitious and business savvy survive, in life, in general, with matters that need attention such as a family, education, and just the basic rising cost of living and basic things like public transport need a lot of money, the thrifty and cautious or the rich survive. As the cost of living goes up, people need more resources to just get by basically, forget living ostentatiously. The Chinese products have brought cheaper, less expensive, equally compatible products to the market. It is a pity that their Human Rights policies are so bad. My heart goes out to the Tibetans suffering under the tyranny of China.
How is that the consumer’s fault, who is simply trying to survive?
I am also suffering under the tyranny of the gas companies, inefficient policies and the cost of living.
When South Africa was chastised for its apartheid, the whole world boycotted South African products. Governments worldwide had a say in it and through the Governments, the citizens. To chastise the consumer for buying something cheaper because it is of Chinese origin is wrong. We are only trying to survive by reducing our expenses.
Why don’t you address the greed of the gas companies or the inefficiencies of the Government that have led to the increased cost of living and to the ultimate demise of basic human concern?
The gas companies can dictate the price and blame it on the cost of crude oil but then claim to make profits of nine billion dollars in the just first quarter! How is it, that with costs rising, they managed to make a nine billion dollar profit?
How is it that when the price of crude per barrel goes up, the next day the price at the pumps goes up when that same crude will only show up at the pumps approximately one or two months later?
How is it that when a refinery is shut down for whatever reasons (or excuse), the price of gas goes up and when it is re-opened, the price of gas still stays up?
How is it that the little pie chart at the pumps can show an increase from 2% to 3% for the profits? That is a 50% increase in the profits and when they make the kind of money that they are making, that is a substantial amount I cannot get a 50% increase in my income!!
The price of crude undoubtedly went up, but the greed of the gas companies went up substantially higher!! Why has no one ever addressed that?
The middle class citizens are chastised for barely trying to survive amidst this price fixing and price gouging while all we are trying to do is feed our families and put food on the table and pay the bills.
If and when things can be found cheaper, they will be purchased and even though the consumer may have a choice, it is ultimately the responsibility of the Government. If the government does not approve the importation of those goods, then the Canadian consumer will not have them to purchase.
Unfortunately the Government will never take a stand on these issues.
Do you think the Government even cares of the Human Rights Issues in China?
The Government Institutions make money on every transaction that occurs from the importation license, to the duties, to the sales tax and the taxes and revenues earned from the businesses that deal in these products and the corporate taxes that these businesses pay.
Why else would Chinese products even be allowed in the country?
Despite the fact that Canadian owned businesses are suffering and some even have to close down because they cannot compete with the much lower priced goods from China.
What is the Canadian Government doing about this?
Human rights issues or not, the government does not really give a damn. If it says it cares, it is a pure form of lip service.
All it cares about is the revenue it makes. And of course, the more it makes, the more it wastes.
Why are the gas companies allowed to do what they do? The Nine billion dollar profit for Petro-Canada for the first quarter had to have made the government sizeable tax revenue. And as the gas prices rise, everything rises and soon the cost of living highly exceeds the earnings therefore promoting crime, increasing stress, depression, alcohol and tobacco and drug use and therefore increasing illness. You have also mentioned that the high cost of living is now leading to greater credit card debt which will ultimately lead to stress and stress related illnesses. So all the money made by the Government that could be put towards the good of the citizens, will be wasted in health care. Of course, this analysis requires long-term intelligent planning and we already know that the Government is not capable of that.
To put it politely, let us wipe the prodigal behinds first, then excrete and then complain about the skid marks!!! The priorities are all wrong and the sequences are all wrong.
The rising cost of living has led to the complete ignorance of humanitarian and social issues such as common courtesy, ethics, responsibility and reliability, trust and of course human rights. If something positive is done about the costs then people may consider spending more and boycotting Chinese products because of their human rights policies. The priorities right now lie in basic survival in a jungle of predators disguised as greedy gas companies, greedy pharmaceutical companies and an inefficient government.
And what are you doing about this?
There is so much concern about Human Rights in China and boycotting Chinese products!
What about the child labour in Mexico? I do not hear you asking your listeners to boycott Mexican vacation destinations or Mexican fruit or stop your tequilas. What about the rights of women and gays on the Arabian Peninsula? I do not hear you telling people not to eat the dates (that incidentally are doused with chemicals and preservatives) or to stop using gas as it came from a country that murders gays and treats women worse than animals.
We are bound in this spiralling vicious circle of double standards and doom and the only people that can change that are too busy attending to mundane issues or consumed by greed and inefficiency.
The inefficiency of the Government needs to be questioned.
Why is it that we have more health cards issued than actual people in Canada?
Why is it that people with criminal records are even allowed in the country?
How is it that they are supposed to be deported but are still here?
Why is it that honest hard working people who want to move to Canada are scrutinized so heavily while criminals enter and live here freely?
And now there is new bill proposed. A bill that requires all natural remedies and supplements to be available by prescription only. This is a ploy of the Pharmaceutical companies to protect their interests so that alternative natural remedies are not readily available. Not only is the whole bill a ridiculous idea, but it also will cost the government and hence the tax payers billions of dollars, hiking the already high cost of living even higher. OHIP has to cover the visits to the doctor for prescriptions, the consumer is now paying pharmacy prescription fees and supplements that do no harm at all but do only good are now not going to be available.
I have Multiple Sclerosis. When I was diagnosed, over two years ago, I used to fall down stairs, walk into walls and be constantly tired. I did not want to pay $35,000.00 annually for medication that I could neither afford, nor was I ever convinced that they did anything for the illness; probably only help my symptoms.
I went on Natural Remedies and Vitamin Supplements. Today, three years later, my symptoms are 85% gone and a recent MRI report shows no progression of the disease. The MS I am supposed to have only gets worse and it has not progressed thanks to the Vitamin supplements and the Natural remedies. I work full time, running a Corporate Catering business which requires a lot of time and energy. My supplements and natural therapies are my life line and now these are proposed not to be available.
In this day of free speech and choice, I am now possibly forced to poison my body and forced to consume the medications that have a high rate of death associated with them. Vitamins have no deaths. You will have noticed that medicine ads on TV: for every 20 second ad, there is a forty second blurb of side-effects.
Modern Day Communism disguised as Pro-Choice!!!
I went to the protest rally organized on Saturday and because the walk was so long, I went in a wheelchair with a sign “Don’t Kill Me, Kill the Bill.”
Sometimes I find that you bring up controversial issues because that is what you are paid to do but the follow up is highly lacking, igniting fires only to leave them burning.
Generally I enjoy your show and there will always be positive and negative comments.
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