I Like USA Shopping And Charest Government Caving

Every so often I read the newspaper (particularly when I visit my parents or mother in-law). They always have a paper lying around somewhere. So why not read it?

A couple of topics captured my eye.

The first is about "cross border shopping." Particularly how it's argued to "take away jobs" from Canadians.

Bunch of stupid, nationalist bull shit. Canada, as a whole, is not a finished manufacturing based economy. We left that off the table a long, long, time ago. No "jobs are lost" since we pretty much import everything from the USA.

What these protectionist boobs are essentially saying is that we be forced (or at leas be patriotic) to be double, if not triple the price, for certain goods and services in Canada. Accept price gouging for the flag! We can't compete with America's economies of scale and never will. Not only that, we gain access to products not yet in Canada because some bureaucrat has to "ok it."

Until the Canadian government goes fascist and outlaws shopping (or increases tariffs) in the USA, I will continue to shop there (including on the internet) for clothes, car parts, certain food items, wines etc.

You'd be a fool not to.

Nowhere in Canada can you find Calvin Klein or Kenneth Cole at deep discount prices! In Quebec, the price of wine is ridiculous if not outrageous. About $4 more, on average, than what I can get in the States. Then again, we do have to pay their salaries. If I'm not mistaken, SAQ workers earn about $21/hr. The same job down south is perhaps $12.

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I'm simply floored by the fact that Jean Charest is "negociating" with union-backed student leaders who probably don't speak for the majority. He has not an ounce of pride or leadership.

I read an interesting letter to the editor by someone who made a simple and logical case against the farce of the student protests.

The main tenet of the argument being that back in 1962, the cost of tuition was $525 to earn an engineering degree. The Consumer Price Index rose 7.6% since then. 7.6 times $525 is $3390. That's the minimum they should be paying adjusted for inflation.

There really isn't a debate but yet the students are asking for a freeze after the government insanely offered to lower the initial $325 (spread over seven years)?