Tories poised to slash regulatory red tape

We need to see more of this type of thing in Newfoundland.

Tories poised to slash regulatory red tape:

'via Blog this'

OCI denied permanent exemptions by province - Nfld. & Labrador - CBC News

Hmm, so the government is meddling again. Well, they have been from the start. I don't think the government should be trying to make business decisions for a private company. If they allow a company to fish, the province shouldn't then try to step in and control everything. They should let a private company with private investments make its own decisions. OCI has lost $10 million over three years. Soon they'll probably just quit altogether. Then where will the fish processing sector be? I'd say it's about time the government step aside and let business take over.

OCI denied permanent exemptions by province - Nfld. & Labrador - CBC News:

Canada Post Monopoly must End

The Canada Post Union is afraid that the corporation's decision to set up large community mail boxes with 20 or 30 addresses is just the beginning of cuts which will eventually affect employees. The Union does not want these large boxes, but would rather Canada Post pay more in overtime, wages, and any compensation because of injuries due to weather. Canada Post claims these large mail boxes are being set up for the safety of mail carriers.

The best solution to this problem is to end Canada Post's monopoly on mail delivery. Right now, it is illegal for someone other than Canada Post to deliver mail. They even challenged a court decision which would have allowed other organizations to handle international mail delivery.

The idea that no one could ever successfully compete against such a large organization cannot be sustained. First of all, a company would not have to start nation-wide. They could start locally in large areas. Small airlines for example, compete with Air Canada, even if these small ones don't offer nationwide service. Eventually they would grow. Other organizations should be allowed to provide mail delivery service, such as Fedex. There could be Fedex mailboxes, etc.

Competition improves everything. Imagine if there was only one grocery store. You'd get the same nonsense as you currently do with Canada Post.

Added:
There is a great article on this topic on Canada Business's website. It gives a good list of reasons why Canada Post should be privatized.

Here are some:

Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and Austria have privatized their post offices or opened their postal systems to competition—and studies say the changes led to lower costs, higher productivity and better service.

A recent study by the Montreal Economics Institute found that stamp prices declined in countries after de-regulating or privatizing mail delivery.

A 2007 study by professor Edward Iacobucci and colleagues concluded that monopoly status and the interests of unions prevented Canada Post from responding adequately to the: i) rise of new communication technologies such as electronic mail and ii) need to upgrade process technology in the areas of sorting, logistics, and information systems (and privatization was needed).

Thanks to the enhanced bargaining position enjoyed by a union in a monopoly industry, Canada Post’s unions has been able to marshal considerable resources for lobbying campaigns and other actions that disproportionately influence public debate and policy makers.

Government calls for public comments on postal service, as occurred during the federal government’s review of Canada Post in 2009, are likely to show lopsided support for public monopoly status given the unions’ ability to organize and orchestrate a response.

The benefits of privatization are well established in the academic, peer-reviewed literature; a 2001 review in the Journal of Economic Literature concluded that taxpayers gained through revenues from the sale of government assets and longer-term, privatization improved firm performance and increased economic growth.

This is a message Lorraine Michael desperately needs to hear

Before Lorraine Michael tries to promote affordable housing as a good thing and before Kathy Dunderdale listens to her, they should both take a look at this video:

Who Am I?

Today I thought it would be a good idea to provide someone with a nice meal, so I stuck a knife to a rich person and said to give me money or else. I used 20% of the money to pay for my rent, 30% to pay the salaries of people to distribute the money, 20% for random bureaucracy, and I used 30% to buy food for hungry people. I feel great about myself. Aren't I so generous and helpful?

Later I found another person who seemed fairly well off. I again robbed him. This time I used the first 70% of his money in the same way as above, and I gave the remaining 30% to an artist to produce some random music which I don't understand but which he assures me is "cultural".

Later, I robbed someone else. This time they were a hard-working middle class person. The funny thing is, I completely lost his money. It probably went to some red-tape or bureaucracy.

So, who am I? Of course, I'm the government!

Taxpayers' dollars spent to save taxpayers money??

I think the dumbest idea ever has to be TakeCHARGE NL. The purpose of TakeCHARGE is to help people save money on energy. Does this make any sense? First of all, every night on TV they present this stupid advertisement featuring talking insulation, and thermostats making bad puns. I've seen this commercial countless times, and the basic point is to tell people it's a good idea to save energy and money! But how many millions of dollars does this useless organization cost taxpayers? I want someone to tell me because I think they have an obligation to make people aware of this.

Not only do they spend tons of money on TV commercials during prime time, they spend money sending out brochures, maintaining an internet website and facebook page, and employing many people. This is total waste, and here's why.

PEOPLE WANT TO SAVE MONEY ANYWAY!!

Seriously, what makes this group think that unless they TELL people to save money, people will just waste it instead?? People are naturally inclined to reduce their energy bill. Private companies can easily sell cost-saving equipment and people will want to purchase them! It annoys me to no end that some "central planners" think that unless they help you make financial decisions, you will be completely helpless.

The irony is that they spend millions of YOUR dollars to tell you to save money. Seriously??

This program probably makes some people feel better. They feel they are "helping the environment", etc. The problem is this should all be voluntary, not paid for our of hard-earned tax dollars.

But what about the people who don't care enough about saving money on energy to research it for themselves? I think by asking that question, it is answered! If someone doesn't CARE about saving money on energy, that's their problem. They can pay for it.

We don't have advocacy groups telling people how to save money on groceries, or on cars, or refrigerators. People WANT to save money on their expenses, no government bureaucrats have to tell them to. It's just one of the basic tenets of economics - people want to spend less!

To those who say this is not government funding, it's funding by Newfoundland Hydro and Newfoundland Power. News Flash: They are public companies. If these were private companies, they would encourage people to buy more energy, not less.

So do we really need government bureaucrats telling us to spend less of our own money? Are you kidding me??

OCI already lost $10 million over three years - time to face reality

So the unions are belly-aching now because Ocean Choice International is shutting down its fish processing plant. They demand it be kept open. This is despite the fact that over the past 3 years, OCI has lost $10 million dollars. This should first of all highlight to these people that running a business is a profit and LOSS endeavor. Sure, it's possible to make millions of dollars, but as is clearly demonstrated here, it is also possible to LOSE millions of dollars.

Anyway, despite its dismal financial history, OCI offered to give workers another 18 weeks of work, then they would probably receive nearly a year in EI benefits. In all, these union workers would probably have well over a year to find new employment in a productive sector of the economy.

But this wasn't good enough for union reps. They demanded that the plant be kept open through massive subsidies into the foreseeable future. Never mind that this is a money-hole, these workers feel entitled to permanent work for their entire lives no matter what external factors present themselves.

The plant wasn't even going to fully shut down, 80% of it was.

Every single day, people lose jobs. But not everyone is a member of a whinny union which expects to be treated like royalty. Most people just lose their job then go find another one. They don't demand huge government subsidies to keep them afloat. We even have massive amounts of EI that everyone is entitled to.

Seriously, go find another job. You weren't born as a fish-plant worker. You can do something else, and you have over a year to find it.