Lemmy Lemmy:
The problem is you can't prove a negative. If the deal does seem bad for Canada, how can we know that, if we hadn't signed it, things would have been even worse?
I've not read the ins and outs of the deal and trade economics isn't my forte, but in general, the world is liberalizing trade. We can try to be isolationist but that absolutely will hurt Canada far more than being part of the globalization movement. Of that last point I'm certain. And maybe this deal isn't the right deal, but if it isn't, that doesn't mean we should scrap the whole idea of a deal. As the thread title suggests, the details ought to be the issue, not whether we do a deal or not.
And Marty, dude, there isn't a single thing that Canada's government has done in your lifetime that you think has been in the best interests of the country? Really, or are you just being your usual grumpy self?
I could make this into a Khar length post, but I'll try to keep it short.
Auto Pact was a good deal for us, all our numbers went up.
However, the work stayed in Southern Ontario, did not get spread out across the country, was too sensitive to the US economy, and did not help create a Canadian auto industry, by keeping all R&D in the US.
NAFTA has been a 50-50. Some jobs created, but we opened up for way too many Canadian companies to be taken over by foreigners, and adding Mexico a third world country has hurt our industrial base.
I don't believe everyone is cut out for, or should go to university.
When you agree, then you should also agree that we need to maintain a strong industrial
base, so the non-university types can get work and provide for a family.
So making deals with countries that have much lower standards of living and much lower labour costs isn't always a good idea. We hurt our own industrial workers, screw up our
industrial abilities and training, so now we make stupid decisions like buying ferries from the Germans, and subs from the Brits. We should be making these things ourselves.
We have lost whatever economic pressure we might have had with the US.
The clear evidence is in the softwood lumber fights, and Keystone.
The Americans just don't give a fuck, because they own us more and more every day.
We are still hewers of wood and drawers of water, and now we can see since all commodity
prices are in the doldrums, we are getting hurt really badly.
House prices in Fort Crack are off 20%, or $120,000 per house. I imagine Calgary and
Edmonton aren't that far behind, or will be in the spring, once EI starts running out.
I haven't read the TPP either, but I imagine it will be more of the same:
Chinese drywall
Vietnamese fish
Indonesian heavy production
Thai wood
and more South American food will all come flying into Canada, to the detriment
of our heavy and agricultural industries.
Fine for them, but then how are our living standards doing ?
Freedom 55, remember that ?
I remember the ads, don't see that many people doing it though.
As we keep spending money on everyone else's crap, we don't make or buy our own crap.
They rise, we fall. It really is a race to the bottom.
I'm sure the corporations will do fine, though.
Lemmy Lemmy:
One solution, which I've supported since forever, is to eliminate the corporation as a legal form of business ownership. The whole notion of a "dummy corporation" is redundant. That's what they all are, dummies. Business owners oughtn't be able to absolve themselves from liability for the actions of their companies.
Might be an interesting idea, but it is sooooooooooo not going to happen.
CKA Uber 
CKA Moderator 
CKA Moderator 
That's precisely how VW got away with it's bullshit, because no one was allowed to reverse engineer the code in their cars to see if it was legit or not. Now with cars becoming more and more connected, how can I be sure that I am not vulnerable? How can I even make minor repairs if the virtual 'hood' is welded shut on me? And I'm taking a course on Internet of Things security, and basically what we are learning is; there is no security on IoT devices. 
Don't get me wrong, companies that pump out fake Gucci bags and barely functioning car parts should face huge fines and/or lengthy prison sentences. But I don't think some Grandma should be bankrupted by legal costs or corporate extortion because her grandson downloaded a song on her wi-fi. I also don't think some guy handycamming a movie should face more jail time than a rapist.
