Quote:
Originally Posted by Bend it like Bourgeois
Don't feel sorry for the business, feel sorry for the people who used to work there.
Lots of small businesses are emotional, not rational, and some tire of being kicked in the stones and just close. Maybe they would stay open if the costs were market driven and they thought the future will be different. Either way, their employees are out of work.
Businesses that are more rational and can stay open (the majority) pass on the extra costs. Just as they would any market driven cost. A fuel charge if they can, higher prices where they can, and reducing costs if they have to.
There's a largish retail operation in Alberta that is looking at 5-10m in extra costs for the AB government policies. It'll cost them 500k just to administer the carbon tax for example. No way their leadership just eats 5-10m. It'll come out of labour. Fewer jobs, fewer hours, fewer benefits. And they'll raise prices on top of that because their job is to grow their bottom line not cry when it shrinks.
There's a smaller operation i know that has canned a few jobs, bought some new equipment and reduced front line hours, implemented split shifts so they can shave more hours, and eliminated benefits entirely. The owners will make slightly less than before but they'll be fine.
I think people (not meaning you specifically) get hung up trying to win a grade school economics debate and forget that for the people out of a job it's not academic. For hundreds or maybe thousands of albertans it's not a 1% decrease in profits it's a 30% or 100% decrease in wages. Rebate cheques and vague ideas of investing in clean jobs won't help them a bit.
At a time when the economy is already hurting it's just bad policy.
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I never said I supported the CT.
Just pointing out that the hysteria over how it will ruin everything is hypocrisy in light what the PCs did right before the election.