Canadian Federal Politics Thread v5

[PepsiFree]

I prefer my favourite journalists to ask rhetorical questions on Twitter to cut out the pointlessness of getting an answer and cut straight to the fun of the comments section.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by calculoso

Do we ever ask if suits or ties are ever chosen to match?

Personally, i would not have likely even noticed it if brian did not comment. i guess to me the turban is far more visible than his tie

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

here in western canada weston's superstore corporate color is yellow

I don’t believe it is, nor do I believe the company uses different corporate colours for different regions of the country. Yellow is the colour of their no name brand but that’s about the only possible link here.

[Mr.Coffee]

re: Singh's questioning against Weston.

The line of questioning is an easy appeal to emotion. Singh, as usual, uses the word "profit" as some kind of evil to be dispelled. However, it is a reasonable question and a complex issue, and I do think even just launching the questions in the first place is a bit of a warning shot.

When asked "how much profit is too much profit?" (which is a weird question, because obviously there is never enough profit in business), Weston responded that they are actually losing money in some categories; to which Singh counters that they have record profits and then grandstands some more as only he knows how.

Both parties are being disingenuous. It should not be illegal for Weston to profit but they need to acknowledge the fiercely rising costs on items that people literally need to survive. Nothing stopping Weston from releasing its cost and margins on all products if they are being honest that margins aren't too high (and I'd argue anything up to +15-20% range is fair / reasonable).

On the other hand, it's not up to the court of public opinion, and never has been, to question businesses and get into the details of their pricing. If the market was a competitive space for lower priced competitors, they would enter and eat up Weston's market share. So why aren't they doing that? What is stopping people from starting a business and making BILLIONS? Singh knows this, but he likes to appeal to emotion and heart strings and frame businesses as "pure greed" when they are in fact a fundamental pillar to society, one that he and his followers require hundreds of times on a daily basis to exist.

The other side too, if exploding costs are really that troublesome for Weston and the justification for rapidly escalating pricing, why not just show the numbers publicly? Nothing is stopping them.

Overall, I give the exchange a D, both sides were poor at getting their message across.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

re: Singh's questioning against Weston.

The line of questioning is an easy appeal to emotion. Singh, as usual, uses the word "profit" as some kind of evil to be dispelled. However, it is a reasonable question and a complex issue, and I do think even just launching the questions in the first place is a bit of a warning shot.

When asked "how much profit is too much profit?" (which is a weird question, because obviously there is never enough profit in business), Weston responded that they are actually losing money in some categories; to which Singh counters that they have record profits and then grandstands some more as only he knows how.

Both parties are being disingenuous. It should not be illegal for Weston to profit but they need to acknowledge the fiercely rising costs on items that people literally need to survive. Nothing stopping Weston from releasing its cost and margins on all products if they are being honest that margins aren't too high (and I'd argue anything up to +15-20% range is fair / reasonable).

On the other hand, it's not up to the court of public opinion, and never has been, to question businesses and get into the details of their pricing. If the market was a competitive space for lower priced competitors, they would enter and eat up Weston's market share. So why aren't they doing that? What is stopping people from starting a business and making BILLIONS? Singh knows this, but he likes to appeal to emotion and heart strings and frame businesses as "pure greed" when they are in fact a fundamental pillar to society, one that he and his followers require hundreds of times on a daily basis to exist.

The other side too, if exploding costs are really that troublesome for Weston and the justification for rapidly escalating pricing, why not just show the numbers publicly? Nothing is stopping them.

Overall, I give the exchange a D, both sides were poor at getting their message across.

I am not a fan on the theatrics, but it is the government's responsibility to hold private corporation's responsible. It is part of the checks and balances of a democratic society. Maybe it is a little miss guided in this instance, but it is a crucial process.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

re: Singh's questioning against Weston.

The line of questioning is an easy appeal to emotion. Singh, as usual, uses the word "profit" as some kind of evil to be dispelled. However, it is a reasonable question and a complex issue, and I do think even just launching the questions in the first place is a bit of a warning shot.

When asked "how much profit is too much profit?" (which is a weird question, because obviously there is never enough profit in business), Weston responded that they are actually losing money in some categories; to which Singh counters that they have record profits and then grandstands some more as only he knows how.

Both parties are being disingenuous. It should not be illegal for Weston to profit but they need to acknowledge the fiercely rising costs on items that people literally need to survive. Nothing stopping Weston from releasing its cost and margins on all products if they are being honest that margins aren't too high (and I'd argue anything up to +15-20% range is fair / reasonable).

On the other hand, it's not up to the court of public opinion, and never has been, to question businesses and get into the details of their pricing. If the market was a competitive space for lower priced competitors, they would enter and eat up Weston's market share. So why aren't they doing that? What is stopping people from starting a business and making BILLIONS? Singh knows this, but he likes to appeal to emotion and heart strings and frame businesses as "pure greed" when they are in fact a fundamental pillar to society, one that he and his followers require hundreds of times on a daily basis to exist.

The other side too, if exploding costs are really that troublesome for Weston and the justification for rapidly escalating pricing, why not just show the numbers publicly? Nothing is stopping them.

Overall, I give the exchange a D, both sides were poor at getting their message across.

I think the bolded is because of oligopolies. The cost of entry into the market makes it not possible to set up a competitive option which allows the current dominant groups in the market to set prices without the threat of competition. There is not real meaningful competition due to high barriers to entry.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

I don’t believe it is, nor do I believe the company uses different corporate colours for different regions of the country. Yellow is the colour of their no name brand but that’s about the only possible link here.

More on this silly topic: Superstore is openly branded in blue and red, but most staff where black. President's Choice is the house brand for Superstore while the yellow No Name is the house and colour brand for stores like No Frills.

It's not racist for Lilley to speculate on the political motivations of Singh's colour choice, but it is intellectually arresting.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

So why aren't they doing that? What is stopping people from starting a business and making BILLIONS?

Is this a serious question?

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Is this a serious question?

What? Obviously not. Anyway to GGG's point, the real point Singh should be making to Weston is that there will be fundamental system changes to eliminate barriers to entry for new competition if businesses cannot control their pricing and margins reasonably.

Can be pretty much that blunt, I'd think.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Obviously not. But to GGG's point, the real point Singh should be making to Weston is that there will be fundamental system changes to eliminate barriers to entry for new competition if businesses cannot control their pricing and margins reasonably.

Can be pretty much that blunt, I'd think.

Don't think that's the point as much as he's pointing out corporate greed. Conservatives are trying to paint inflation as a fiscal policy issue, when in fact corporate greed may or may not be the bigger factor.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by GGG

I think the bolded is because of oligopolies. The cost of entry into the market makes it not possible to set up a competitive option which allows the current dominant groups in the market to set prices without the threat of competition. There is not real meaningful competition due to high barriers to entry.

And one part of inflation is easiest explained by restriction of available goods.

If there were more competition / more goods available, prices would come down.

The oligopolies have cemented their place to make sure that doesn't happen.

Also true in the telecom industry, and also why Canadians pay more there than other countries.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Azure

And one part of inflation is easiest explained by restriction of available goods.

If there were more competition / more goods available, prices would come down.

The oligopolies have cemented their place to make sure that doesn't happen.

Also true in the telecom industry, and also why Canadians pay more there than other countries.

This too.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Don't think that's the point as much as he's pointing out corporate greed. Conservatives are trying to paint inflation as a fiscal policy issue, when in fact corporate greed may or may not be the bigger factor.

Interesting point.

If corporate greed is say 25% of the problem, raising interest rates isn't enough to tame inflation.

[GioforPM]

I see Theo has provided some deep thoughts as usual.

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/...gime-in-canada

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Azure

Interesting point.

If corporate greed is say 25% of the problem, raising interest rates isn't enough to tame inflation.

Yeah, it's a complex problem because you likely need to use different interventions for each industry. Raising interest rates 25% might cool the housing market, but it's not going to do much for other costs of living.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Don't think that's the point as much as he's pointing out corporate greed. Conservatives are trying to paint inflation as a fiscal policy issue, when in fact corporate greed may or may not be the bigger factor.

Where / when are Conservatives citing this? Please provide links / evidence.

Agree that corporate greed should not run unchecked though and that it is a factor in rising costs. How we determine "more or less" of a factor than inflation is an impossible question to answer, though.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Where / when are Conservatives citing this? Please provide links / evidence.

https://www.conservative.ca/highest-...urther-behind/

“The cost of the Liberal government is driving up the cost of living. The more Prime Minister Trudeau spends, the more things will cost. Today’s CPI numbers showing prices for food (+10.8%) rose at the fastest pace in 40 years prove life is getting harder for Canadians trying to make ends meet.

“After two years of warnings by the Conservatives, the Trudeau government still doesn’t have a plan to fix inflation. They’ve proposed legislation that prints more cash, borrows more money, and throws gasoline on the inflationary fire the Prime Minister created.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

How we determine "more or less" of a factor than inflation is an impossible question to answer, though.

I don't think it's impossible to prove. If companies are creating false scarcity and charging higher prices despite not paying increased wages or other associated costs, that's going to increase inflation faster than almost any government monetary policy.

[redforever]

Milk saw a big increase due to the fact that dairy producers received two increases last year. Eggs saw a big increase due to avian bird flu resulting in hundreds of thousands of chickens having to be culled. . Transportation costs are another factor due to the increase in the cost of energy as well as carbon taxes.

Those things are out of control of grocers.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by redforever

Milk saw a big increase due to the fact that dairy producers received two increases last year. Eggs saw a big increase due to avian bird flu resulting in hundreds of thousands of chickens having to be culled. . Transportation costs are another factor due to the increase in the cost of energy as well as carbon taxes.

Those things are out of control of grocers.

For sure. It's also beyond anything the government does policy-wise.