Comments on The Burd Report: "We have gained back all the jobs we have lost in ...

Critical 1 seems to think all public works project...

2010-07-15T20:13:25.162-04:00

Critical 1 seems to think all public works projects are a waste of money just because some of them are. That defies logic.

While the givers of the funds need to do a much better job of allocating them, it would be wrong to tar all the work with the same brush and make the claim that none of them are worthwhile.

Building affordable housing for the thousands of poorly housed Canadians would be the best use of federal and provincial funds, along with restoring the rotting infrastructure of our cities and towns. Those projects would be a win-win for everybody.

So tell Mr Norlock that it's his government th...

2010-07-15T14:10:22.992-04:00

So tell Mr Norlock that it's his government that lumps them together!!

Ben, Since we don't live in Muskoka or the Kaw...

2010-07-15T10:42:47.835-04:00

Ben, Since we don't live in Muskoka or the Kawarthas these regional statistics are next to worthless. If you can't get some statistics for Nothumberland County alone it is pointless.

As for your solution of "New Deal" style public works-- do you consider spending $27 million on sports frills or $6 million on a duplicate train station a solution to unemployment? This money should be put to job training, teaching the unemployed some job skills, how to retrofit our heritage buildings for energy efficiency, for example.

to Anonymous, if one does not agree with the premi...

2010-07-14T13:50:22.377-04:00

to Anonymous, if one does not agree with the premise, how is one to provide "answers". The point of the questions is to better understand the arguments behind the original post and perhaps offer comment at some point, if it resonates. But, Anonymous, feel free to chime in with your own "answers".

Interesting that trying2makesense wants not just c...

2010-07-14T08:36:18.324-04:00

Interesting that trying2makesense wants not just criticism, but answers; however trying2makesense only criticizes the critic and offers no answers of his/her own.

this is the usual crap that the government puts ou...

2010-07-13T16:23:22.102-04:00

this is the usual crap that the government puts out. Make it general, repeat it often enough and people will believe it.

"Ontario's employment was up 60,000 in June, the sixth consecutive monthly gain. This brings employment increases in the province to 187,000 (+2.9%) since July 2009. With these gains, Ontario's employment is slightly below its pre-recession level. In June, the unemployment rate fell 0.6 percentage points to 8.3%, the lowest since January 2009."

I prefer to put it into local context so that Mr Norlock repeats it we know it is not true in his riding.
As to the solution: we have to get back to New Deal public works. Municipalites have a multi billion dollar onfrastructure deficit. That can be paid for by cancelling the latest round of corporate tax cuts that aren't needed and in fact the way they are structured we now are subsidising the American tax system.

To put it simply the point of the post was to show that in this area we are still not near the number of jobs we had in June 2008 and we still have 2000 more people unemployed than then. Probably more than 2000 because the early claimants don't get counted any more they are "discouraged workers"

"Ontario's employment was up 60,000 in Ju...

2010-07-13T12:09:07.943-04:00

"Ontario's employment was up 60,000 in June, the sixth consecutive monthly gain. This brings employment increases in the province to 187,000 (+2.9%) since July 2009. With these gains, Ontario's employment is slightly below its pre-recession level. In June, the unemployment rate fell 0.6 percentage points to 8.3%, the lowest since January 2009."

This paragraph may be more indicative of what's going on, more-so than a simple chart. Now, more to the point, what needs to happen? What do you recommend as a course of action? If it requires government funds, where should they be drawn from (what area will have to do with less), (unless you advocate for more tax revenue to support your plan)?

It's all well and good to keep pointing out the problems but to what end, if you have no suggestions on how to effect a beneficial change. I'm not sure I get the purpose of your original post, unless it is simply to point fingers and perhaps imply that it's a governmental policy matter and that things would be different, meaning 'better', if someone else were in charge.

in your view, what's to be done to improve the...

2010-07-13T09:43:42.596-04:00

in your view, what's to be done to improve the situation?