Get out and Vote

[headdamage]

You can't complain if you don't

[Red90]

Posted 19 minutes before the polls close.  LOL.

[ugly_90]

Hey, that's ok. If you can't decide who to vote for, I do know of a fellow near Onoway who could lead you through it.. :) hehe.

[binch]

Lovejugs can't vote so that puts him in the distinct position of being able to complain guilt free  ;D

[Trevor]

I voted! Very important thing to do, because giving up the right to complain would be just plain silly. What would we do with our time otherwise!?

[headdamage]

Given the results of the election how long will it be before we have double digit interest rates and houses selling for a dollar again like in the 80's?

[B-Red]

On the bright side, our rigs can be converted to canoes as we sail down the river to lake Winnipeg

[binch]

Given the results of the election how long will it be before we have double digit interest rates and houses selling for a dollar again like in the 80's?

I had money in the bank during the 80's making good interest, while silly farts at my office were rushing out buying houses before the rates went higher.....at 18%!?!?!??!      I made out okay in it all ;-)

[Trevor]

Given the results of the election how long will it be before we have double digit interest rates and houses selling for a dollar again like in the 80's?

I had money in the bank during the 80's making good interest, while silly farts at my office were rushing out buying houses before the rates went higher.....at 18%!?!?!??!      I made out okay in it all ;-)

Yessir, you make an extremely lucid observation Bill. The interest rate policies championed by Greenspan, going back to the Reagan era, which took hold and really gained traction into this century, culminating in the Zero Interest Rate Policies (ZIRP) that are currently championed by all central banks, have certainly served to slaughter savers. But that's the only way to keep the house of cards standing...they have pushed these policies for so long now that real economic strength (ex-government intervention/manipulation) simply does not exist anywhere on the globe. China, when examining real data, is in a recession and has been for some time. The US economy is equally weak, with participation rates in the labour force so low that you have to go back to the early 70's to find similarly weak numbers. Worse, the jobs they have been creating over the last 3 decades, and certainly the last 10 years, are low paying service based jobs that neither generate wealth for the populace or strength for the long term economic health of the country.

Canada, of course, followed suit and is on equally shaky ground. Our banks are some of the weakest, most vulnerable around. We mistakenly pride ourselves on strong banks, but in reality when you look at the top 10 most exposed banks in the unregulated (and unprotected) shadow banking industry, the top 5 Canadian banks are all there. CIBC in fact was #2 last time I checked. But when it hits the fan, we, the Canadian tax payer will bail them out, and suffer greatly for it. Heck, it is little known that Harper bailed out the Canadian banks for 175 billion during the 2008/09 crisis. An amazing number when you consider the US TARP program was only 750 billion, and their banks/economy absolutely dwarf Canada's.

Historically, safe vehicles for generating wealth such as Canada Savings Bonds, etc, were the norm, and they were viable because we allowed the economy to fluctuate and interest rates followed in kind. These safe savings vehicles allowed for a few things to happen...people generated liquid and sustainable wealth because they actually, you know, saved. It also allowed for something else very important to happen...pension funds. In an environment where you have real positive interest rates, pension funds can flourish and generate sustainable wealth for their members. But in ZIRP, or near-ZIRP, environments pension funds are forced into higher and higher risk ventures for return, and most are not keeping up. We are starting to see some topple, and that trend will continue. If you have a pension, there's no assurance it will last. And if you are expecting one, its anything but assured. And that's a big part of the reason companies all got out of the pension game. It all echo's the grand weakness of the current economic system.

Its a full on trap now though, and its going to be very interesting to see how things unwind. We build ever-larger bubbles, we refuse to make businesses (and people) pay for poor decisions by simply letting banks/companies/people go broke. But to keep the house of cards standing they MUST keep rates low now because the entire foundation will crumble if the spending stops. It is a system, and populace, that presumes they can mortgage their holiday trailer for 30 years, got a house far larger than they should ever be able to afford, or buy the latest iPhone/iPad/iIdiocy every few months. If the consumer stops consuming and starts saving, its over. The economic power brokers and their political whipping boys know that, and can't let that happen.

It is good to live in interesting times.

[binch]

Holy Crap Trevor!!!!    You must be bored at work today ahahahhahahahahah   Or have you got a crown out ;-)

ah yes, Reagannomics...the beginning of the end.    And I remember CSB's too!   But my favourite is my Province of Ontario Saving office account handed down to me from my grandfather.   It's now owned by some credit union down there and last time I check my pass book (yes, I still have a pass book for that account) I paid $2 more in service fees then I earned in interest.   I haven't made a withdrawl in the account in the past 20 years...just dividend cheques from Ma bell.    I just shake my head an think of the 20 year draught that is my rainy day fund ahhahahahhhahahaha

cheers big guy!!!!! ;)

[ugly_90]

I have to restrain myself a bit here, and remember that this is an automotive forum. However, the way things appear now, is that if you liked 1983, and 1993, then you're going to love 2016.

On a land rover note, it is again my opinion, that you likely won't be seeing Canadian exchange rates like this much longer. I was spending carefully on my recent trip to the UK, and heavy items from the US are much more dear to ship now than in recent memory.

Just me, but if you're thinking to buy large or expensive foreign landy bits, I can see reason why it may be more painful in a year or two's time.

[binch]

Yup, UK is recovering from the back collapse they shared with the US.  They've paid the banks their billions so they could keep their bonuses and now the UK's exchange rates are recovering again.   Sorry to say it lads but reality is going to give us a good kick in the butt in these coming days.   But for those exmods out there that have been taking their pensions converted to Canadian dollars.    Congratulations on the 25% increase in pay ;-)

[Trevor]

Heheh, yep, was a slow day at the office Bill. :)

I'm not as fearful as most Albertan's about the Liberal victory. I remember Trudeau's father well, and absolutely loathed the man. But Justin is not his father, and their policy platform on key areas that affect Alberta have no resemblance whatsoever to the Liberal Party of decades past. The sky isn't falling.

Besides, seeing Harper, and Bill C-51, gone is the single most important thing about this election. The crushing of the rights of the individual to the benefit of the state was simply something I could not stomach. And fortunately the Liberals have pledged to put the proper checks and balances of the courts into that bill, as should have been there in the first place. The politics of fear and hate have left the building with Harper. Good riddance. I'm a very happy guy as a result.

[Red90]

I might suggest that this sort of topic is best left to the camp fire.  It rarely works well across the internet, IME.

[binch]

Yup....he should have had a series 11a and his life would have been so much simpler ;)   Yeah....and a campfire....that would have helped too