So, what’s Santa bringing you this year?  Have you been naughty or nice? I guess the real question should be, how naughty have you been? Everyone is naughty; it’s a matter of to what degree. I wish I could say that I was angelic throughout 2015, but alas, I can’t. Look, I tried but I’m being completely honest. Yes, my potty mouth ran miles when encountering bicyclists on the road, listening to politicians, watching the Blue Jays lose; sometimes at work, sometimes at home, while driving, while walking on the sidewalk, while watching the Vancouver Canucks,  while shopping, while parking my car, while watching soccer,  while dealing with contractors, while awake. Damn, maybe I should work on my colourful language? That’s exactly what I’m going to do, starting with the next paragraph.  I’m still pissed at Santa. I left the fat bastard milk and cookies last year, you know, to be nice. But did he eat the cookies and drink the milk? Nooooo. What he did do is help himself to some of my Remy Martin XO Cognac. I know it’s true because everyone in my household said so. With the exception of our 14 year old. He said it was his sister.

Yes, it’s the season to be nice or at least pretend you are. It’s a bit of a challenge getting into the spirit this year. Here I am in Toronto, Wednesday, December 23^rd and its plus 14° today. This reminds me of when I lived in Vancouver, no snow but plenty of rain. That makes some people sad because Christmas just doesn’t seem like Christmas for them without snow on the ground. Really? These same people get pissed, (damn, I just broke my promise above) when they have to drudge through slush and snow on the 26^th. The mind is such a terrible thing to waste. I can’t really even complain about the hustle and bustle of shopping this year. I think I purchased 95% of my gifts on-line, as did everyone else in our household.  You’re Welcome, FedEx.  One final note (more…)

It looks like our neighbours south of the border will get something “special” this holiday season; like an interest rate hike. After almost nine years the U.S Federal Reserve rate is about to be increased.  Chairwoman, Janet Yellen, has been itching to raise rates for a while now, and the latest economic data from the U.S. gives her an opportunity scratch that itch. A rate hike is a signal to Americans, and the global economy, that worst is behind them, and the need for government to stimulate the economy is in the rear view mirror.

Or is it? The U.S. November job report indicated that over 200k jobs were added to the work force, their dollar is soaring, the unemployment rate has been cut almost in half to where it stood in 2008, so what’s not to be giddy about? Well, there is data to support that consumer spending, housing starts, and job creation have flattened. So the question is what happens if their economy has flattened, while at the same time the overnight lending rate is going up? Some pundits are actually suggesting that raising the rates now gives the Fed some wiggle room if they have to lower rate, yet again, to stimulate the economy. It’s not as if this hasn’t happened before.  Like back in 1930′s, a rate hike, followed by a quick rate drop, all the while knee deep in the Great Depression. Yeah – that little historical nuisance.

So what does the Fed’s move to increase rates mean for us here in Canada? For the time being, not much. We normally walk in lockstep with the U.S. Fed, but we’re about to decouple from that standard practice, and continue on the path we are on today. The reality is that our economy is still too fragile to mimic the Fed’s move. The oil sector in this country has been hammered, and the fallout has been far reaching. Some are suggesting (more…)

We clearly don’t care – and yet we should. Not only should we care but we should be very concerned about the direction and mandate we gave our governments. Ontario’s Auditor General, Bonnie Lysyk, just delivered a scathing report on the Ontario Liberal parties attempt to better the environment, and more to the point, manage electrical power in the province of Ontario; as well as their handling of all government agencies. The Auditor General took the Ontario Liberal government to the verbal woodshed, and gave them a spanking that was rightly deserved. There was no sugar-coating the truth or leaving room for spin.

Most of us are accustomed to hearing about government waste. Regrettably, government waste has become like death and taxes. Fight it all you want, rile against it, but you’ll always finish in second. But when an audit is released, which rivals that of FIFA’s (international governing body of football), all of us should be very worried about finishing second. Here’s an excerpt from today’s National Post:

“By ignoring their own energy planning legislation, the Liberal government has cost consumers billions on their hydro bills. The average electricity bill rose 70% between 2006 and 2014, at least in part because the government ignored its own expert advice, the report notes. That has already cost consumers $37 billion in payments to power generators under what the government calls Global Adjustment.  By 2032 they will pay another $133 billion or $170 billion over 26 years”. 

It’s almost impossible to square those numbers, and to rationalize it because it’s so outlandish.  To make matters worse, when your own experts have been telling you not to do this and that your plan is horribly flawed, but you chose to ignore the council for ideological reasons, it is the highest form of tax payer contempt. (more…)