justcaws.com

Those protesting against internet piracy and copyright laws must remember that protecting individuals who create new materials spurs innovation and creativity. The internet and countless other inventions and innovations occur most often in countries that reward and protect those who come first.

It is by no accident that countries like the U.S. who aggressively enforce their strict anti-piracy and patent laws, are world leaders in innovation. While countries like China lead the world in copy cat production because of weak patent enforcement.

Obviously the current versions of SOPA and PIPA have to be tweaked, but it is wrong to claim that they have no place in protecting creators in cyber space.

Coming up with a fair and balanced approach of how to do this on the internet may take time. But it should not include the abandoning of any piracy regulation. That would be an outdated response that pushes us back not forward.

With RIM’s stock continuing to tank – the blackberry maker continues to be a lightening rod for business discussion and speculation.

What has been missing from the chatter is what makes RIM different from most businesses that are takeover targets.

Governments and corporations around the world continue to use blackberry as their mobile devices. The amount of sensitive data that transmits through RIM is enormous. The high level encryption and security standards continue to be RIM’s competitive advantage in holding its enterprise customer base – recent service interruptions notwithstanding .

If another company or individual tried to acquire RIM, the government of Canada would be under immense pressure to scrutinise the deal in order to ensure international security risks were addressed.

Whether a deal could or would ever be approved is mired in the certainty of uncertainty. This may be why no takeover attempt has been made to this point – even though it seems ripe for the taking. No company is going to bother making such a move if it knows it has no hope of getting government approval.

If anyone was looking to takeover or control RIM it could be the Canadian government. Yes, I know that may sound absurd, but if a state government such as the U.S. were concerned that RIM was being managed in such a way that could potentially lead to sensitive data transfers being compromised, it could push Canadian authorities to heavily regulate or even control RIM.

This of course is predicated upon RIM
remaining the gold standard for secure mobile communication. If this is compromised or duplicated then all bets are off. The talk and rumours surrounding RIM will disappear – along likely with RIM itself.

So what does the future of RIM hold. I suspect it will remain in its current form for quite sometime as long as its leading position in data encryption remains secure. There seems to be no marketing geniuses over there so it all comes down to the product.

It is for this reason I would be reluctant to throw Co-Ceo Mike Lazzaridis aside in any management shake up. He is the man that holds all the keys in keeping RIM secure and possibly coming up with anything new.

Classic example of this comes from the ban Wal-Mart crowd. Many of the people who would ban Wal-mart to protect jobs, never shop there. Yet they would deprive low-income families in their community from benefiting from the low-cost products made available.

When it comes to solutions we have seen what works. Strong universal public systems (health and education) that provide an equality of opportunity have proven to be effective. Welfare programs that try and correct inequity have not.

Individuals with mental illness and substance abuse issues are a top public health concern. Economic solutions, however do not work with this group because policy success here depends on people acting in a rational manner. While those suffering need support, it needs to come from the healthcare system. Yes more resources will be needed but a compassionate society needs to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves.

Understanding the plight of the sane and sober who live in poverty through no fault of their own need is a first step. Only then can we look at developing targeted public policy for poverty reduction.

But let’s not confuse the working poor with someone with a drug or mental condition. Both groups suffer, but the solutions to prevent their situation and ultimately get them to overcome are very different.

Some possible solutions to follow.

The Ontario Liberals plan to to provide employers with a tax credit of up to $10,000, in return for hiring skilled, recent immigrants is a divisive job creation scheme. Governments should create across the board tax and regulatory reforms that will allow business to flourish and create economic prosperity for all. 

No one disputes that skilled immigrants should be in jobs they are qualified to do. Nobody wants a  skilled Doctor driving a taxi cab. But this problem is caused more by regulatory obstacles than a lack of will by employers to hire qualified individuals.

Criticize this plan and Liberals will label you anti-immigrant. Fortunately, I believe many independent voters won’t fall for this obvious trap. They will see this plan for what it is – another misguided Dalton job creation scheme that pits winners vs. losers.  A change of leadership is needed in this province that understands that you listen to the needs of everyone and provide economic opportunity for all.

Glad to see Warren Buffett step up with his recent comments.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-15/buffett-urges-congress-to-raise-taxes-on-coddled-billionaires.html.

While I do believe in tax cuts directed to the middle class here in Canada, the tax system in my birth country has become completely out of whack.

It is heartening to see such a prominent business leader clearly explain using his own tax situation as an example of how disproportionate the American tax burden has become.

Don’t throw me in with the Robin Hood tax the rich crowd either though. I believe in a balanced,
progressive approach, where sufficient funds are raised for the good of society while still providing incentive for wealth accumulation.

Striking that balance requires trust. It is lost when tax dollars are not spent in a judicious manner and are directed toward items that are no longer seen by the majority as being in the public good. A lack of trust on behalf of the electorate that money will be spent wisely causes a natural knee jerk reaction to cut taxes.

What voters need to do is look beyond the rhetoric and see what programs they want and what they are willing to spend to run them. Those jurisdictions that have spent beyond their means and accumulated debt, most also factor repayment in their equation.

As Canadians we shouldn’t be too smug about our fiscal situation compared to the U.S.. Ours is certainly better at the moment. But at least the U.S. is finally starting to have an adult conversation about what they want to pay for and how much they are willing to spend. 2012 should be an election of significant consequence in America’s future.

When was the last time we had one of those in Canada?

While playing with my two boys recently, I realized why the U.S. elects a national Republican Government more often than not.  When my youngest doesn’t get his way playing in the backyard he throws a fit and holds up the game until his older brother or I cave in and he gets his way.  Usually, I will just tell him ”tough” and end the game. But sometimes I must admit due to the enjoyment of playing the game and the time it can take to set up, the desire for peace wins out over justice. Unfortunately, caving only emboldens my five year old to choose chaos over compromise.

I notice this same approach seems to work for the Republican party. If it doesn’t get its way and win power, they go into full suck mode and will go against any move that might make the governing Democrats look good. Even if that means going against what is in the best interest of the country. That is of no concern to them.  The only thing that does matter is getting back in power. If that means following  their scorched earth playbook to the end – so be it.

Look at this debt crisis – the Democrats under Obama – put entitlement spending on the block,  and came off their position for the good of the country.  The Republicans wouldn’t even budge on tax reform to close loopholes in a tax system that all parties agree, is out dated, unfair, and inefficient. It is clear they wanted no deal – they wanted Rome to burn.  Now with the S&P downgrade – its burning baby.  Republicans are like the back -up quarterback who is thrilled to watch his team’s offense tank under the first stringer, hoping it gets him off the bench.  

It pains me to paint all Republicans with this negative brush, but I am still waiting for a sane member of that party to break ranks for the good of their country.  I respect discipline, but destructive stubbornness is a whole other matter.  Every prudent observer has urged that a balanced approach is needed for the U.S. to solve its fiscal mess.  The tax levels in that country are low – really low. The United States is one of the least-taxed countries in the developed world. They pay much lower taxes than any other G7 country. You don’t have to give up your Conservative principles to see that balance has been lost. You do however have to believe that government still plays an important role in a democractic, progressive society.

Now the G.O.P. has made a scene and stopped the game and everyone is taking notice.  But don’t expect Republicans to be punished in 2012. Most of the American public sees their nonsense for what it is, but lacks the will to punish them because they want to get back to playing the”game” of getting the economy back on track. That means putting the Democrats where they usually sit as the as the reasonable opposition who when push comes to shove will do what is best for the country.

It isn’t the fair thing to do, but unless the American public makes a sharp left turn ideologically – it is how the U.S. may eventually move forward from this mess.

A system of checks and balances only works with reasonable elected officials who have the country’s best interest at heart. If that has now become an antiquated notion, than so are two year election cycles.

A recent column in the Economist Magazine indicates that one of the major implications of global warming will be the migration of millions people from soon to be un livable areas to regions that are able to cope with rising global temperatures.

No resource of course has the impact of damming a place un livable than a lack of fresh water.

Under this scenario Guelph’s water conservation initiatives don’t seem just, but rather greedy and small minded.

In Southern Ontario we have access to vast amounts of fresh water in the Great Lakes. Communities surrounding them have tapped into these great treasures to grow their communities and provide clean, reliable drinking water for generations.

Communities near Guelph have recognised that you can’t stop growth and progress and have made plans to utilise Lake Erie in order to provide for their growing, vibrant communities.

Guelph has decided to in effect cap it’s growth by not investing in developing its water infrastructure. This strategy seems to be endorsed by Guelphites, who want to limit any population expansion. Under this approach the City can tell the province it can’t grow any further because it doesn’t have enough ground water to support increased provincial population targets.

Many support this plan by killing any talk of water pipe expansion and pushing water conservation. The fact that this will come at huge cost to Guelph’s economic growth seems to be of little consequence to a workforce made up of a large percentage public-sector workers. New enterprises and jobs that come with them will be told to go elsewhere with Guelph’s not open for business sign on the lawn.

The other consequence of water conservation is the negative impact it will have on those who cannot migrate to Guelph and enjoy its bounty.
The number of displaced people is only going to grow dramatically with climate change. While other communities around Guelph are getting ready for this increased demand – Guelph ignores the incoming waves.

Conserving a precious resource like fresh water is the right call when it is in scarce supply. But conservation becomes selfish hoarding when you choose not to develop infrastructure to access to abundant water supplies the world needs.

When the world arrives on Guelph’s doorstep with their cup empty – I want to be able to invite them in. I don’t want to tell them that they may have better luck next door because we didn’t want to grow up.

As the baby boomer’s fade into the sunset – there are a number of issues that Canada will have to finally decide upon. Many of theses items have been left on the back-burner because they represent change – something stability craving, conservative boomers try to avoid. So what are the issues – here are just a few:

• Getting rid of the Monarchy – when Charles becomes the King of Canada  look for this issue to come up
• North American Perimeter – this issue is just starting to gain traction – but wait till the issue of a common currency is first addressed for the real debate to begin
• Election Reform – the “past the post” system has survived challenges in the past – but with changing demographics reforms might actually take place
• Widespread use of Biometrics – starting to take hold – look for more uses as our population skews younger and less adverse to these security measures
• Native Issues – anyone who has studied or just seen the state of too many native reserves in this country knows the deplorable living conditions present in such a rich country like Canada.  Having a comprehensive review of this file has been necessary for awhile but it will take political will – a younger generation more concerned with injustice or compassion could make it a priority.
• Two-tiered healthcare – with boomers soon to be using our universal healthcare system at an alarming rate – reforms will be necessary to avoid every dollar collected in tax going into healthcare spending
• Agricultural Subsidies – the developed world including Canada use these to prop of our Farmers and keep them profitable so that are domestic food sources are protected. Of course this goes against free trade and severely hurts the economies of poorer countries around the world. A younger generation – may feel less threatened on this issue and may move to a more level playing field for countries that can produce food in greater abundance and at a lower cost.

These are just a few off the top of my head – feel free to add your own or make a comment. I will add more later as well.

Large exporters in the EU like Germany have too much to gain with a tariff free Europe for them to even consider giving up on the EU. 

Unfortunately, the current weaker economies (Spain, Ireland, and Greece) pay their people too much to benefit from factories migrating there and increasing employment opportunities.

Right now, the export driven countries win out as not enough economic benefit is flowing to the poor cousins of the EU. But that is no reason for the EU to crumble.  Rich countries even after subsidizing their poorer EU cousins, have too much to gain from a united EU.  And since they “hold all the cards” in the EU, it will not only survive, but continue to grow as well.