Change As Good As A Rest

This week there have been a number of headlines that can all be summed up under the heading "A Transitioning Society".  High gas prices, high food prices and Ontario on it's way to becoming a have-not province are all symptoms of a society that's changing.  Whether it's for the good or bad, that's another topic. The fact is the global economy is a reality and that is at the heart of the changes.  Oil prices are set for the world according to world demand.  The price of gas goes up at the corner of Portage and Main in downtown Winnipeg because China needs more oil for it's booming economy.  Food prices are set by the world according to demand and even shortages based on problems that may be occurring hundreds of thousands of kilometers from us.  A drought in Africa means a loaf of bread costs more at the corner store in Medicine Hat.  Ontario is hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs because new factories have opened in India, Mexico and Bangladesh.  The problem is, all of our complaining falls on deaf ears since our government has lost control of the situation.  The Global Economy is in full effect and the government of Canada can't change it.  They can offer Band-Aid solutions, a few bucks to try and soften the blow but in the end, the changes to our society will come and we can embrace them or fight them kicking and screaming.  We are making the transition from a manufacturing based economy to a service and technological based economy.  Parts of Canada remain prosperous but that is solely based on commodities.  Oil, gas, grains and other commodities selling at record prices have kept parts of the country rolling in the dough.  The problem with that is, if commodity prices hit a wall and start to drop, so does the current engine of our economy.  The Canadian government needs to lead the way in encouraging business that has long term value.  We need to invest in even more research and development of green industry.  We need to consider where the emerging economies of the world are heading and what things they will need in the future so we can be there to deliver them.  Foresight and long term planning are the only solutions to these problems.  Sadly, the interim time period will be painful.  We have nothing to replace high paying manufacturing jobs that are lost.  There is nothing we can do to help people involved in businesses that are huge gas users.  The price of those commodities are going to force us to make changes to the way we do business and in the end to the businesses some of us are involved in.  Trucking products here, there and everywhere will eventually not be economical anymore.  So if your business is based on trucking products all over North America, you may find that over the next decade you're going to have to re-think what it is that you do.  The answers are not simple but is complaining about the problem going to change it?  The answer there is a resounding no.  There's been talk of getting the Canadian government to drop the taxes we pay on gas.  This is another Band-Aid solution.  The fact is the money raised by those taxes is used to pay for all kinds of things in this country.  So if the government stops collecting it at the pump, does that mean they just won't need it anymore?  That money will have to be collected somewhere else because it's paying for all kinds of government services including equalization payments that Ontario will apparently need sooner rather than later.  We're going through a massive re-think on how we live and work.  Our children and our children's children will be living in a different world here in Canada.  The question becomes how fast can we make the transition.  Since that transition time will be painful as people lose jobs, lose their homes and suffer through high commodity prices.  This just means the quicker we can make the transition to a greener, smarter economy based on the future needs of the world and not based on what they needed last week, the more quickly we can get back to the good times that we've been riding for so long. Until We Type Again, Take It Ease !