Signs of the Times – McWomen

One of the surest signs the economy is actually doing better – as the Bank of Canada and many economists claim – is an increase in jobs. The more people working, the better the economy – right?

Not necessarily – just because there are more jobs, doesn’t mean the economy is back to its former glory. Long gone are the high paying jobs which pay the bills, replaced with many so-called “McJobs” which don’t.

Case in point, recently Canada’s bean counter – Statistics Canada – released figures showing that for the first time ever, there are more women than

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men in Canada’s workforce.

The survey found that about 7.1 million women were earning wages in the first half of 2009, compared to only 6.9 million men for the same time period.

Women outnumbered men in both the under and over 25-years-old demographics – another first.

Labour groups and women’s organizations are the first to point out that these numbers don’t reflect changes in attitudes towards women in the workforce; rather, they are due to layoffs in male-dominated industries such as manufacturing, automotive and construction sectors.

Women on the other hand are more likely to take up many of the part-time McJobs in retail, as office temps (you don’t hear many men call themselves “a Kelly Girl”), and other low-wage earning jobs.

Just last month, Canada’s national banking regulator, The Bank of Canada boldly declared the recession over. Far be it from over, when the jobs that are out there are slim pickings for earning a decent wage to support oneself.

How can one put food in one’s tummy, clothes on ones back, and a roof overhead working for minimum wage?

Many families are still reeling from the economic depression we’re still in – despite the declarations of it being over by the Bank of Canada.

Canada’s national bank should be called on the carpet for its undignified premature announcement. Although they are trying to end the fear to spend, which would encourage growth, to stimulate the economy, they are actually deepening the wounds created by this bleeding fiscal mess.

By prematurely announcing the end of the recession in Canada, they have demonstrated to those who are still living through it that the government has absolutely no idea what is going on, or how to really resolve it.

They also alienate those who are struggling, by showing a complete lack of concern for those in need, and in turn push those who are desperate for government assistance away.

It is time the government of Canada stopped pumping out propaganda, and actually came out with a strategy to stimulate the economy, and create real, long-term, sustainable jobs, that aren’t simply McJobs, but real ones, with real futures for both men and women.

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The Great Recession - What a Load of Hooey

Last month we told you how despite the continued faltering of the global economy, Canada’s national fiscal regulator, The Bank of Canada, boldly declared the recession over. At the time, we disagreed, because of the lack of supporting evidence presented by the nation’s bank.

Last week, the Canadian and American governments released their unemployment figures July - and just as we told you last month - the so-called recession isn’t over yet, at least not in Canada.

Statistics Canada said there was no sign of economic recovery last month, with a loss of over 45, 000 Canadian jobs, despite the Bank of Canada’s previous claim.
Though the American economy did do a tad better, showing a slight i

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ncrease in jobs - the first such increase in over 15-months.

This whole economic meltdown has government deception written all over it.
Instead of declaring it what it really is - a depression - economists at major private and public financial institutions continue to refer to as a “recession.”

This is because technically, it hasn’t lasted long enough to be a depression. But the affects of the current economic crisis are far worse than they were during the Great Depression of the “dirty thirties,” so doesn’t it make sense to call this fiscal mess what it really is - a depression?

Some clever financial analysts have come up with ways of describing the astronomically bad nature of the current economy, without using the “d”epression word.

I heard one the other day call it the “Great Recession” linking it to the nature of the Great Depression, but without using the word “depression.” Some just refer to it as the “worst economic slowdown since the Great Depression.”

Far more just talk about the effects on jobs, people’s homes and saving instead of actually talking about what we really are in. They talk around the issue, describing the situation, without actually defining it. Clever - and possi

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bly scary - would you want this type of person responsible for your finances?

Truth is, we are in something far worse than an economic depression. It’s so bad, economists don’t have a word to adequately describe it. The economy will never be the same - we’ve lost jobs that will never come back, companies that were fiscal powerhouses in their business and industry sector have disappeared completely, more people have lost their jobs, their homes, their cars, and in the most literal sense of the word - their way of staying alive - than at any other point in history worldwide.

Governments have had to bailout mega-big businesses including the auto sector and various airlines. People have cut back on once thought normal, every day activities, like going to the movies, eating out, or having that morning coffee, just to scrounge up enough savings to have some money for the basics.

More people go without the basics everyday than ever before - things like food, clean drinking water, clothing, and a roof overhead.

The economy will get better, it has too, that’s the nature of the Capitalistic system. But we are far from out of the worst economic . . . or f*ck it - we are far from being over this global economic depression.

Before it is a distant memory, more people will lose their jobs, millions more will lose their cars, and homes, and governments will continue to forecast the end.

Well, eventually they will get it right. If you keep calling the cars passing by a “bus” eventually, when a “bus” passes by, you’ll be right.

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Economists Nowhere Near Reality

Today, the Canada’s federal financial regulator – the Bank of Canada – boldly declared the recession over.

The national financial regulator – which sets the stage for how other financial institutions across the country will operate – estimated that the Canadian economy will advance by 1.3 per cent during the current July to September period and three per cent in the final fourth quarter of the year.

The optimistic view of the economy had an immediate effect on the Canadian dollar, which jumped 0.97 cent to 92 cents U.S.

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However the Bank of Canada is still concerned about the slumping American and European markets, and says they may contain more unpleasant surprises, which could affect the global economy just as it did back last October.

Wait a sec . . . the Bank of Canada says we’re out of the woods, but we’re still in the forest?

Doesn’t make sense – Canada isn’t the only country affected by the global economic downturn, Canada is very much tied to the American and European markets.

So how can the country’s national fiscal institution declare the recession over?
One word: posturing.

The stereotyped image of the tight-wad, highly cautious, nerdy banker-type rings true. Those in positions to influence world economies are easily spooked by even the tiniest of teeny-tiny things.

Just look at how fast most of the major trading indexes of the world fell when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center on the infamous “9-11” – trade indexes in Canada, Europe and Asia all dropped, even though they all were many hundreds – if not thousands – of miles away.

The same holds true when good news spreads from reputable sources, such as the Bank of Canada – even though it may only be a prediction, estimate, or the result of someone holding out on his or her lucky rabbit’s foot for luck.

Despite the numbers released by the Bank of Canada, this sounds very much like political posturing, in an attempt to stimulate the economy. By claiming the country is out of the recession – or will be by the end of the summer – investors will have more confidence to put their money back into the market, and that influx of dollars should help the wheels of the economy.

In theory, that sounds great – but just how realistic is it, given the dependence on most nation’s economies by the big American financial machine?

Don’t be fooled by premature statements, driven by lucky rabbit’s feet. Just look at what is still going on around you and ask yourself if we really are out of the woods.

Almost 400,000 Canadians have lost their jobs since October – and just how many of those people are still out of work or working in underemployment situations, just to make ends meet?

Many businesses are still suffering – just go to your local mall and count all the empty and gone out of business stores.

More people in Canada are depending on food banks to feed themselves and their families than ever before – simply because they can’t afford the basic

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needs for themselves.

Canada’s economic recovery may be taking place, but clearly we have a long way to go before declaring the recession a done deal.

And that economic recovery could be stalled or even halted suddenly, if the economies of the States and/or Europe continue to tumble, as they presently are.

The financial stimulus package American President Barack Obama launched in the spring is meeting with mixed results. On the one hand, it is providing some movement of funds in the economy, but on the other hand, people are still losing their shirts – or worse – their homes.

Until the American economy is stable and once again prosperous, the Canadian economy won’t be.

Keep stroking that lucky rabbit’s foot – but I’m waiting for more evidence before considering the recession over.

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