South Cowichan Life Magazine

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Visit our website for advertising information and local business directory www.southcowichanlife.ca HST �� FREE �� (ask for details) �� 250-732-4833 250-732-4833 INTERIOR PAINTING All Year EXTERIOR PAINTING May to October *Book Early – Schedule Fills Fast FREE FIRM ESTIMATES Know at the start what you will pay at the end. COMPLETE SURFACE PREPARATION Patching, Sanding and Caulking Washing of Exterior Surfaces before Painting Minimum of 2 complete coats of paint Job Waste Removal Over 40 years in the Paint Business KEN ABBOTT PAINTING Page 26 South Cowichan life 3 MONTHS MEMBERSHIP FOR ONLY $99 Also offering: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing, Yoga, Pilates & Boot Camp �� A.A. Stump Grinding Tree Stump Removal 250-749-3449 Mike Simon Cell: 250-732-1249 P.O. Box 238 Lake Cowichan, BC, V0R 2G0 �� COBBLE HILL Edward’s CERAMIC TILE WALL AND FLOOR SERVICES SPECIALIZING IN THE INSTALLATION OF CERAMIC TILE & FLOORING # Edward Rota Manager/Installations 2848 Gregory Rd., Shawnigan Lake, BC V0R 2W0 Tel: 250-743-7425 �� HST DISCOUNT COUPON �� Stick this coupon on your fridge as a reminder. Use it any time during 2011 to get HST Free Labour on your Interior or Exterior paint job. KEN ABBOTT PAINTING COBBLE HILL
PLEASE MENTION THE SOUTH COWICHAN LIFE MAGAZINE WHEN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS Planning Tomorrows: Kicking the Can down the Road By Pete Keber, FMA The recession succeeding the Dot-Com bust seemed to surrender very quickly to interest rate cuts and tax cuts. After a longer lag time we appear to be getting similar results from the great recession caused by the subprime and real estate fiasco. At least that is what the media pundits might have you believing. Ever since Alan Greenspan began a regime of cutting interest rates every time there was a financial slowdown, we have been seeing a series of booms and busts that become increasingly larger, fuelled by monetary heroin. The trouble is, we have never dealt with the structure of our whole financial system, with the way that corporations are allowed to run roughshod over the system. If we don’t have a good framework in place, how can we ever expect to resolve the issues that cause widespread instability and suffering throughout society. If we keep on delaying the day of reckoning by smoking another crackpipe, our addiction will become what we are, and the withdrawal will be so painful, that we may not be able to recover. For those that were not threatened with job losses during the last crisis, and whose businesses survived unscathed, it probably did not seem like any great calamity occurred. They may have read about a world that was on the brink of crashing, but they certainly didn’t feel it in their pocketbooks, or their daily lives, so they can be forgiven for thinking that it wasn’t all that bad. Canadians were particularly blessed, as we did not see our financial institutions teeter, or our real estate market collapse. Everything happened elsewhere, so we were almost immune. We have reasonably strong safeguards in place, so we shouldn’t be too worried about the next bust. Or should we? Everyone knows that we depend heavily on US markets for our exports and the US is our largest trading partner. The developing world managed to take up some of the slack the last round, but the US is still numero uno and the rest of the world depends on their shameless consumer society to fuel their continued prosperity. Despite all the happy talk about economic recovery accelerating south of us, the reality may be somewhat different than the perception. The middle class is eroding around the edges as imbalances climb. In the US in the 1970s the top 1% earned about 9% of total income. In recent years that top 1% now earns 20% and yet the Republicans made sure that they retained their tax cuts. They tell us that those cuts will help stimulate the economy, though that has not been the case over the last decade. During the fifties and early sixties, when the imbalances were smaller, the rich paid much higher taxes and the GDP was much higher. Real unemployment hovers around the 20% mark in the US which is much higher than the reported rate of 9%, but they continually remove more discouraged workers from the employment rolls. Housing is still at historic lows and likely to plunge lower. The inflation rate appears low if you take out food and energy, so the Fed feels comfortable about printing more money. Federal and State budgets are looking for places to cut spending, and it seems that their employees are their primary targets. Cedar Coast Garden Scapes Garden Projects & Maintenance Sylvia Carruthers Org anic Master G ardener 250-710-2689 2810 Gregory Road Shawnigan Lak e, BC V0R 2 W1 Cedarcoastg ardenscap es@shaw.ca Hikes • Boarding • Training victoria 250-812-7498 cowichan valley 250-732-PAWS (7297) activepawsdogtraining.ca activepaws@telus.net South Cowichan life Page 27
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