Two Thumbs Up for Quebec and Its Charter on Thinness

October 17th, 2009 Thomasso

It appears that the Province of Quebec has gone and done what few other places would or had the will to do in North America, that is, setting out a new standard that will change the way the models and the fashion industry work. The unhealthy, abnormal skinny is out and normal is in. Although the charter is a voluntary one, I have to give the Quebec fashion industry much credit for taking the initiative to get as far as it has gone.

The main scope of the charter is to promote health, but it is a means to bring awareness to the public and members of the industries to take into consideration that the desired standards set out by the fashion industry are unattainable by just about everyone. The charter does not provide regulations and other forms of controls; it has no teeth, but is does bring a guiding light to those who work in the industry. This should also bring a measure of standard to the general public as well.

I compare this to the French Renaissance because the resistances to change will be hard felt among other parties in the fashion industry, mainly those who advertise and the vendors who market the garments and the consumer who has being carefully programmed over the decades. The fashion designers are mostly to blame too as what they see as the ideal person is often conjured up into a human body that is unnatural and unhealthy.

Then there is the standard of art, beauty and sexism. Like the renaissance, art became all the rage, so much so that fashion took on bazaar looks, and from that beauty became something artificial, something that strayed away from natural-normal look and lost its functionality in everyday living. Perhaps it was the sexuality of fashion that has kept in step throughout this era. Today the desired look is a 44 to 50 kg woman of average hight whose hips to waist ratio is something like 0.25.

I remember in my third year of University studying evolutionary psychology, the concept of sexuality and its role in how we survive, that natural selection may not be as hard-wired as we thought. Sexual attraction at a basic level serves to be both a tool for insuring that a species continues to advance and populate, and that only the most desirable offspring are made. The idea that the unhealthy members of the species do not continue to add back into the population so to insure that any negative genetic traits are kept out of the population is a mechanism to maintaining a healthy viable population. So why would modern man see an unhealthy women, the 44kg model, as a desirable sex symbol when she is considered in the evolutionary sense unable to reproduce? So culture must be the blame here, and this means we can change it.

The last point I want to make is that I see, as the underlying problem, are the corporations and marketing companies who make their living from this. Sex is the great marketing tool, and seeing something, tagging it to a sex symbol, has being the staple of advertising ever since the dawn of mass media. Today we see obesity as the extreme of undesirability and look to the other extreme of eating disorders, anorexia, as the most desirable, yet somewhere in the middle is normal. I think we all can conclude that what is projected out from the media is a far cry from normal, but we are lured into the images of the skinny model as the standard that we subconsciously value. I firmly believe that the media must project the true representation of society rather then a make belief world of fantasy

Please see: Quebec ‘charter’ fights use of skinny models, CBC.ca News World, October 16, 2009.

Posted in General, Social economics | Comments Off

May the Good Times Start to Roll

October 2nd, 2009 Thomasso

I am happy to report that the economic downturn is starting to level out and I could be starting to see a positive spin for a change. Regardless of what the media says, “Tom’s true indicator of the economic climate is in his wallet.” So far the cash flow has never been disrupted, but there were some scares over the last twelve months that, thankfully, never played out. Still, the cost crunching are still in effect as run-a-way inflation is still a very real possibility to deal with in the future.

In the balance of it all, the company that I work for seems to be on the rebound. Despite all the set backs and hits to the credit industry, there was a hiring spike last week as three former employees were repatriated back into the payroll. Oddly enough however, all the re-hires are occupying different position from their previous ventures.

I must also stress too that the current layout of company operations are completely different than from before the meltdown. The current working environment has completely changed from when I was hired into at the beginning of my time with this company. Money is spent differently, work is allocated at a more meticulous means and middle management is completely decimated.

I suspect that once we return back to the previous level of economic growth we will also return back to the old ways of doing business. Already one manager wants to spend a considerable amount of money rebuilding inventories up so that any new accounts will not have any delays with job start-ups. The risk is that we may not be in the full glory of economic utopia, and the saw-tooth business cycle could bite us with another downturn. No one wants to be stuck with a warehouse full of inventory that is not moving, or over priced—under valued.

In the mean time life is looking up and a modest recovery seems likely. Now if we can keep the pendulum swinging farther then maybe the winter season will be a cheery one too.

Posted in General, Social economics | 1 Comment »

Tom’s Two Rants and a Vent Post, Really I am Happy

September 11th, 2009 Thomasso

I guess time sort of got away on me there. I was going to finish my post, the second part to the “One Box to Many,” that I wrote three weeks ago, but I got tied up with the start of the fall semester and a unexpected serge at work.

I have a couple of vents I want to get off my chest. The first has to do with federal politics. I am not a big fan of the Liberals, nor the Conservatives. In fact, I see any right wing government as a social detriment to everyone. Hey, this is my opinion, and I am sorry if you do not agree, but I just do not trust them. My vent comes from the ads that are popping up on the airwaves. I do not care if there is another election, I just do not want to suffer through more right wing mud slinging and political propaganda.  Damn it, the vehicle ads are enough to wreck a good show on the TV anyway, we do not need added distractions. Please stop it.

People think Fort Langley is turning into a police state. No, that is not true. The criminals who are getting caught are because neighbours are starting to take a vested interest in their own community now. From the guy who passed out on the bench only metres from the pub, to the young woman who threw a beer bottle that smashed on the road on Glover, are probably wondering why they were confronted with a COP (constable on patrol) in mere seconds. Simple, folks phoned and complained about you. So rather having police patrolling 24/7, people are taking up the cause. I say “good for you” for doing that. How else are crimes like vandalism and drunkenness going to be nipped in the butt if everyone turns a blind eye? Go get them Fort Langley!

The School Boards and the bad old BC Government. I cannot say there was not any warning on this one. Yes, we are in a economic crunch, and everyone is suffering. But we like our roads, schools and courts to run. Someone has to pay for that. With so many unemployed, and other revenue lost due to extreme cutbacks by the consumers, the deficit was predictably going to hit records numbers. Even a government that was facing an election could not hide that one. Sure they “low balled” the numbers, but all of us should have known that know one could have really said they did not see that coming. The money must flow, so if you do not have it, well, at least there are still some support system still in place to help you out. But I like the guy in Langley City who will not fork out the $25.00 for his Son’s school gym swag. That is one way of dealing with it. I must keep an eye on that story as it progresses; it could be big.

There, venting all done now. I feel great. Summer almost done—must enjoy!

The photo was done with POV-Ray and Kpov Modeler (KDE), and edited with the GIMP.

Posted in Diatribe, General, Homework and deadlines, Humour, Photographs, Social Justice, Social economics | 1 Comment »

Contrast between A and B: A Philosophical Examination of Marxism in 2008 (Part 3)

September 4th, 2009 Thomasso

The final chapter in my essay on Marxism. Before you read this story I want to stress that I deliberately intended to create a perfect balance between two sides of the same world. You may see this story as the most unrealistic out of the three, but I tried to draw two distinct differences between the rich and poor so that they are believable in some sense. We are all a product of our life experiences, and we are all different, coming form different backgrounds and points of origin, so no two persons are alike. There will always be the advantaged and the disadvantaged, but perhaps we can change the way we look at this spectrum and begin to better understand the different variations within our social structures, so not to discriminate between the two.

A woman steps out of her car and carries a bag that contains some sundry items that she had just purchased. She pulls out her key from the door lock and presses the car alarm, and a very short burst of sound from the horn reverberates across the parking lot compound. She presses another button on her key chain and the sounds of an electric motor and metal clanging against each other resonates from just a head of her, it is the gate opening in to the atrium of the apartment building she lives in. She walks across a granite polished floor that leads up to a large thick glass door of which she enters her personal identification number on a wall mounted console and then swipes her card across it. A quick buzzing sound followed by a pronounced click is made just before the door opens.

She enters the hallway leading towards the elevator. Mounted in every corner of every wall are video cameras, hidden within black glass like domes, strategically placed so that no area is out of view. She steps into the elevator, and before she can press the button for her floor, she swipes her card across the number pad mounted on the control panel, and then the doors swiftly closes shut from each side. Smoothly the elevator rises up to her floor and then a soft tone sounds just before the doors open. As she reaches her apartment door, she holds the card between her teeth while she takes out a set of keys from her purse. The door also has a card-locking device that requires her to not only to swipe the face plate with, but she must also insert two separate keys before the door unlocks and opens. Finely she enters her apartment.

Kicking her shoes off in the cloakroom, she walks into the kitchen and pours herself a glass of red wine. She then relaxes on the couch in the living room. She grabs the remote control that is sitting on the glass coffee table and presses a few buttons that automatically draws the curtains open from along the patio window exposing a panoramic view of the city below. She sips her wine as she looks at the thousands of lights twinkling in the black.

Unbeknownst to the woman up in the apartment building, there is a vagrant who slips and falls in the back alley across the street. He falls on his chest with his hands pressed in front of him trying to cushion the fall. The sounds of laughter from two young men can be heard behind him as they taunt and spit, then one of them gives the vagrant one last kick before they run off with his wallet and wristwatch. The vagrant tries to get up from off the ground but the pain is too much so he rests, but he manages to roll over closer to the brick wall to hide in the dark.

As the vagrant looks on ward as two people enter the alley, a prostitute and her pimp. The young woman, barley able to walk in her high heal shoes, is yelling at the man who is holding one of her arms, pulling her further down into the dead end street. She tries to free herself, but the man pushes her into a large metal garbage bin and demands money from her. She continues to resist, claiming that she has no money. After two more attempts of demanding money by the man, he pushes her down onto the ground and her head hits the bottom step of a metal stairwell. He bends down towards her as she lays motionless and he puts his hand under her head and feels the warm wet blood from her hair through his fingers. For a split second he looks in shock, scared and petrified. Then he dashes upwards and runs off towards the lighted street.

The vagrant, to weak to move, saw the whole murder, but he can’t call for help. Hours go by before someone reaches down to see if he is alive. The sky is blue now and the birds can be heard up in the sky. A voice yells to go and get a blanket. Then, the sky turns to black as the blanket is laid over his head. The police officer notes how bad the crime rate is getting, and that it is getting out of control. The other voice agrees, and the vagrant’s body is lifted onto a stretcher and then the two men carry it into the van.

Obviously I wanted to draw the distinction between two places at the same moment. But, I also wanted to view the contrast between the protected and unprotected, and how the economic classes play at this sense of security. Like what Marx saw in his social theory, there is a distinct difference between these two realities, the rich living in a gated community that is totally isolated from the rest of the world, while the poor live in a less secured world, where they must endure a life style that is fraught with hardship and have access to less opportunities.

I wanted to go deeper and look at social attitudes. There is a predetermine image of how we view these two economic classes. I could have easily made the woman a evil murderer, but that would not have made the story believable. Nor if I made the vagrant a woman, the story would have taken on a very different slant, as I am sure the reader would take a more critical look at her instead of the character being a man. Through our culture we are preprogrammed, or wired, to think in these terms and breaking this thinking pattern is very hard to do. At a very early age we are taught that certain types of people do particular types of things, this concept we call stereotyping. How do you de-program ones self?

Posted in Criminology, General, Social Justice, Social economics | Comments Off

Wheat and Bars: A Philosophical Examination of Marxism in 2008 (Part 2)

September 1st, 2009 Thomasso

This was part of an essay I wrote back in Fall of 2008 on the concepts of Marxism and how it contrast with today’s ideologies of modern Canadian lifestyles. This analogy was written well before the economic collapse of the latter half of that year and proves that there was enough forecasters during that time to properly estimate that an economic disaster was eminent. The main thesis was on ethics and professional conduct, although many portions of the assay are omitted, the general tone of the it was to compare the clashes in thinking between the left and right and to see if social harmony was possible without any compromise.

About a five minute drive outside of town was the Smith’s farm, a 100 acer plot of land that had some of the most suited agricultural space in the valley. Nearly all of it was on flat well irrigated land with the river running along it’s northern edge, and gentle rolling hills along the Eastern side. The farm had been part of the same family for five generations, and was well known with its produce sold at the local markets. During the first settlers, the town nearest to the farm was just a small village consisting of a few buildings and a dozen homes. The road at the time was nothing more than just a trail, big enough for a horse drawn wagon to move the various food crops to market with.

Over the years the population of the town grew, at first a few hundred, but in the last decade it surpassed 5000 residence. Land was a scares commodity as the town lay between the river and the steep hills to the South, and a narrow strip of land along the river that has the railway running along it. The rest of the valley grew in population as the rewards of the bountiful natural resources and the rise of industrialization spread, the farms and other outlying land gave way to urban sprawl, roads and industrial parks. It was clear that land that once was used for agriculture was now prime real estate for new subdivisions and commercial uses.

The farm land was expropriated to make way for a multi lane express way that would aid commuters with a shorter distance from the main highway to the metropolitan region along the valley. With only a fifth of the land that was allocated for the construction of the highway, the remainder of the property became municipal land, part of which was used as a permanent maintenance site for road crews to service the highway year round. The rest of the land stayed vacant.

The land was forgotten about for several years as road, commercial and housing construction reach it completion during the boom period. All that remained as undeveloped land from the farm was this sizeable piece of property, but its accessibility was what made it unattractive because of its proximity to the newly built highway for residential use. Industrial businesses could not use it because it lay beside the watershed, and commercial uses was very restricted due to the many environmental impact provisions the various levels of government put in place.

After a series of back room discussions, each level of government had decided that this parcel of land would be very well suited for a prison. The motion to have a multi use correctional facility was quickly adopted by the municipality as the federal government was going to add several hundred million dollars into the local economy, such as construction jobs and aid local suppliers. Many long term jobs would be added as well. The added boon to the service industry would add an increase of business for the general day to day operations of the prison too within the community.

The praises of the government were instead met with protests and opposition as a movement quickly developed to have the prison relocated. “Not in my back yard,” cries rang out over the media, on the streets and at every water-cooler throughout the community, as it seems that none of the residence wanted it near them.

Through a series of signed decelerations and land transfers that had occurred within the last decade, little did the municipality know that once the major highway was built, this now designated the land usage as part of the regional government’s responsibility; and as such, the local community had very little to  say with the wishes of the higher government as far as federal services goes. The prison was long finished before the bureaucracy allowed for the start of the hearings to take place on the matter. The community’s voting power was to little to late before anyone could do anything about it, as the prison was seen as a vital service for the region.

Like both the first post from August 30, “One Box To Many,” and this one, “Wheat to Bars,”  these are examples of how we coexists within the social setting but our thirst for personal control is not as what we claim it to be. The first story looked at how business and labour tried to advance itself forward, but until the balance shifted, as in this case, lack of revenue for resources, the eventual collapse of the economic cycle took hold. This is not to say that it completely collapsed into oblivion, but that it slowed until market demands restarted itself. In this post the story is about how land is seemingly controlled by more than one vested stakeholder. Here, farm land lost its value as its agricultural usefulness made way for demands of urban sprawl, and this was taken away, usually in the form of a changing tax-base, or land expropriation, to make way for the expanding communities and population growth.

Although I wrote these stories as a work of fiction, they are based on a collection of actual events that have happened in the course of my life time. Telling stories that try to weave the threads of a certain perspective is far more complex that I originally thought. Because of this I see Marxism as an interesting ideological perspective in that it takes classism to a very basic level: rich versus poor, employer versus employee, landlord versus tenant, but nothing is as black and white in a constantly changing society moving theough time. Although Marxism is useful in comparing the contrasts of our society, in Canada it is more difficult to fully apply it to a macro view because  of our complex and interdependent society, and even at a micro view you miss some of the vital pieces needed to explain the whole story. You just cannot view the employer and employee as one side being more beneficial than the other without looking at the full scope of the market economy and social implications that are tied to each other. Nor could you see the land owner and the tenant as one being more disadvantaged over the other until you examine the real estate markets, taxation and population migration of workers throughout the country over time.

Added: Next post I will talk more about the conclution of the stary, “One Box To Many,” and see if I can add a cliff hanger ending to it. This was not part of my origonal essay, but something for my sister, J.M., who just celebrated her birthday. I still have the third story from my essay, but it deals more with the criminal asspects of today as compared to when Carl Marx was alive, and doesn’t deal with the economy.

Posted in Criminology, General, Social Justice, Social economics | 1 Comment »

One Box to Many: A Philosophical Examination of Marxism in 2008

August 29th, 2009 Thomasso

This was part of an essay I wrote back in Fall of 2008 on the concepts of Marxism and how it contrast with today’s ideologies of modern Canadian lifestyles. This analogy was written well before the economic collapse of the latter half of that year and proves that there was enough forecasters during that time to properly estimate that an economic disaster was eminent. The main thesis was on ethics and professional conduct, although many portions of the assay are omitted, the general tone of the it was to compare the clashes in thinking between the left and right and to see if social harmony was possible without any compromise.

Let me tell you a story about a man, a box, and two men who claimed that everything was theirs. Picture if you will, a dark and dusty factory floor that was all but vacant, abandon, emptied of its former occupants. Large machines sit motionless with dust and cobwebs stretched from every protruding piece. One lamp from the ceiling is all that lights the big empty room, and painted covered windows which only lets in tiny slivers of light from the out side that can be seen as bright rays shooting through the dust onto the floor. In the middle of this room is a man working away building a wooden box, one about the size of crate, so that he can put some of the machinery into it and ship it off to a distant land where it will work once again making merchandise for another factory.

At one end of the factory, in a small room with a desk, sits a fat man who is busy pushing buttons on his adding machine, tallying up all of the numbers of items that the factory produced that day, and converting it into money, his profits. He stops for a brief moment and pulls out a cigar, lights it, and takes a few hardy puffs from it, then bites down on it between his teeth and continues tapping away on the keys of the adding machine. He is happy. He makes humming sounds of a happy melody, and his eyes beam with positive enthusiasm the longer the ribbon of paper becomes from the adding machine.

At the other end of the factory in another room that shares several desks, sit a man in a black suit at the middle desk, and he is happy, as he hums a happy song. He is writing a list onto a writing pad. He grabs the desk lamp to repositions the light so that is now shining right over top of the paper. He opens a drawer from in front of the desk and pulls out a yellow file-folder from it and lays it squarely on the desk over top of the writing pad. He unfolds the file folder and pulls out several printed documents that have rows and columns of numbers and words on them. He pulls out a single sheet from the folder and then puts the yellow file folder back in the drawer. He then starts writing again, copying from the paper onto his writing pad, humming even louder with happiness with each pen stroke.

The wooden box is almost compete as the last few nails are hammered into it. The factory worker checks to see if all the corners are square and that no panel of wood is loose or unfastened from the wooden frame is sits on. With his rough firm hands he feels the texture of the wood by gliding his palms over the surface, a sign of his craftsmanship and experience. The wooden box is sound and ready for its purpose by its creator.

Both doors opened simultaneously from each office at each end of the factory, and both men walk towards where the factory worker who has build the crate is sitting. They both stopped, standing opposite each other staring at the wooden crate, the fat man with his ribbon of paper from the adding machine, and the man with the black suit holding his writing pad and pen. The factory worker puts down his tools and wipes the sweat from his forehead with a white cloth that he keeps in his back pants pocket.

Both the fat man and the man with the black suit turn to the worker and begin to tell him what they would like placed into the crate, and where it is to be shipped off to. The worker informs them both that all of the items will not fit into the crate, and that it would be impossible for the shipping company to deliver the same crate to two different locations.

The worker sits in silence as the two men walk back to their respected sides of the factory and the sounds of their doors slamming reverberate throughout the building. There in the middle of the factory floor sits the crate after the worker has gone, taking all of his tools.

There was only enough money to pay the worker and to purchase enough materials to complete only one crate and have it built. Because there was such a demand for the worker, the crate and the means to ship it, both the fat man and the man with the black suit had to fill their orders in order to make enough profit to pay for them all.

Next post I will add part 2 to this because I incorporated a series of reasons why I compared this to the economic collapse of 2008.

Posted in Criminology, General, Social Justice, Social economics | 2 Comments »

Crime Prevention: Round Table Style

August 25th, 2009 Thomasso

I just got back from a community crime prevention meeting in Richmond, BC. The focus was on illegal drug use and homelessness in and around Vancouver. This meeting was set up by some members from various academic institutions and government organizations, consisting mainly of criminologist and other social scientists who have a special concern with crime rates as we head towards the 2010 Olympics.

I had taken notes of the whole event but I mainly focused on one aspect that I saw that really seemed stick out for me which was the picture drawn by the data versus what the media was reporting on. I can say, after sitting and listening today, that what I am seeing in the statistical information that was presented at the meeting is not what is being reflected by the general media. This is “always” the case as the media seems to be very selective on what it reports on and sees as news worthy compared to the reality of our neighbourhoods. As crime rates fall, the media seems to be projecting an increase.

The main topic was on illegal drug use, particularly drug use in the rural areas of the Fraser Valley then what is traditionally a mainly urban problem. As one of the sociologist noticed, migration seems to be a logical explanation for this shift, and gentrification of older neighbourhoods could very well be the cause of this migration. Supporting this was the constant number of arrests reported by police over all, but these patterns have shifted form one area to another while the rates only fluctuated by 4 to 5 percent. I couldn’t source that data because the presenter was moving to quickly with his slides, but this ties in more or less with many scholars who have done studies in other metropolitan areas in North America.

Homelessness was the “other” big topic of the meeting as the numbers seem to be growing well beyond what the community of Richmond had projected—tied in with this migration theory. This also holds true to other communities around the Lower Mainland. Naturally the economy is seen as the driving force in the rising numbers, and access to affordable housing and community programs are becoming stretched to the breaking point as one of the biggest reason for it, but other factors are being noticed also. The number data available on this problem it growing–it is huge, with the number of studies that are under way now, I do not think that anyone can not doubt that there is a problem.

Like Expo 86, there was a tide of sex trade workers who move into the outlying areas of Vancouver during that event, and for several months later they stayed until the population and local economies settled back to normal. Preparations are being made for the 2010 events schedule for this winter, however, most of the  speakers fear that whatever resources are going to be used may not be enough to deal with the expected increase in prostitution. I should strongly point out too that each panel member had their own agenda of how any money should be allocated to deal with prostitution, particularly street prostitution.

In the end, the main message was that it is up to the community in the long run to deal with these issues. Everything thing from family planning to volunteer workshops was put out onto the table as possible solutions. Homelessness and sex-trade workers are not going to go way, but there are many ways of dealing with it, in a humane manner, that the community can embrace. As one woman from the outreach program said “government has failed us, so it is up to us (the community) to fix the problems.”

I think she nailed part of the problem right on the head, and she doesn’t even know it. People are voting with their wallets. The trend is to vote for a government that will cost less in the form of taxes, so with this type of thinking, social programs are no doubt going to disappear. A train going from down town to the airport is worth more than sheltering everyone under the guise of a social program that will provide the building of affordable housing.

But there is so much that a community can do to lower its crime rate, but getting everyone to work in the same direction is problematic. Education could be the answer to this, but education is not cheap either as it requires the willingness of the learner and the teacher to come together for it to work and become effective. Then there is the time required to get all of the information out there. Not everyone has the time and the willingness to seek out and educate themselves, and the ones that are in need are usually the ones that could benefit the most from education.

Hey, at least people are talking about it, that is positive. I like seeing people from a community get together and solving their own problems because it is a very important first step.

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A Congratulatory Post to My Sister

August 22nd, 2009 Thomasso

I got some news yesterday from my sister, JM. She just found her first job at the start of her professional career as a caregiver in the health care system. For the last two years she had gone to college were she put herself through the rigours of evening classes and achieved all the necessary skills to work in this profession.

What is monumental about this turning point is that there were huge odds against her from seeking such employment opportunities at the start, and up until now. As we are all well aware there is a recession, or depression right now, (depending on whether you are employed or not) and any civil servant job, albeit from a public or private position, are very hard to come by. The cut backs in British Columbia are going to be huge as our provincial budget update coming this September has already started to leak out to the media. Even today, lay-offs and  hiring freezes are in effect at most care homes for the elderly. Long term care and nursing positions have being drastically frozen too as every budget in the public sector will be trimmed. The money just is not there to support the system right now.

My personal belief is that jobs are always going to available in this segment of the work force because the tail end of the baby-bombers are just 10 to 15 years away from hitting retirement—that is simple logic. Public or private, the demand is most definitely going to exist and grow over the next 30 years for senior’s nursing care. With so many people getting up into their golden years and living longer, the toll on the healthcare system is most likely going to be tax to its death. Canadians are not going to take being asked to pay for higher taxes, so electing governments that promises tax-cuts is now the trend; just look at our federal government right now and see what they represent. However, Canadians will demand their healthcare, and it will not be there for them unless they can pay for it privately because the public purse will shrink. As I see it, the healthcare system will just be the shell of its former self.

With all of this doom-and-gloom, getting a job right in the middle of the economic downturn is a triumph of both good fortune and hard work. Perhaps the real message I am saying here is that education is the key to weathering a good economic meltdown. We will always have labour in the workforce at any time, but specialists and professionals are always going to be in demand no matter where you sit in the business cycle.

Posted in Events, Family, General, Social economics | 2 Comments »

The Institution called Work

June 30th, 2009 Thomasso

Today is sort of a milestone in some respects because when I left at the end of my shift, the big and inevitable change had finely come to past, and the end of an era and the dawn of a new age had begun. So much has happen in the last six months, from the economic meltdown caused by the US mortgage industry through much of 2008, then to the Bank and corporate collapses that started off 2009 that seemed like 1929 all over again, as no one escaped with their  money untouched, to where we are now, with downsizing, conservative spending and tight-ass Bank lending. My work has gone through so much to where we sit today that you would not recognize it now.

I am a bit of an anomaly because I have always being sort of that “behind the scenes” employee who works the odd hours and have kept my part time status through out. Prior to the US led economic meltdown, labour was in high demand and I had always faced the threat of moving into positions with full-time hours, or more, as the faux economy roared on. Remember that my goal was going through University at a full time level, and work was only secondary to support just the minimum requirements to get me through my degree program.

As the economy turned South, my value as a part-time employee took on a different turn as my labour was more desirable because the money to keep full-time labour was not in the budget. So, again, like the beginning of 2008, this year meant that I was valuable, but for different reasons. For the first time my skills were looked at more closely and seen as important with this same employer who took me on almost two years ago.

Anyone can work in a office, warehouse, or supervise. Most people today have the basic skills to do these tasks, but most could not do them professionally and willingly and do so with the integrity that is needed to work with other people. Now employees are being asked to do so much more to cover cost, work with less and multi-task like never before. This is where skills come in, because now everything is running against the clock.

The other issue is worth. Now that labour is no longer a hot commodity, people now need to work harder to keep their employment, and they must make sure that what they are doing will benefit the bottom line, or they and the company they work for will go down the tubes.

So this brings me to my point: some people can adapt to change while others cannot. My first example is purely based on adaptivity. The willingness to change your position in the workplace is crucial in economic downturns. One minute you are a “desk-jockey” then the next you are humping boxes from off of a Purolator truck. If you are not willing to adapt, then you go the way of the Dodo bird. Adaptation also means your wiliness to have skill-sets that you have, that have never being used before in the workplace, such as a degree in the Liberal Arts, and have it at the ready. These are untapped resources that employers are now keen on having from their employees.

And the critical aspect of adaptivity in the work place is wages. Are you willing to take a cut in pay, taking on reduced hours, have your perks and bonuses stopped? Most people are not, or they will not, or could not do it because of their lifestyle. This mostly stems from so many people having debt. The Mortgage is the killer one, followed by personal financing and credit debt. For the employer, cutting the fat is so common now that the unemployment rate in British Columbia is almost at six to seven percent, and welfare rates are doubling.

My workplace, come next Thursday, is going to be like working in a air-traffic control tower with just 5 people running it, guiding less than 15 people around with hopefully near precision accuracy.

From being just the “Part Timer” person, or, the lowest rung on the ladder, it is almost amusing in a sick and twisted way that because of this, along with my skill-sets, I am still a hot commodity in the work place. And there are some who are very “peeved” a this arrangement I must add. The bitterness is there because some see this as unjustified and backwards. I am still employed, albeit part-time, and I have being given somewhat of a promotion. How weird is that?

Posted in Bitching about work, Diatribe, General, Social economics | 3 Comments »

Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side of the Fraser River?

June 17th, 2009 Thomasso

Last night I was asked if I wanted to sit shot-gun (Sorry CSIS) and travel across the brand new Golden Ears Bridge that just opened crossing the Fraser River connecting Langley Township and Maple-ridge together. I declined. My friend was a little taken back with my decision, but he accepted it and then went on his marry way.

I passed on the offer because I made it my mission to boycott the new bridge as long as possible, even right now while it is free. And yes, you heard me correctly, it is a toll bridge of which after the first month you’ll be asked to shell out a  fee of $3.90 for the right to pass. Now, I should also point out that my boycott is primarily based on my need of not crossing because I really have no reason to travel to Maple-Ridge. So my lack of interest for not using the bridge is due because I do not have to use it.

The Fee chart, taken from the Translink Website:

Car:  Most passenger vehicles, vans, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and taxis

$2.75 — Registered with OBU
$3.30 — Registered Video
$3.90 — Unregistered

Small Truck: Cars towing a trailer, light duty commercial vehicles with fewer than five axles, school buses, motor homes, and intercity buses or coaches.

$5.55 — Registered with OBU
$6.10 — Registered Video
$6.65 — Unregistered

Large Truck: Articulated trucks or tractor trailer combinations.

$8.30 — Registered with OBU
$8.90 — Registered Video
$9.40 — Unregistered

Motorcycle: Motorized two-wheeled vehicles; does not include electric bicycles.

n/a — Registered with OBU
$1.40 — Registered Video
$2.50 — Unregistered

While I was at the Post Office this morning, I met with two people who really love the bridge because they will use it. One person lives in Maple-Ridge and works in Fort Langley, while the other does a lot business in Maple-Ridge and lives here. The big factor—time. They both said that it takes less than 15 minutes now to travel from one town to the other. The savings in fuel, time and stress are sorely weighed against the toll cost, yet when I asked them if paying more taxes to cover building cost for the bridge was better than having lower taxes and a toll fee, both declined to give their opinions.

However, the thorny issue of what to do about the Albion Ferry became a focus of our discussion. They wanted the Ferry to keep going, but like the tax issues, the question of who should pay for it never really got answered. Translink, the government body that is in charge of the transportation infrastructure, has stated that the Ferry will close towards the end of July 2009 because there is no point in keeping something going that will continue to costs a lot money to operate.

Posted in General, Social economics | Comments Off