Wealthy? Entitled? FARMERS ?!!!???
Holy crap. I never expected to see those words in the same sentence.
you missed a keyword- wealthy entitled ALBERTA farmers. i'm not so sure it's the same across Canada. -again- don't get me wrong, Most farmers are very hardworking and have earned their wealth generationally, but there is a lot of governmental interference in the agricultural markets here.
The whole thing is disfunctional (IMHO) because of government. The Nanny state forces WCB (worker's compensation) because people cannot step away from their habits long enough to take care of themselves. here is my point:
In my industry the cost of WCB is 1.13% of the wage. this is VERY low, since we thankfully don't get a lot of injuries. a roofer, for examle would be much higher.
this coverage is only in force while you work. let's say 8 hours a day. (multiply by 3 to get full coverage if you worked 3 eight hour shifts a day, 3.39%)
My private DI policy covers 24/7 and cost 0.73% of my wage it covers me if i slip in the shower (#1 cause of injury) or on a ski hill, or whatever stupid idea i can come up with.
so what does the government do with the othe 2.62% of the money they collect??? administration, the big denial of benefits department, pensions, patronage.
While i
absolutely agree that these employers should be held to the same standard as all other Alberta employers, and the workers do
absolutely need some kind of coverage as there has been a huge imbalance.
all's i was saying is the gooberment is doing themselves a favour, not the workers....and your steak now costs more.
on to the other half of the rant> the government declared a state of emergency based on the media hype of a hay shortage this spring (we had a very dry spring) then it rained. there was no shortage of hay. the price of hay went from 60-70/ 1500lb bale to 200-300 per bale, this year. the government issued bale-out (pun intended) money.
some farmers cut half their hay and gouged 3x the money, then stuck their hand out for assistance. some just left it in the field, since they could get money for doing nothing. and a few honest ones did the work and sold the crop at a fair price to their neighbours that needed it...and didn't ask nobody for nothing they had not earned.
it takes all kinds.