Grandpa Richard Speaks

Some employees of the Ontario Provincial Government are getting new jobs with the Federal Government, as well as severance for losing their old jobs.

Yes, a blatant case of double-dipping, but do not blame the employees or their union. Blame the government negotiators who gave them such a sweet deal without some additional “but only if”s.

According to the press reports that I read, it was the provincial Conservative party in power when the sweet deal was inked. I am assuming (but could be wrong) that the officials did not think of the possibility of an entire department being transferred to another government agency.

I also read of one possible gotcha for the “new” staff. It’s possible that their seniority against existing federal employees will be lower.

For more details, read the Toronto Star article.

Leave a comment.

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p.s. see; I am not always anti-union!

Grandpa Richard lost about 4.5 kg (10 pounds) a year ago. A big part of the method used was more fresh vegetables (in salads).

About 100 years ago, fibre rich foods, and whole grains, were a bigger part of the common diet in the U.S. and Canada. People did not have high levels of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, all these diseases.

In 1960, 18 percent of our national income was spent on food, and only 5 percent on healthcare. Today, 9 percent of our income is spent on food and a whopping 17 percent on healthcare. (U.S. figures)

A possible conclusion – The less we spend on food, the more we spend on healthcare.

It is not always just what you read on the labels. The label will tell you what is in the “food”, like fats, sugars, vitamins, etc. The label does not tell you what they took out. Logically, whole foods are better for us than processed foods. How many designer foods are you eating? Foods that have been “created” by a guy in a lab.

Learn more by reading up on Oprah’s guest, Michael Pollan.

Afterwards, come back here and leave a comment.

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p.s. Michael has written at least one book. Here is a link to Amazon for the book.

In a post 2 days ago, I told the story about Finance Minister Jim Flaherty taking a private jet to a photo op about the federal government saving money. Now comes another story of the good use of our money.

How about $1,000 to put in a doorbell, or the same amount to replace a light switch? Almost $2K for 2 Yucca plants.

Now that some not-quite-what-they-promised expenses are coming to light, I expect that lots of newbie reporters trying to get noticed will be digging into all sorts of access-to-information info, trying to find more extravagant spending.

How is your budgeting these days?

Leave a comment.

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Not far from Grandpa Richard’s home, an Oakville tot’s television alter-ego is at the centre of a $100 million (U.S.) lawsuit launched on Monday by troubled actress Lindsay Lohan, who has struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. Lohan’s lawyer says the star has single-name recognition akin to Madonna or Oprah, and that the commercial, which aired during the Super Bowl last month, is a parody of her life.

Below is the ad that offends, and visit the Toronto Star to read more details about the lawsuit.

I suppose there are arguments to be said about the positive effects on economies due to the investments of people who are billionaires, but I find it almost revolting that individuals can be worth that much.

The Forbes annual list has been released and sitting at the top is Mexican Telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu, worth an estimated $53 billion (U.S.).

If we took that money, and created as many millionaires as possible, you would have 53,000 millionaires. Considering there are 1,011 billionaires in the world, worth an average $3.5 billion each, that works out to just over $3.5 trillion dollars, or the equivalent of 3,538,500 millionaires.

See a more complete analysis of these rich people at the Globe and Mail’s site, or the original article in Forbes.

Comments?

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There are, generally speaking, three layers of government here in Canada. Federal, Provincial, and Municipal. How many employees do they all have?

3,650,000

That number by itself does not say anything. How many Canadians are in the labour force?

16,900,000

That means that just a bit more than 1 in every 5 Canadians (21.6%) is a public servant.

Further … a year earlier there were 3,350,000 public servants, which means that we increased the number of government workers by almost 9% in a single year! My sources did not state this outright, but I am guessing that those numbers do not include consultants, which there can be a fair number of.

Did you detect any improvement in efficiency at City Hall?

You may ask what news story got me writing this post. Here is part of the first paragraph of said story. It can be read in its entirety (well worth the read) at The Globe and Mail’s online edition.

For the past five years, a life-size fibreglass cow has stood – on guard, between two Canadian flags – atop the low-rise Cheddar Et Cetera cheese shop in the suburban area of Orleans (population: 100,000). One person complained. As apparently required by policy, City of Ottawa bylaw enforcement officers served notice on the proprietor: The cow had to go. Ottawa’s bylaws do not authorize cows on rooftops – either as signs or as urban sculptures.

Comments are welcome. Especially from honest civil servants. Just click on the tiny word “Comment” below this post.

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According to research using GPS technology, parts of Chile moved 3 metres due to the recent earthquake. If that does not shock you, measure out 3 metres on your living room floor and picture the ground shifting that much in a very short time period.

For those of you still using traditional British measurement methods, 3 metres is almost 10 feet.

See more details at this research site.

According to the Toronto Star, John Cursio has been fired.

For further info, see my previous post and the above link to the Star’s reporting.

Grandpa Richard is impressed!

Now as long as the potential wrongful dismissal suit does not work, all will be well, er, better.

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Does Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty know that saying? Possibly.

Jim delivered a budget last Thursday that said the federal government will have to rein in spending. He then had a private government jet fly him to London Ontario so he could participate in a photo op on Friday morning.

Why not a photo op right there in Ottawa, or Saturday morning in London?

Again … Flaherty spent over $3,000 to tell us about the importance of saving money. A commercial flight was under $1,000.

Then again folks, we have all done it, right? “Do As I Say, Not As I Do”

What do you think? Leave a comment.

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I have an old Crayola brand clock. An old style one with a minute hand and an hour hand. The hands are shaped like crayons. Uses an AA battery.

Why do I have it, and not one of the kids? They got too old for it! I know, I am a grandpa and grandpas are old. But it reminds me of simpler days, with young children running around the house.

AND, I have no plans on giving it to a grandchild!!! At least not until I am either dead or too senile to notice!

It was just leaning on a bookcase and I finally decided to hang it on the wall, just above my computer desk. If I am quiet and listen carefully, I can hear the little clicking noises that its mechanism makes.

The simple life.

Do you have simple items that you have kept from your childhood, either for sentimental or other reasons? Share by leaving a comment.

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