zephyreks @ zephyreks @lemmy.ca

Posts

8

Comments

635

Joined

2 yr. ago

So grocery stores are making record profits at the cost of both suppliers and consumers?

Wonderful.

Well, yes but no but yes?

The Olympics organization, VANOC, recorded a profit. That means the cost of hosting the games (building out the sports facilities, managing staff, yada yada) was offset by the gains from licensing and sponsorships and merchandise.

However, the Olympics drove a flurry of infrastructure investment into Vancouver with the Canada Line, Sea-to-Sky Highway, and Vancouver Convention Center. These are key pieces of infrastructure for the Lower Mainland and have easily paid themselves back since then, but not over the time period of the Olympics.

Despite this, VANOC does not consider the increased tax revenue from excess tourism spending, nor the economic stimulus it provides to local businesses nor the lasting impact of advertising Vancouver as a spot for tourism. That's because VANOC is a distinct entity from the government and does not get to share in these revenues.

Honestly? For an event like the Olympics, people from Vancouver should be clamouring to host again. Given that the VANOC has shown that the games themselves can be profitable, the main cost is the excess spending on infrastructure that Vancouver desperately needs anyway.

LemmyFans when?

Missing a US investigation tbh

Then go after both problems?

Big cities in Canada should also charge inefficient vehicles operating within urban centers (downtown Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal). In other places, this is enforced by license plate registration and discourages the operation of inefficient vehicles within downtown urban areas.

No one gives a shit about the carbon footprint of bags. It's negligible.

What matters is the amount of waste produced, and a sizable chunk of that IS made up of bags.

K bye

This also gives the people who actually need to drive (contractors, etc.) an easier time because of reduced traffic.

Feels like the biggest problem is still the tech industry tbh (and by extension startups).

Canada lacks jobs because the growth profile of employers (large, established companies that grow slowly) doesn't match the growth profile of the population (which expands quickly and needs more dynamicity). Likewise, Canada's tech wages are low not because of low base salaries, but low stock compensation. This is inherently because the startup environment is not competitive enough for larger companies to have to compete with stock options. Comparing Google to Shopify again, a senior SWE makes 149k vs. 205k USD (difference being mostly the strong USD and weak CAD). However, while Shopify might give 20k in RSUs or other stock-based compensation, Google gives around 140k, increasing total compensation by more than 50%. That's the difference. That's always been the difference.

Today, Canada likely has one of the highest rates of poorly utilized skilled workers. In the US, that would translate into hundreds of startups trying to make it big. In Canada? It seems to translate into taxi drivers and real estate workers. That needs to change.

Here's a question: can you even name another Asian cult?

Turns out, a mostly Western construct whose leadership is mostly dominated by the West doesn't understand Eastern culture. No one worth a damn in Eastern countries gives a fuck about what Falun Gong says.

If you want a real human rights violation to be outraged by, look at the Muslim crackdown in China. That has actual, verifiable evidence.

Then why isn't there a revolt? Mass protests? Revolution?

The justice system is literally the foundation of the social contract in society. If it's flawed and corrupt, society as a whole falls apart. In fact, it should.

Right, because the court of public opinion is never wrong.

Better tell Bloomberg Terminal subscribers to not trust their news sources, then.

Bloomberg isn't a news company, they're a trading software company.

That doesn't exist?

Would you also like a reputable source claiming God doesn't exist?

Pedestrian streets are also really good at attracting tourism. It's crazy.

US senator asks Canadians to dump Canadian tax dollars into US companies.

Hasn't China been mostly retaliatory/maintaining status quo in it's use of hard power?

Hate to say it, but the West hasn't been kind to China. There's no reason to expect China to be kind in return.

Startling contrast between us and the US.

You want someone to... prove a negative? I bet you also believe in God, huh?