brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) (09/28/85)
Total collected duty is not enough to measure the cost of duty. After all, we haven't even talked about the fact that we in Canada enjoy an 11% Federal Sales Tax that our neighbours to the south don't get. Of course you say, if it isn't taken here, it's taken in other taxes. So why are the personal income taxes lower in the USA too?? And then you say we pay more because of the fine social programs we have. Surprise, suprise. Canada spends a LOWER percentage of its GNP on social programs than the USA does! And we have a smaller GNP per Capita. =============== But seriously folks, what's all this about Ontario gaining the most from trade barriers? Sure a few fatcats are munching at the public trough, but by and large Ontario is losing. It's the protected industries that are losing the most in the long term. Trade barriers have left us with inefficient companies using out of date equipment whose products are only bought because of subsidies. Instead of being shaped to face the real world, whole industries are going to die with no new stimulation to replace them. So in the long term, we in Ontario pay the worst price. ================ While we're at it, here's another factor to consider. We all know how much bad mail service hurts the economy. The size of the courier industry indicates this. Now think about how much things are slowed going to the USA. Two weeks is considered normal delivery time. Even couriers who charge $5 to $10 to do delivery within the country charge up to $43 (Federal Express) to go over the border. It's so bad that you often simply can't operate a business in Canada if it has to do a lot of mailing to the USA. So you set up a branch plant and guess where the jobs go, for no reason at all. My floppy disks always get delayed coming in, and my "news" magazines are commonly weeks late, which is nice considering I have to pay twice the USA subscription rate. With free trade, let's also get free trade of first class mail. -- Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473