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Topics http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/complaints-department The taxonomy view with a depth of 0. en-cwm A Greek Tragedy: Debt Management http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/business-sense/2010/07/07/greek-tragedy-debt-management Valuable debt management lessons learned the Greek debt crisis. http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/business-sense/2010/07/07/greek-tragedy-debt-management#comments Business Sense B.C. HST complaints department debt management Greek debt crisis Greek tax money management steve burgess Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:47:44 -0700 Steve Burgess <h2 class="bcb-article-deck">Lessons from the Greek debt crisis: set priorities, watch your money and get yourself a good pair of shoes.</h2> Greece invented the Olympics. So maybe we shouldn’t be surprised about the whole debt crisis. These are the people who turned massive, irrelevant expenditure into a triumph of the human spirit. As the Greek debt crisis roiled the markets, pummelled the Euro and sent protesters to the streets, the rest of the world looked for lessons. Actually, it didn’t look very hard. This wasn’t exactly an Agatha Christie mystery. More like the Mike Tyson Story, in which a sporting legend proves to have the financial sense of an inebriated Marine. I do enjoy Greek food. But not on credit. A spanakopita bought is a spanakopita earned, I always say. Same goes for pizza, sushi and automobiles. Debt has never been to my taste. My approach to financial management has always been pretty hard-core. I’ve never taken out a loan. I’ve never had a mortgage. I didn’t get a Visa card until I was in my 40s. Now that I have one, I pay the full balance every month. Apparently, this makes me something of a circus freak. Personal debt levels have risen steadily in Canada since the mid-’80s, while personal savings rates have dropped like network TV ratings. A new survey from the CGA Association of Canada says the average Canadian has debts of almost $41,740 – 2½ times the level of 1989. As for British Columbians, our savings rate is six per cent lower than the (lousy) national average, while B.C. bankruptcies climbed almost 43 per cent in 2009, the second-highest rise in the country. A lot of personal debt involves student loans, which is hard to argue with. As for the rest of it, well, I suppose your nightly prayers for that new 41-foot executive-class RV with flat-screen TV and colour-co-ordinated patio awning is a private matter between you and your God. If borrowing is the answer to those prayers, so be it. I can only tell you that a budget free from debt charges is a wonderful thing. I’ve never made a lot of money – the only time I’m ever looking at six figures is on reruns of Friends – but I’m capable of doing things not usually associated with my income level. I travel a lot. I wear shoes that belong in a much higher tax bracket. I set priorities and watch my money. It’s a good strategy. But I am not planning any “Be Like Steve” tours of world capitals, admonishing chastened presidents and premiers to follow my fine example. I’m not a government. I don’t even buy people dinner. It may be standard campaign rhetoric that government budgets should balance like household budgets or that running a government is like running a business, but I don’t believe that. Governments have obligations and need budget flexibility. Still, I think at least one legitimate parallel can be drawn from my example. My financial approach can be summed up as realistic. Realism is always useful; desire, on the other hand, tends to mess up budgets. In the European case, Greece wanted into the EU and the EU wanted Greece. So the Europeans turned a blind eye to economic danger signs, and the Greek government fudged the numbers in order to qualify. Everybody wanted it to happen, and so it did. Add that to the unrealistic spending sprees of the Greek government and the whole thing takes on the same air of delusion that precedes many large boat purchases. Otto von Bismarck reportedly said, “Politics is the art of the possible.” Too many politicians take that quote to heart. Before you know it, everything seems possible. Hard choices don’t get made. Then again, when politicians see riot police in the streets of Athens and tax revolt brewing in B.C., realism must seem like a luxury governments cannot afford. Easier to pull out the credit card. 14224 at http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca B.C.'s HST: Sudden Death http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/business-sense/2010/06/09/bc039s-hst-sudden-death Are some people taking the "rush to beat the HST" to extreme new levels? http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/business-sense/2010/06/09/bc039s-hst-sudden-death#comments Business Sense British Columbia politics complaints department HST politics premier gordon campell steve burgess taxes Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:41:05 -0700 Steve Burgess <h2 class="bcb-article-deck">Are some people taking the “rush to beat the HST” to extreme new levels?</h2> You can’t take it with you. But the government can certainly take it away from you. Grumblers who promise to curse the taxman with their dying breath will be pleased to learn that, in this province, death is not the end. You no longer have to be breathing to contribute revenue to the provincial coffins – er, coffers. The July 1 arrival of the harmonized sales tax (HST) also means the debut of the controversial funeral tax. Starting this summer, getting away from it all is going to cost a little more. The HST has been about as popular as a terminal illness, generally. But along with the tax on new homes and restaurant meals, the application of the HST to funeral services has been particularly aggravating to many. The effects of the new tax on home building have been easy to see, with builders hiring extra workers and putting on double shifts in order to finish and sell houses before the dreaded surcharge takes effect. The effect of the tax on the funeral business will likely be harder to uncover. Has there been a rush to beat the deadline? A true picture might require a certain amount of police investigation. Have there been scenes reminiscent of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with relatives being carried into funeral homes still attesting to their robust health while thrifty family members assure the undertaker that death is expected “any minute”? Any special promotions being offered for early-bird victims? Certainly the new death tax sets up a scenario comparable to airplane seat envy, where a pleasant trip is spoiled by the knowledge that the traveller sitting next to you paid far less for a ticket. I’m sure Heaven would still be lovely, but wouldn’t it be galling to know that the smug bastard one cloud over got there cheaper? On the other hand, the HST on funerals will probably seem perfectly fitting to many B.C. Buddhists. Among some, the traditional practice is to burn paper money and paper goods for the dead to use in the afterlife. Burning some real money on a funeral will probably seem like a natural variation. Then too, the new tax may provide a net benefit to the health of British Columbians overall. Again, the homes situation provides an interesting point of comparison. It’s widely expected that new-home sales will plummet after the tax takes effect July 1, with a rush of buyers getting their house shopping in before the HST arrives. Surely a corresponding plunge in the provincial death rate can also be expected. Not much point in kicking off after you’ve missed the deadline. Besides, funerals aren’t meant to be fun. Almost everyone cries. What’s one more little source of grief? Adding the HST will ensure that even those ungrateful offspring who secretly aren’t all that unhappy about recent events will look suitably glum, knowing that yet another little portion of the inheritance is being siphoned away. The funeral tax will be just the thing to stop nasty Uncle Bob from whistling and telling inappropriate jokes during the ceremony. If any more illustrations of the tax’s many advantages are needed, consider the miracles it has already wrought. The HST has accomplished an honest-to-goodness resurrection, bringing Bill Vander Zalm back from the political grave. No one would ever have expected such a thing was possible. Recent polls have suggested that the tax could have the opposite effect on Premier Gordon Campbell’s government. It’s far too early to tell whether the anger will last, but if the HST truly does prove to be the death of the BC Liberals, they will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that the interment ceremony will mean a modest little boost for provincial revenues. They’re sure to leave a legacy to B.C. And a little bit of yours too. 13354 at http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca Making Money During the Olympics http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/after-hours/2010/02/03/making-money-during-olympics Steve Burgess ponders all the mercenary jobs he could do during the Games. http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/after-hours/2010/02/03/making-money-during-olympics#comments after hours BCBusiness Coca-Cola sign complaints department geoff meggs Miga money-making opportunity official supplier On guard for Thee Quatchi steve burgess VANOC Winter Olympics Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:56:40 -0800 Steve Burgess <div class="bcb-article-deck">Steve Burgess has <a href="http://emotionalliteracyeducation.com/classic_books_online/mdprp10.htm">a modest proposal</a> for how to make money during the 2010 Winter Games.</div> Riding my bike along Tatlow Trail in the cathedral quiet of Stanley Park last fall, I saw something approaching on the path. It was an SUV. “Can you tell us how to find a road?” the driver asked. “We seem to have taken a wrong turn.” There it is, I thought – an Olympic preview. When the world comes to visit, there’s no telling what folks will do, from driving through the heart of Stanley Park to lighting up a Marlboro at the next table. And that, I figured, could be my ticket to Olympic riches. I can set myself up as a local guide for perplexed visitors who might otherwise make mistakes such as carrying concealed semi-automatic weapons or using cellphones while driving. I’ll be there to explain why it is taking so long to get that RV onto the Seabus. I can explain to foreigners how to differentiate the West End from the West Side and West Vancouver, and Daniel from Henrik. For a hefty hourly rate. One way or another, I’ve got to do something. The Countdown Clock is nearing single digits, and I am still waiting for my personal Olympic windfall. Voting Yes in the referendum was – let’s be frank – partly a vote for opportunism. We all cherished vague hopes that with the Games in place, the winter of 2010 would bring snow to higher elevations while making it rain for the rest of us. So far my bobsled has been stuck on gravel. Financially, I’ve been a big luger. At least I’m not alone. Economically, the Olympics have been like a money tornado, striking one house and leaving the neighbour’s untouched. Hotels and restaurants expect booming business. But florists will struggle to fill Valentine’s Day orders while daytime deliveries are prohibited for security reasons. In fact, what with the lack of flowers and the difficulty of getting dinner reservations, the big winners of the 2010 Games could be divorce lawyers. So how to benefit from the Games? If hiring myself out as a local Yoda doesn’t fly, I’m thinking about gumshoe work. Not looking for terrorists so much – too dangerous to justify the returns. My plan is to rat out the brand rebels. As Vancouver city councillor Geoff Meggs put it in one interview, carrying an Olympics Suck sign inside the security zone might not get you in trouble. But a Pepsi-Cola sign? Probably a different story. Thus the money-making opportunity: corporate surveillance. Mixing among the crowds outside public venues, I can keep a sharp eye out for sponsor-busting behaviour. Coffee drinking, for example. Far Coast Coffee, a division of Coca-Cola, won the right to be the official supplier to the 2010 Games. Unless you’re inside an Olympic venue, finding their brand around town will not be easy; Fifth Avenue Cinemas has one of their espresso machines in the lobby concession stand, if you like your popcorn with some kick, but that’s about it. Needless to say, though, plenty of people will be milling about near Olympic events carrying takeout cups from hundreds of other cafés, many emblazoned with logos from those corporate non-sponsors. Each takeout cup is one small violation of IOC sponsorship. At a bounty of, say, three dollars per latte, I could do well. There might also be toddlers toddling around with non-compliant toys, such as Barbies and off-brand bears. I will issue them Quatchis and Migas on the spot and bill their little credit cards. A quick frisk of their parents’ pockets will likely uncover sets of keys being held together with non-Olympic ring devices. Mandatory replacements will be given, again at full price. Plus my service fee. I’ll be providing a real service and helping the local economy. Perhaps I should ask VANOC for permission, but they’ll understand. Time is short and so am I. Bring on that Olympic gold!  9370 at http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca The Folly of 2010 Resolutions http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/after-hours/2010/01/06/folly-2010-resolutions Hoping to make a brand new start in 2010? You're in good company. http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/after-hours/2010/01/06/folly-2010-resolutions#comments after hours BCBusiness Canwest complaints department january 2010 New Years Resolution promises resolutions steve burgess Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:44:32 -0800 Steve Burgess <div class="bcb-article-deck">Hoping to make a brand new start? You’ve got good company.</div> Resolutions are made to be broken. What a scary thought for shareholders. Consumers too. It’s the time when people pledge to do better. One hopes that this annual ritual will be performed with a little conviction this time around. Looking back on 2009, it’s clear there are many folks with ample reason to consider changing their ways. <div class="image-header" id="bcb-article-sidebar"> <div class="header-image"><img width="98" height="12" alt="BCB Sidebar - Online Only" src="/files/u102/category_online-only.gif" /> More: <a href="/node/8913">10 B.C. Luminaries & Their Resolutions</a> Video: <a href="/node/4115">Vancouver's 2009 Resolutions</a> More: <a href="/node/9008">Five Web Trends to Watch in 2010</a> More: <a href="/node/9075">10 Marketing Resolutions for 2010</a></div> </div> 2008 saw a listeria scare at Maple Leaf Foods plants, and in 2009 more Maple Leaf hot dogs were recalled for the same issue. So we sincerely want to believe it when executives at Maple Leaf Foods wave their champagne glasses in the air on New Year’s Eve and promise, “Next year, we switch to the leading detergent.” The traditional New Year’s resolutions involve kicking various leisure-time habits: smoking, drinking, perhaps heroin for some unfortunates. It’s not often someone makes a firm resolution to stop going to the movies. Maybe someone at CanWest Global should have. A little late now. The 2007 acquisition of Alliance Atlantis for $2.3 billion did not leave Canwest with much left over for popcorn, or Maltesers, or debt refinancing. 2009 saw the company taking on water and finally breaking apart. A good 2010 resolution for CanWest: try a remake of Raise the Titanic. If CanWest was a box office bust last year, maybe Nortel Networks ought to give Hollywood a try. If ever a company followed the plot of a slasher flick it would be Nortel. Who, except perhaps Halloween psycho Michael Myers, could lose so many parts and keep coming back so often? How many deaths can one entity undergo? After a series of crises apparently dating back to the birth of Alexander Graham Bell, Nortel finally, definitively, died last summer, announcing that it would cease operations. The only possible New Year’s resolution for Nortel: a major studio deal for a zombie flick. It’s a little harder to imagine a practical New Year’s resolution for the folks at Vancouver City Hall. Perhaps this: everybody at 12th and Cambie should buy a copy of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, learn the “law of attraction” and start visualizing a nice big housing boom for 2010 that might – might – get the city to the break-even point on False Creek’s Olympic Village development. Sacrificing a few goats would be an idea too. We’re looking at a potential shortfall of a billion or so dollars here, so let’s not skimp on the goats. The problem with New Year’s is it often comes too late. Resolutions that should have been offered up to the gods of fate months ago are already being breached. The crashing chords of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” had barely faded from the halls of government when news emerged that executives at publicly bailed-out companies such as General Motors, AIG and Bank of America were once again pocketing big perks. A resolution against unwarranted greed might be the equivalent of resolving to cure the common cold. But can we at least resolve that, in 2010, financial schemes that are too complex for anyone to satisfactorily explain shall henceforth be approached the same way as emails from Nigerian princes? Meanwhile, the resolution business itself will experience a boom season, thanks in part to the people at BC Lotto. Back in August, they helpfully boosted the weekly online gaming limit from $120 to – let’s see, what would be a reasonable increase? – $10,000. Now British Columbians have exponentially more potential for serious financial regret and hence that much more motivation to make resolutions and stick with them. A little motivational gift from BC Lotto to you. You’re welcome, I’m sure. Finally, there is one straightforward New Year’s resolution anyone can make: simply to try something new. Firmly resolving to go where you have never gone before, to do something that you have never done. I humbly suggest that this resolution might profitably be adopted by the Vancouver Canucks. You can try it too, if you like. 8835 at http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca B.C.'s HST: Singing in Harmony http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/business-sense/2009/12/02/bc039s-hst-singing-harmony The HST makes for strange political bedfellows – and historical parallels. http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/business-sense/2009/12/02/bc039s-hst-singing-harmony#comments Business Sense B.C. Liberals BC HST debate Bill Vander Zalm Carole James complaints department December 2009 harmonized sales tax HST Socred steve burgess Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:55:00 -0800 Steve Burgess <div class="bcb-article-deck">The HST makes for strange political bedfellows – and interesting historical parallels.</div> It has to be admitted: the B.C. Liberals weren’t kidding when they named the Harmonized Sales Tax. Any piece of legislation that creates ideological harmony between Bill Vander Zalm and Carole James is a miraculously effective device. Henceforth HST will replace LSD or MDMA as the true love drug, creating blissful concord everywhere. The former Socred premier and current NDP leader have taken the stage together to denounce the new plan to blend the GST with the provincial sales tax and apply it to a wider array of goods and services. Quick, let’s export the HST to the Middle East and Afghanistan, then sit back and watch harmony break out all over. Peace on earth, of a sort. <div class="image-header" id="bcb-article-sidebar"> <div class="header-image"><img width="98" height="12" alt="BCB Sidebar - Online Only" src="/files/u102/category_online-only.gif" /></div> <ul> <li>The Insider: <a href="/node/6139">Campbell's conversion to the virtues of the HST are a weensy bit suspicious</a></li> </ul> </div> It’s nice to see the kids getting along so well, especially at Christmas. It turns out all they needed was a common enemy. Gordon Campbell has become the anti-Santa, and strangely enough the results seem to be the same. Everybody stops fighting with each other and starts writing letters instead. Do you hear what I hear? Not that we are currently facing a “Black Tax Christmas”: the proposed 12 per cent HST will not take effect until next July. The appropriate tune will be “Summertime Blues,” rather than the “Twelve Per Cent Days of Christmas.” But considering the fact that the HST plan was never mentioned during last spring’s election campaign, B.C. voters can be forgiven for singing “It Came Upon a Midnight Not So Clear.” The summertime introduction might seem a little odd: shouldn’t a measure like this come into effect at the beginning of the year? Perhaps the thinking is that sunshine and mojitos will take the edge off public resentment. But there is good reason for it, politically if not fiscally. The potential image problem is stupendous. Introduce the HST in or around the holiday season and you will at least guarantee a merry Christmas for political cartoonists. It’s a free shot. Their first and most obvious caricature will be that little green spoilsport who stole Christmas – Mr. Grinch. Cue the Seussian rhymes: “All the Whos down in Whoville stopped their great celebrations / and struggled to make 12 per cent calculations. . . .”  But even that potential PR debacle is not the worst. For that, there is the little matter of the Gospel of St. Luke: “And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, each one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee . . . to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, who was great with child.” There’s your real political nightmare before Christmas. Bring in a new tax at yuletide and you are just asking for nasty comparisons. Might as well put out an order to kill all the first-born children, Premier Herod. A new tax at Christmas? The Campbell government could follow it up with a special hand-washing ceremony, to be held every year just before Good Friday. Change the name of the Ministry of Finance to Render Unto Caesar B.C. And yet, you have to wonder, Why run from it? Why shouldn’t the Libs embrace the whole image? Read that biblical passage again: “And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus. . . .” What’s so bad about that? That’s some serious political intimidation right there. Caesar Augustus was the Man – Rome’s first true emperor. He avenged the assassination of Julius Caesar, his patron. Then, like our premier today, Augustus faced an unusual male-female alliance. He whipped Marc Antony and kicked Cleopatra’s asp. Then Augustus ruled for a lifetime and died in his bed without any serious opposition. He probably had some distinguished grey hair too. A guy like that can harmonize your taxes however the hell he wants. And you’ll like it, citizen. 8304 at http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca Spare the Change http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/after-hours/2009/10/08/spare-change Archie comics, espresso beans and low-fat yogurt: when to leave well enough alone. http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/after-hours/2009/10/08/spare-change#comments after hours Archie comics Archie redesign BCBusiness blends coffee beans Commercial Drive complaints department consumer and product relationship consumers espresso Marketing safeway steve burgess Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:19:00 -0700 Steve Burgess <div class="bcb-article-deck">Archie comics, espresso beans and low-fat yogurt: when to leave well enough alone.</div> Standing in line at Safeway one day, I was gazing idly at the cover of an Archie comic – one of the new ones, with the redesigned characters first launched in 2007. These days Classic Archie and New Archie sit side by side in magazine racks. This particular issue featured Jughead and his would-be girlfriend Ethel, the perennially gawky, buck-toothed gal with the unquenchable crush. Except that in this version, Ethel looked pretty good. “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?” somebody muttered behind me. Exactly. Pretty soon the other shopper and I were busy devising new scenarios (it was a long lineup). Why wait around for that disinterested glutton, Ethel? Post-makeover, she could take up with Reggie. Jughead – never interested in women, obviously – would then be free to pair up with Moose, who would grow a beard and change his name to Bear. Why not? As part of a new targeted marketing strategy, it would be a big seller in parts of Vancouver. Riverdale High is the original Old School. The timeless quality of the Archie series is surely a large part of its appeal – witness the recent fad that involved young women self-identifying as Bettys or Veronicas. But the franchise traditions are no longer sacrosanct. Word recently leaked that the eternal triangle at the heart of the series would soon end with an Archie-Veronica wedding. The whole redesign has a New Coke odour to it. But it doesn’t seem to have been a similar public relations fiasco: recent sales figures suggest that issues featuring the newly redesigned characters sell respectably, although not better than traditional versions. Chasing new business is a worthy goal. But it can be dicey. Case in point: until recently I always bought coffee beans at a particular place on Commercial Drive. Travelled quite a distance to get there too. Then they changed the blend. My motivation to make that long trip disappeared. The café offered other blends, one of which might well have suited my needs. But there is a certain illogical aspect to consumer loyalty. I stuck to that particular bean blend because I knew it worked for me. There’s an almost magical quality to that consumer-product relationship. Once that sense of certainty disappeared, I figured I might just as well hunt for my homemade rocket fuel somewhere closer by. My bean loyalty even carried a whiff of superstition. I didn’t exactly understand why that blend worked while the beans sold by my regular espresso hangout failed to work well in my home machine. But I didn’t have to think about it; I just had to keep buying the same blend. That’s the relationship retailers dream of. Shame to throw it away. Consumer decisions tend to be anything but logical, a fact that can play hell with rational marketing strategies. But usually there’s a good reason why we buy what we do. I used to stock up on Safeway’s Lucerne brand low-fat yogurts until an inexplicable re-formulation introduced an odd aftertaste. Now I won’t touch the stuff. I would love to find out what they were thinking when they made that move. As for Archie and friends, it’s hard to know what the publishers are thinking; their own official sales figures do not show large readership declines in the past year. Still, they clearly believe that without innovation their young target market will pass them by. But sometimes change just isn’t necessary. Take Archie’s longtime nemesis, Reggie: the classic narcissist, slick, self-satisfied and apparently well off, judging by his ride. Once upon a time, Reggie was a stereotypical villain. Now, thanks to the rise of hip-hop culture, Reggie embodies the values and image most often celebrated in music videos. The times have caught up with him; Reggie is hip hop. No redesign required. 7083 at http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca All Aboard the New Canada Line http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/after-hours/2009/09/02/all-aboard-new-canada-line The new SkyTrain to YVR is great news for most. But not the poor cabbie. http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/after-hours/2009/09/02/all-aboard-new-canada-line#comments after hours airports Canada Line complaints department skytrain steve burgess taxi taxi drivers transit Vancouver YVR Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:52:00 -0700 Steve Burgess <div class="bcb-article-deck">The new SkyTrain to YVR is great news for most people. But whither the poor cabbie?</div> The Canada Line is running. A train to the airport – it’s about time. I speak as someone who once, in a younger, more foolish incarnation, tried to take a city bus to the airport. I was heading home for Christmas. I left myself about 90 minutes. Yes, I know. Every single block some schlep would ring the bell, the bus would trundle over to the curb . . . and I spent Christmas in Vancouver. For months afterward, I woke up screaming, “The bells! The bells!” Now, a train. This is more like it. Although the Canada Line opened ahead of schedule, it seems long overdue. From Hong Kong to Tokyo to Rome, rapid airport transit is the mark of a city that has its act together. An airport train is an environmentally friendly feature for any city. That’s particularly true for Vancouver, where the line has already reduced emissions by helping destroy businesses along the Cambie Street corridor. Fewer customers, less traffic – better for the environment. Getting vehicles off the road was the idea, although perhaps not quite like that. But even according to the official plan, someone’s business was always going to suffer as a result of the new train: taxi drivers. The lack of rapid transit to the airport has always been a boon for Lower Mainland hacks. Now, with this increased competition, their fares are bound to plummet. And that leaves some of us in an awkward position. I live about 15 blocks from the nearest Canada Line stop. An invigorating walk, you might say. But I travel with a suitcase that should come with licence plates. The easiest way to get it to the station would probably involve four tires and some sort of motor, or possibly a pole to punt it along the sidewalk. While the new train is welcome, I am still going to need some way to get to the starting line. So the question now becomes, How to get to the train station? The obvious answer is, call a cab. But geez. Isn’t that going to be rather uncomfortable? What’s it going to be like when that cab pulls up, you trundle out the door with all your baggage in tow, the cabbie starts calculating that big fare out to Sea Island and then you say, “Canada Line station, please.” Man. Awkward. Bad enough that this poor driver, perhaps a struggling student or out-of-work actor, is taking it on the chin from the Canada Line. But now here you are rubbing his nose in it. It’s like calling up your ex-wife and asking for a ride to your girlfriend’s place. It is time to start planning ahead for this difficult situation. The key is developing cover stories, plausible excuses. You might tell the driver to take you to the Pan Pacific or the Fairmont Waterfront, where you will soon be enjoying a relaxing getaway vacation minus the expensive airfare. From there it’s a short hop to Waterfront Station. You might explain that your suitcase is in fact a very primitive laptop. You might give the address of a luggage repair shop located close to a Canada Line station – I sincerely hope such a store exists. Poking ventilation holes in the suitcase and speaking to it in a soothing manner might convince the driver you are taking a distressed animal to the vet, but that seems extreme. A simpler solution would be asking a friend or partner to stand on the doorstep yelling, “And don’t come back, you two-timing louse!” Or you can just brazen it out, in which case, good for you. Maybe the driver will even open the trunk for you when you arrive. 6488 at http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca Is Saving Money Worth Anything? http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/2009/07/15/saving-money-worth-anything Or pound foolish? False savings and financial symbolism. http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/2009/07/15/saving-money-worth-anything#comments BCB AIG bailouts BC Business BCAA complaints department cost cutting financial crisis July 2009 recession steve burgess Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:41:35 -0700 Steve Burgess <div class="bcb-article-deck">Penny wise or pound foolish? Pondering the question of false savings and financial symbolism.</div> As travel season approaches, fond memories of past vacations come flooding back – such as the time I visited the wide-open countryside near Ernfold, Saskatchewan. This was an unexpected addition to my itinerary, resulting from the sudden failure of a water pump while rocketing down the Trans-Canada. My brief idyllic time in Ernfold ended with a 100-kilometre tow into Moose Jaw, during which I had lots of time to think that perhaps my decision to save $75 by neglecting to purchase a BCAA membership had been unwise. I’m just sayin’. Lots of us are re-evaluating spending decisions these days. So what do you cut? Milk baths for your Mexican hairless can probably go without creating any sort of domino effect. Whereas savings on antiperspirant or transmission fluid could have consequences. Financial decisions ought to be about cold, hard figures, but it’s not always so. Emotion, misconception and circumstance often trump logic. Nothing distorts like a good media furor. Last spring’s uproar over AIG bonuses is one example. When we learned the insurance and financial services giant had paid out large bonuses after accepting U.S. government bailout money, the response provided a rare example of unity. The media howled; the public howled; the Republican and Democratic parties behaved as though the kingdom of heaven had been established on earth and all manner of former antagonists could now live in harmony. All agreed the AIG bonuses were an outrage. Some of the bonuses surely did stink. But others reportedly were delayed payment for work that had been done essentially without wages – work done not by conniving villains but by AIG employees working in good faith, quite probably unaware of the disaster that was about to strike. More to the point, the $165-million sum, while certainly big enough to make us peons salivate, was not a significant percentage of the massive $30-billion bailout. The outrage was about venting, and it felt good, like cursing the ref at a hockey game – and it accomplished just about as much. Of course cutting a few of those bonuses wouldn’t have hurt either. Tough times require tough measures. But there’s a danger that we will pursue false economies, reacting to obvious expenditures while ignoring more significant costs – like compulsive gamblers who cut back on trips to the dentist. And there are some cost savings that come, in time, to be seen as short-sighted. The original Vancouver Public Library plan, for instance, featured a majestic public rooftop garden, which was dramatically scaled back for budgetary reasons. This spring the Vancouver Convention Centre came in at $882 million, including greenery and even beehives on the roof. A $400-million overrun is nothing to brag about – people might assume the green roof was spread with 20-dollar-bill mulch. It would have been easy to cut it, but I’m glad that in this case they didn’t scrimp on the bees and flowers. Sometimes too we pay more attention to perception than reality. Last summer gas prices went crazy. I was planning a trip back home to Brandon, Manitoba, and once again I decided to drive. People were appalled. News reports were full of tales of vacations cancelled over fuel price woes – wasn’t I paying attention? Naturally, I was unhappy about paying Merlot prices for petroleum. But cost-wise it was no contest. An airline ticket would run me at least $600, plus several hundred more for a rental car. Even with two nights in a Calgary motel, my ancient four-cylinder BMW could beat that price. The challenge was to ignore all the people on TV telling me that a cross-country car trip would leave me stranded in Manitoba, weaving toques for stray coins. It worked out fine. Even though this time I bought the BCAA membership and the car never broke down. Seventy-five bucks, wasted. 5957 at http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca Has Beans: B.C. Starbucks in Decline http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/2009/06/03/has-beans-bc-starbucks-decline Humanity appears to have stemmed another spreading green mass. http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/2009/06/03/has-beans-bc-starbucks-decline#comments BCB BCBusiness coffee complaints department franchise expanding June 2009 starbucks steve burgess tim hortons Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:03:00 -0700 Steve Burgess What does the decline of Starbucks represent? And will The Blob strike back? “At least we’ve got it stopped.” “Yeah, as long as the Arctic stays cold.” – Earl Rowe and Steve McQueen in The Blob OOPS. IT MAY be time for a sequel to that 1958 horror movie in which a huge, unstoppable ooze is finally corralled and dropped near the North Pole. Poor old frozen Blobby will probably be wearing a Speedo and some suntan oil pretty soon. In the meantime, though, humanity appears to have stemmed another spreading green mass. In April Starbucks closed a café in Richmond’s Aberdeen Centre, the first closing of a Canadian location. Vancouver Starbucks have disappeared before but only in the way that decapitated dandelions do: temporarily. Two different Denman Street locations have closed over the years, but the total number of Denman Starbucks now stands at two. There has been no net loss – until now. It’s happening all over the world as the Seattle chain starts to pull back and consolidate.  In all, 900 locations are expected to lose their healthy green glow. Perhaps they will turn to gold and brilliant shades of red as they die, lending gorgeous autumn hues to city streets. There are certainly enough of them to create the effect. It is highly unlikely that any Lower Mainland citizens will mourn this loss, outside of the immediate Aberdeen Centre region. No doubt the store closing was met by the same kind of cheers raised by sandbag fillers when a flooding river finally starts to drop. But the death of one Starbucks at least raises the spectre of a more widespread die-off. What if they all went? Could there ever come a day when people will look back with nostalgia on the days when Starbucks was inescapable? Starbucks really are like dandelions or kudzu vines – attractive, potentially useful and not at all unpleasant when considered in isolation. Yet their near ubiquity and opportunistic spread frequently inspire loathing. Implicit in this distaste is the idea that we will never be rid of them. Yet like Zeppelins or carhops, there’s always the chance that one day the green Starbucks awning will be seen as the mark of a specific era. A 1952 Ford Mercury was no big whoop when the streets were full of them. Now the sight of one would turn heads. Despite their upscale clientele and cosy street corner locales, Howard Schultz’s coffee giant tends to be lumped in with fast-food franchises in the public mind – i.e., a soulless corporate blight on the landscape. Perhaps most disturbing is the way they seem to suck up all the available retail oxygen, asphyxiating the small fry. Miriam’s ice cream parlour was a fixture at Davie and Denman for years; to see a Starbucks move into the spot created the dispiriting sense that a city’s character was slowly being obliterated. At the other end of the street, the familiar Mr. Bojangles café at Robson and Denman recently shuttered – and within weeks a green awning had been installed. Was the independent café bullied off its perch? Starbucks has frequently been accused of using its corporate muscle to steamroll mom-and-pop cafés from choice locales. A pullback by Starbucks doesn’t necessarily portend a blossoming of small, independent cafés. If Schultz is having troubles, small operators will too. But Starbucks’s problems also have to do with issues that are particular to the chain, such as overextension and poor merchandising decisions. Quality has suffered too as automated systems have replaced the tamping of well-trained baristas. Having created a North American market for espresso drinks, a shrinking Starbucks might finally be making room for some of those small fry. But it’s unlikely. The closing of the Aberdeen Centre location probably says more about Aberdeen Centre than about Starbucks. Our streets will probably stay green for a while. And as a coffee addict, I will admit this: it sure beats a city full of Tim Hortons. 5263 at http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca Complaints: Vote and Vote Often http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/2009/05/12/complaints-vote-and-vote-often To STV or not to STV? http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/bcb/2009/05/12/complaints-vote-and-vote-often#comments BCB 2009 B.C. election B.C. elections complaints department hugo chavez kelly sutherland steve burgess stv Tue, 12 May 2009 16:57:03 -0700 Steve Burgess What do STV and Hugo Chavez have in common? Everyone’s got a stimulus package these days. B.C.’s version seems to be ballot based. Last fall it was municipal and federal votes providing government-funded subsidies, and now the May 12 general provincial election looms, with its promise of rich harvests for those who toil in advertising, printing and property-rental fields, among others. It’s a wonder no one is running on a platform of full employment via monthly votes. The recent blizzard of ballots is not the only reason for a sense of déjà vu. There’s also the return of STV. British Columbians must have assumed that STV was gone for good and for this probably thanked penicillin. But like a dormant virus that suddenly erupts into a fresh new rash, STV has returned after a four-year absence. Topical creams will not rid us of this topic. It’s beginning to seem as though nothing will. A proposal to adopt the electoral system known as single transferable vote was put on the provincial ballot four years ago at the recommendation of the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform. It won majority support – close to 58 per cent – but fell short of the 60 per cent approval threshold set by the government. Apparently, the Liberals have decided to take a page from the eight-year-old’s handbook: if they say n0 the first time, just keep asking. Under the STV system, voters do not simply cast one vote; they rank candidates in order of preference. The system is designed to prevent wasted votes. With the current system, a vote for the losing candidate is a vote that essentially never happened. Our elections are like roulette games where every voter gets one chip. Bet yours on red, the wheel spins, it comes up black – you lose. Hope your local roads get paved, loser. If STV is adopted, you are almost certain to see some return on your bet and potentially some pavement on your street. “The number of seats that each party wins better reflects the popular vote they receive,” explains SFU political scientist Cara Camcastle. “The Green Party, which received nine per cent of the popular vote in the last election but won no seats, would probably win some seats under STV.” I’m not sold on STV – not helped by the fact that, even after my nice chat with professor Camcastle, I still don’t exactly understand the process (which surely puts me in the electoral majority). But there’s another angle on this that worries me: What happens if the proposal falls short again? Will STV pop back up like a Popeye punching bag? In 2007 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez asked voters to abolish term limits so that they would have the luxury of voting for Chavez again and again. The voters said no to the president’s generous offer of perpetual service. So Chavez waited and asked the public again earlier this year. This time the measure passed with a narrow majority. Now he is free to faithfully serve the Venezuelan people until he is stuffed and mounted with his fists still gripping the reins of power. Is that what awaits the voters of British Columbia? Is STV the Hugo Chavez of ballot plebiscites? Will STV rise from its cold, icy grave again and again to menace a terrified – OK, mildly annoyed – electorate? If you support STV, by all means vote for it. But if not, it is possible that voting No in this month’s election will not be enough. When you go to the polls, carry a small hammer. Step into the voting booth and take up your pencil. Position it over the STV question and take out your mallet. Then drive the wooden pencil deep into the ballot’s little paper heart. Silver bullets might work too, but I don’t want to see anyone do time. 5062 at http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca