....for the Cost of supporting Government services at all levels the Cost of Living in this country seems somewhat predictable, even stable.

Today is the day the CRTC hears “input” to new fees, revenue share or something like that the TV stations and networks want from us, or the cable companies or somebody…?

Let’s look back for just a moment:
Pay TV comes in – Specialty Channels they’re called.
The rules – if we want to subscribe we pay a small monthly fee. Well too many channels, too much choice – not enough sales. Solution – charge a little bit more for the “small monthly fee” and allow the new specialty channels to sell some advertising minutes, not many just a few. Still not enough revenue – allow a few more minutes of advertising sales per hour.

Suddenly Good Morning. Networks and local stations are suffering as advertisers pull back faced with hundreds of channels, the net, paper, hell even images in washrooms and projected onto the sidewalls of buildings at night. Specialty Channels have a guaranteed income and ‘regular TV” suffers. They want “rev-share”.

What ensues is a comical series of Public Service commercials – each pointing out the “other sides” grotesquely large profits, all on the back of who? Oh their good friends and advocates – Joe Public. No, not MaCain’s Joe Public, our made in Canada Joe Public.

Lets 'Michael Moore' this for just a moment –
Specialty Channels – non competitive to regular network and local tv are introduced.
Specialty channels – start selling advertising minutes, and still get monthly “user fees”
Specialty Channels get to sell more minutes.
Shaw and Rogers come to a ‘détente” and split Canada into east and west zones. No more territorial fighting between them, no more price or feature wars. ((are you beginning to get it??))

Where was the CRTC then?
Where was the Competition Bureau then?
AND have you looked at which Networks, (the Tin Cuppers) actually own some of these Speciality Channels, that have dissected their revenue markets?

The stage for today’s battleground was set slowly, over the years. It should be no surprise about the Networks wanting revenue share…and it should be surprise that somehow we’re about to pay more….

The “new” Minister of Health for the Province in responding to the mess of vaccine availability and distribution has said:
"I want Ontarians to know that we're working hard to protect you from H1N1, and we're going to keep working hard until we get this right,"
…..thanks for that Deb, your Government, still practicing. So that’s why you go through millions, oh no – billions.

Sounds a lot like her boss 'the Dalton' – “ this shows that Ontarians expect and deserve better”

Other famous Dalton lines of recent months include:

"Our responsibility as a government is to take responsibility," a chastened McGuinty told a news conference Wednesday after appointing Children and Youth Services Minister Deb Matthews to replace Health Minister David Caplan, who resigned over the fiasco.

McGuinty said it is now clear the government needs to "insinuate ourselves into the activities that are taking place far away from the front lines, because ultimately we're being held accountable for them."

That realization does not make him angry, the premier said.

"It makes me more determined to put into place the appropriate measures."

He did not specify what actions are coming but said "there will likely be some changes made in order to breathe life into the recommendations put forward by the auditor."

Although many of the problems occurred under Caplan's predecessor, McGuinty said former health minister George Smitherman, his deputy premier and minister of energy and infrastructure, would remain in cabinet because "the minister who is in place at that time, who's up to bat, accepts responsibility."
______
There ya go Dalton, no look backs. Dalton’s Teflon world works more like a kids game of “tag – ooly olly en-free, you’re it!”
Dalton obviously believes resumes or CV’s are useless things in determining capacity or capability.

So it started out as a $200 million dollar mess. Escalated to $600 and now is reported at One Billion .
And we accept this? In fact we pay them get up in the morning and do this.

Conrad, Garth and Myron are the only ones to server time?
It don’t make sense to me.

Oh – yes, yes it does: they’re politicians we expect this, so we accept it.

A1 - In Ontario – Cell Phones with Bluetooth Voice Dial.

Q 2 - So what are the genius “marketing” folks at Bell, Rogers & Telus missing?

A2 – Opportunity. A giant opportunity - Missed.

Their collective web sites are almost void of information on Voice Dial. They continue to deliver hyper-babble mush about sleek features in hot pink, midnight black and pineapple white cases. ONLY Fido offered any close advice when doing a word search under Voice Dial.

For years these companies have pounded tens of millions of dollars expounding features that manufactures tear sheets said would sell more phones. NOW, HERE, TODAY – a reason – a change in the law – an easy reason to guide customers to an upgrade that the customer would pay for. No negotiating, no threatening to switch carriers, just a need – “help me continue to burn air-time minutes, while complying with the Law”. And they fail. Same old, same old marketing. Not an opportunity in sight.

Talk about “blowing” Investor Value. Solutions guys, this was your big chance to shine. Or at least look like you were awake. Silly gooses.

Hey, how’s the golf?

My jury still out.

Kindle – if laptop screens couldn’t kill it, will Kindle and the Sony eBook Reader be the Great Paper-Killer?

I’m thinking not. Yes, I really want a Kindle, but they just ain’t available in Canada (yet) so I went and played with the newest generation Sony Reader. Yes clear, easy to read text. Smooth fonts, non glare screen, light in weight and cool. But “it ain’t paper”. You can scroll, flip pages etc, but it’s missing the texture of how much more to read, by the thickness of the right pile, how much read, by the thickness of the left bundle.

I take zealous care of my books - their pages, even the corners of the cover. But on a beach, in the yard, I can drop a magazine as I snooze, Kindle, Sony – they’re not droppable.

And the price, for the small difference, if I wanted to carry a bundle of books these “e” readers, I’d save lots of weight. But for texture, I like a book, the art, the weight, the flipping of a real page, as I know pages. BUT back to price – a significant cost of publishing a book is printing the first copy and then the second, and so on, but the first copy …wow expensive to get to. So for Kindle books – which takes none of that financial horsepower, not even shelf space, the savings seem not there. Bravo to the author if they can reap more, but are they? Or is this really just a retail margin improvement – with loss of texture.

As for Kindle – I still really want one, and likely will jump at the chance, but like so many electronic toys, suspect I’ll tire fast and yearn to flip real pages, real fast.

You advertise to sell a product. And in retail, you even locate near and with other similar stores - to bring people into your store.

Once in your sales arena – you hope I’ll impulse buy at least another product, another thing, not just the advertised ‘special’. Properly planed, I should experience “ah-hah” moments in your establishment saying things like …”I need that”, “…and oh, I want one of them too!”

So why do you kill the opportunity. Yes on the floor crush it, stomp it. As I’m about to consider a purchase I didn’t plan, - an impulse buy – retail gold. Why do you frustrate my attempt by not having a price anywhere? Why?

Why can you build a store, inventory it, advertise it, hire people but in the end - terminate my uncontrolled emotion and preparedness to part with money, by missing the most basic point – “how much?”

…and there’s been a lot I’ve meant to say – share, but….
The headline – Ontario 24.7B Deeper In Debit got my engine going. Again.

This is what a Billion looks like:
1,000,000,000.
Hundred Million:
100,000,000.
One Million:
1,000,000.
Getting the idea about how big a billion is?

How many “working taxpayers” does it take to get the first billion of tax revenue?

For those that don’t relate to long, large, number of a Billion, take a smaller step – remember the folks at “e-health” Ontario who spent anywhere from 600 to 800 million dollars, of our money much of it recklessly? Now the Official Word is that “they thought it needed to be done quickly”. I ask was is the build of a system, or the burn of the money? And we the citizens are ok with their response, as justified and rational. Criminal maybe? Why is Conrad Black in jail? Why is Drabinsky headed there?

So when you hear $24,000,000,000; remember it was one Health scandal at a time. Had we removed the most recently discovered one, the headline would read closer to only $23 Billion, and despite what our political leaders tell us; save a billion here, a half billion there, and pretty soon we owe many less billions.

Then there was a Power Plant for a Casino in Windsor at 89 or 90 million, built by Ontario Lottery Corp, plus a management contract given out to run it for 9 or was it 25 years?.... and a few management salaries later at Ontario Hydro, then morphed into Hydro One, oh and then there were some other great ones over at The Ontario Lottery Corp, first paid, then quietly settled as it seems we fired 'em wrong; and did ya' hear about the stuff at the yet undiscovered LCBO...you will!

And why just kick the public issues, did ya’ hear about the multi-million dollar payout of the genius-guru that ran Sick Kids Hospital Charitable Foundation?

And now the Toronto School Board is hiring a Director of Marketing to help retain and enroll….got’a love it, more empirical power plays, on our dime, at a time of ‘restraint”.

No wonder we invented Viagra.
It's just with all the high blood pressure these fiasco’s should create, Viagra is a no-no. No?

So the Premier gives us, the voters, the snub in his continued backing of the Health Minister. In a world of political swords, sword swallowers and sometimes – daggers, seems to me if he wanted to at least show remorse, he didn’t even have to have it, he just had to care enough to say he had it…but nope, arrogance – he summed up the first 647 million and the second …funny they didn’t even get a total on the second e-health debacle, but anyhow he summed it all up by saying….”this just shows we got to get better at what we do”. One is left to wonder – who is this “we” and what is it that “they” do? Yes I’m really upset about 647 million – heck, it’s almost a “billion”…but I’m more upset that with a Cabinet Shuffle in progress, he didn’t at least respect the Taxpayer enough to say…’Section Head goes’. And we complain of Bay & Wall Street arrogance?

Oh, oh and the Toronto City council, so worried about crossing a picket line, was Mr. Mayor, that the taxpayers footed at $20,000 bill to hold the Council meeting in an arena. They had to rush through acceptance of a Bombardier streetcar contract for around 1.2Billion (there’s that number again)…cause I guess if they waited even a minute past the midnight deadline, Bombardier would’a said “fogett’a about it, we don’t want to build your lousy streetcars any more….our airplane business has taken off and we’re just too busy”. Just who invents all this false pressure?

In either form - not used by many of us before very recent times.

Before I became involved with rewards, loyalty and marketing for a mortgage bank, the word Billion eluded me. In fact for at least the first year, or even 3 of the relationship – the proportion eluded me, and even where the comma’s were to go, mesmerized me. But I became used to the term, the size, even the commas, as in ...”oh another billion”.

And before this I remember that Carl Sagan used it often to describe the universe as if an alliteration ….“billions and billions and billions of years ago…”

Today more often we all use the word “billion” as a synonym for “bailout”. So we’ve become numb in sense to a new dimension – ginormus. Ginormous debt. Ginourmous loans. Ginourmous gifts. Even ginoumours screw-ups don’t seem to phase us anymore.

Staying close to home – next up for my comment…the almost, or maybe more than One Billion Dollar screw-up in Ontario’s digital health document strategy.

Globe & Mail June 17, 09

Excerpt from an interview with a senior executive of a large corporation about his travel habits…

Globe – What do you do during these flights?

Executive – It depends on the flight. I do lots of preparation work. I’m a planner by nature. I tend to do that last minute on the plane. I always catch a flick too.

3 things come to mind:
1. I’ve often had trouble citing an oxymoron – But.... "lots of preparation as a last minute planner"….I’ll hang onto this one.
2. Drop the oxy and think moron.
3. If it’s an 80 minute flight and the ‘flick” is 95 minutes…does he miss the flick and cram his last minute planning, or pay the pilot for a “go around”.

Oh, but for the words we all wish we could suck back in.

A brand new Medical Doctor. Surely a coveted customer of all marketers looking for Customers that will have durable, likely above average value as they consider the Life Value of Customer – LVC – and how to enlist them as a Customer For Life – CFL.

Interesting then as I listened to this newly minted gold mine, having just graduated tell me about his Personal Loan, the one he used and grew to finance his education. Seems he was with a lending institution that pushes hard for relationship – they all do, don’t they? But this one pushes International status, around the globe….multicultural, multi country presence. They wouldn’t finance him ‘cause he was studying abroad…as they do business abroad nad psuh this had – he was confused. Move he did – to another. But now, now that’s he’s at the door, 30 days away from a growing his durable, above average income – no longer the life of a starving student – that’s it, Nirvana is here. But that’s it, present Bank says – “no more, not another dollar, ruble, or euro. Not even just for another 30 days funding as he sets up new ‘diggs’ from which to grow and prosper – become that perfect consumer.

He’s puzzled both banks advertise right at him. We want your business. We’re long term. It’s about relationship. And other melodic positioning lines. He’s confused. And he’s smart.

So I pose this question……do you think the guy running the bank, the whole show, has ever called his marketing guru in and said – “we know what our product is, money…what do you think we want to do with it?”

A reasonable answer from the Marketer would be “take it in from one, and loan it to another (safely)”

So then, should ask, the big boss…”have you ever sat down with our Chief Risk Officer and asked him if he’s prepared to allow us to do business with your customer?”

IE – “I know what we say we want to do, but are we prepared, and enabled, to do it?”

I’m willing to bet, Marketing and Risk have never met, at least not at these 2 banks.

I understand today’s necessity of being, “an informed consumer”, “A Smart Shopper”.
Used to be that we’d go get milk. There was 2%, Skimmed, Homogenized and even Chocolate milk. Recently due to some really smart tv ads, my childhood ideas were confirmed – Chocolate Milk really does come from Brown Cows.

Today, I’m told go for milk, I know that its supposed to be the 1% kind, skimmed a little more, or maybe a little less – I don’t know, but I’m told its better for my diet.

First, I go for coffee at the famous SB, they use the term Whole Milk – huh? But they also won’t use the words Small, Medium or Large. I like their coffee, but ordering it adds confusion to life’s already too many passwords, to as well remember the “code” word for the size of coffee I want. So I speak with my hands - in waving-stretching motion - i say Giant, Large, Real Big.

Then I go to pick up the milk for home – oh wow!
There’s regular 2% partly skimmed milk, only it has super fine filtering – so it’s better than just regular pasteurized milk.
There’s 2% milk with added calcium.
There’s 2% milk with omega 3 – low in saturated fat and free of trans fat – hey I thought milk was healthy in the first instance – now I find it has trans fat too – did the schools ban milk along with carbonated drinks?
There’s 2% Lactose Free – OK I get that one.
There’s 2% milk with added fiber – so who needs breakfast cereal? Take that on the chin Denny Crane aka Bill Shatner.
And, there’s 2% milk that makes someone smarter. It comes from cows fed an enriched diet containing the fatty acid Omega-3 fatty acid, DHA.

I wonder if the 2% Omega3 milk has some of the same stuff that the Smart milk has, don’t you? And I wonder do they make 6 different kinds of 1% milk, and if so are they the same kinds as 2%, or different kinds? It’s got to be time to stop advertising milk as Nature’s Wholesome Product…its become a marketers paradise. This is almost smarter & funnier than diamond shaped Shreddies.

And now you know why today, it’s a necessity to be an Edu-macated Smart Shopper.

So the Networks are out'a money. They want funding. And maybe the Cable TV companies should be doing a revenue share. But if they do, who do you think will pay….ie – reimburse them for the new expense? Uh huh…me, you and our neigbours.

Yes, advertising revenues are down. Of course we gave the “new”, now old - pay channels the right to charge us, through a revenue share with the Cable TV companies, then we gave them the right to sell advertising minutes ‘cause we just were not giving them enough through voluntary subscriptions.

Now there’s a tough economy, fragmented market of too much media, too many stations and oh’ this Internet thing - that seems a real revenue robber.

So a new Industry Tax, collected by Private Industry, so it will be called a “fee” is about to be levied to support the Networks. This year it may be 50 cents, next year 75 and then maybe a 1.50 per month.

At some point we blurred the line between Network and Public Broadcaster, while still calling them Private TV Networks, funded by a Private Voluntary Tax, The ‘fee’ you’ll have to pay, if you want cable tv. And in most neigbourhoods you’ve not got good choice for two reasons – TV antenna are illegal, and oh the Broadcasters have quit the expense of broadcasting and just piped their signal to the Cable TV companies as….. u beginning to see it yet?

And why should we be forced to voluntarily subsidize the very networks that over the past few years participated in creating massive and unsustainable debt-loads by highly leveraged amassing of new media libraries that didn’t quite work out…?

The players are performing in front of us on a stage for all to see, so when it happens we should feel good – after all when you’re being _ _ _wed, its supposed to feel good, isn’t it?

And next it will be the daily’s, the magazines and then who’s next on the ‘bailout’ road? Maybe we close the CBC, or restructure it to a smaller, boutique network that focuses on indigenous productions only, yes we'll include hockey. And we ask the CRTC to tell Global and CTV, go figure it out. Because, to me the thought of bailing them out on a monthly forever basis, just makes me wan’a say – me too, me too let me get to the trough. I'll invnet a loss too.

Some say he didn’t know when to quit. Wrong. Instead, Howard was almost impossible to distract until he was finished doing what had captivated his energy, focus and execution. Quitting was something Howard could do, but first he had to lose interest – not the logical or dollars based emotion of - the odds are against it. To use the word smart to describe Howard under-does it. To say he was eccentric – sets the tone for a conversation about the unique, creative and sharing spirit which is Howard. July 20 1950 - March 26, 2009.HowardGary_TorStar.pdf

Ok, we all live under the same roof, so yes I meant - “we” got a puppy. A new stage of life. Seems that I’ve left “top-dog spot” or worse - ejected. But that’s not what’s got me. Or so I think. ...It’s these new foreign toys, blankets and food bowls on the floor…and the fan club….i can’t say they were my fans before, but now, I’m not even on the list. Now we (they) cheer him and deliver hoops of hurray hurray whenever he does a “bio break” in the ‘right’, that as opposed ‘wrong’ place. More I’m sure I’ll write…in the meantime…goldfish seem so much less interruptive. Yes a puppy should if given the chance deliver tons of fun, companionship and furry funnies – but right now I’m just always, 100% of the time on the watch for signals that....oh boy, oh wow, get over here – fast, fast looks like he needs to do it…[again].

A new lawsuit by residents of a Habitat For Humanity townhouse cluster in upstate Florida claims that the HFH uses unprofessional labour and substandard materials resulting in leaky homes that rot easily. Why even speak to the irony of this one…..

Macy’s etc want a retailers ‘bail-out” fund.
GM & Cerberus, oops I meant to say - Chrysler, got theirs.

Wall Street– patched too (ahead of the pack). And in time for Xmas “performance/retention” bonuses.

WOW - now a Bail-Out for those stung by Madoff ??
Bernie you remember him? OK OK I knew him better, maybe you remember him as Bernard?

I have the “FIX”.
We go back to May 2005 BE. That’s ‘Before Enron’ (not the ugly part – instead, the part just before CIBC announced their ‘donation’)
We give ALL Players their money back, ALL of it. We make them sign a waiver that they’ve seen the future, kind’a like Scrooge in a Christmas Carol.
Then we play the game again.
My fear is that it goes the same way. But if we get lucky and it only goes a tad bad, – we show the ‘losers- now brandable as “idiots” their signed waivers. So instead of Politicians issuing reimbursements – the second round losers can instead hire lawyers and do what they used to do – tie it up in litigation until someone buys out someone else, goes broke, or makes so much money on some other venture they forget why they started the action in the first place.
Good times often bring -- Forgiveness.
Bad times –- Battles.
This time -- Bail-Outs.

Dateline – Canada. Globe & Mail page A8. Jan 3-09

Article titled - Terror suspect agrees to strict form of house arrest.

Well ain’t we lucky? Seems it’s confirmed that this 'fella' helped someone involved in the 911 incident – you remember that don’t you? Anyhow he helped launder some money, get fake US passports – generally some tough friends this fella’ had. Poor guy has sat in jail for 7 years and its time to get out….but can we send hom home to Syria? Seems not, he might be of all things, tortured – so our sense of morals says oh no can’t send him home. And can’t, for some reason let him sit in a normal jail. So best place for him is at his own home…which he does not have. So some friends and it seems the Government – that’s “us the people” will chip in for his new pad. And by golly 7x24 armed security at his door – his own personal detail, to watch his every move – the cost for this private party? Estimated at around a Million Taxpayer $'s a year….cool this liberty, our justice and sense of moral purpose….we’re nuts.

BUT WAIT – there’s more…he had 4 friends already in similar programs at our expense.

Thank goodness he acquiesced and agreed to such onerous terms. We’re Canadian-eh?

And Conrad Black – still a guest of the State. The other one.

Burn After Reading – a terrific movie. By no means as hilarious as described - instead it’s about "how it happened" - the economy. Not the subprime mess, not even greed - just a basic corporate need to "keep it simple" - "fit in" and "be on-side".

Script is smart. Not fast moving, but a growing story of related incidents. And as they grew with some parallel – the opportunity of tying it together was refused, defused. Closed. Next.

So simple its scary. As would be expected - it’s the conclusion that’s dryly hilarious.

2 Great or maybe dumb radio spots

Start of December, car radio on – break in the music – for commercials. And these two ran back-to-back.

Spot #1 – “Ho Ho Ho.” Why is this man so happy?"...asks the voice over….and then he provides the response….”you’d be happy too, if you only worked one day a year"….somehow it did a segue-way to a “Santa Sale”.
Huh? Today we can all think of those who likely don’t see the fun in this lack of work concept commercial. Topically funny maybe, sensitive to the times? Horrid no – but a commercial is supposed to at the very least create an Ah-Ha. Not cause an 'ouch'.

Spot # 2 – A private community college, likely with some government funding for retraining runs this in the Toronto market…"Get Certified as a Licensed Auto Technician now…there is a shortage of……"
now I would’a gussed – jobs? BUT no, the commercial went on to claim – "a shortage of candidates for these high paying positions in a growth industry.”

Governments across the board tell us they’re going to make massive investments in “re-training”
TIP FOR FUTURE HAPPINESS - The next growth industry: “edu-macation”. Fortunes are about to be spent on the promise of a new future, for ‘wrongly skilled, previously valuable workers”.

“Quick – where do I get a license to open a Re-Skill Ya Centre?”

And just who is it that going to ‘have the call’ on what the courses and strategic direction of this retraining will be?

Today, Garth Turner in trying to express that ‘a certain thing is less than clear said - "I think it's obfuscation of reality" in reference to CREA’s new Weighted National Average For Sales on the MLS.

Reminds me of the first time a teacher told me to stop or she'd ostracize me. Huh?

Please Garth, if you’re trying to say CREA is “confusing things” say something like, “less than clear”, or maybe even, “they are reinventing reality” – but I think you “obfusticate” when you use words like: obfuscation, to explain what you think happened – to the, may we call it the New WNAPfSMLS ?

Now maybe I’m just upset, or maybe happy - about Garth’s admission in a recent Globe and Mail Article of December 13, 08 – How High Risk Mortgages Crept North.

Excerpt from Globe & Mail Dec 13, 08.
Shortly after the hearing, Mr. Turner said he was approached by Mr. Flaherty's parliamentary secretary, Diane Ablonczy, in the House of Commons.

"She came to my desk where I was computing away on my laptop," Mr. Turner said, recalling that she told him to "get onside."

In the end, no one raised a single question about the prospect of 40-year or zero-down mortgages. The bill sailed through the committee - including a vote of support from Mr. Turner.

"At the end of the day I sadly acquiesced," he said, adding that he regrets voting the way he did. "At the time it was politically difficult."

Thanks for that admission Garth. We got into this financial mess by wanting to be “on side” with the club. Me too. See there, now we’ve both admitted. Only I didn't hold a public office.