Rob Ford's Toronto

[Admiral Beez]

The article has this gem of a comment:



This in the same week we learned how much higher CEO pay is than the average worker (171 times IIRC). And yet the "enemy" is the public sector employee who makes $50K plus pension and benefits? The divide-and-conquer strategy is working brilliantly.

I don't care what private sector CEOs are paid, unless I'm a shareholder. Just like my own private sector job, the CEO is paid on what he/she can negotiate and by using their network on contacts to assist with same. I don't care because for the most part, I can choose not to buy those products. This is not the case of govt mgrs who make top dollar for little result - we have no choice but to suck it up and pay their wage. My target is not the $50K guy you describe, no it is the management fat cat.

 

[ThinkRicky]

I don't care what private sector CEOs are paid, unless I'm a shareholder."

Odds are neither you or any of us ever will be a serious shareholder because we are not born rich.

Just like my own private sector job, the CEO is paid on what he/she can negotiate and by using their network on contacts to assist with same.

Except their network allows them access to oppertunities the rest of us can only dream about, and we're not allowed in except quite literally by lottery.

I don't care because for the most part, I can choose not to buy those products.

Haha no you can't don't lie to everyone.

This is not the case of govt mgrs who make top dollar for little result - we have no choice but to suck it up and pay their wage. My target is not the $50K guy you describe, no it is the management fat cat.

Not only do you not know who's putting the screws to you, you're out to get people who have nothing to do with it. Gross.

 

[evvabeing]

Pfft. Switzerland is already looking at this quite seriously.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/swiss-vote-may-cap-ceo-pay-at-12x-lowest-worker-s-salary-1.2435505

And sure we can tell private corporations what to do! We do it all the time. E.g. product labelling, health and safety regulations, financial reporting. Companies only exist because public laws allow them to - laws that can be changed at any time. It's a privilege to be allowed to form a company, not a right.

when minimum and maximum salaries are connected, it doesn't prevent a CEO from earning a lot, just means they have to give their workers a raise anytime they wanna give themselves one. sounds fair to me.

i found this to be a good quick read on the topic...

Countries like Egypt and Switzerland have placed regulations on how much executives can earn. Here’s why the U.S. should consider doing the same.

http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/should-there-be-a-maximum-wage

 

[BurlOak]

One thing worth mentioning about Olivia Chow's campaigning and election strategy--and I say this from my own experience volunteering for her last 2 Federal campaigns--is that she has a huge base of supporters and volunteers and a phenomenal ground game. IIRC her margin of victory in the last election was even higher than her internal polling. She is a master of getting out the vote and this alone may be enough to ensure her victory. (it's also worth noting that she may be most effective in doing this in the Old City which traditionally has the lowest turnout in Muni elections, and with young voters who rarely vote at all)

I have great confidence in Chow's election experience and all the doom and gloomers who seem resigned that Ford is going to coast to another win should take some comfort in this.

I think the pension rules in Ottawa may have changed in the past decade. Is there a critical date that Chow would have to meet in order to obtain her Federal pension?

 

[Admiral Beez]

Used the work with the author. He was our office's lone vocal right winger, always trying to drag people into political debates so he could share his right wing views against abortion etc. No surprise he's part of Ford Nation!

Thanks. I wasn't aware of that, but I'm not surprised.

 

[sno man]

Just found this on twitter, a fine morning read, puts to words a lot of what's been swimming around in my head....
http://www.ucobserver.org/features/2014/01/sorry_spectacle/

 

[W. K. Lis]

I have found that the two Ford brothers (Rob and Doug) are overly narcissistic. Rob considers himself 'the best mayor that this city has ever had’ (see link). Rob even considers that brother Doug ‘Will Be Premier One Day' (see link).

Seems to me, at least, that the family has a narcissistic personality disorder, and actually think that they can do no wrong. See link for definition:

People with this disorder demonstrate an inflated self-image and a strong sense of entitlement that makes them insensitive to the needs and feelings of other people. They may have an exaggerated view of their own skills and accomplishments and devalue others except for a chosen few who are included in their narcissistic world-view. This preoccupation with how others regard them results in a constant need for attention, admiration, and recognition. People with this disorder demonstrate hypersensitivity, are easily bruised, may be intolerant of criticism, quick to feel hurt, and may counterattack when feeling unappreciated or humiliated.

 

[TOperson]

Used the work with the author. He was our office's lone vocal right winger, always trying to drag people into political debates so he could share his right wing views against abortion etc. No surprise he's part of Ford Nation!

Sounds about right. I notice his arguments are really stale, but he seems to think they are brand-new revelations.

 

[TOperson]

Seems to me, at least, that the family has a narcissistic personality disorder, and actually think that they can do no wrong.

That's come up a couple of times on this thread and I think it's spot on. My sense is that the mother and Doug (probably the father too) are the true narcissists, while Rob and the other siblings are just really messed up and dysfunctional as a result. Rob's narcissistic ways may be more learned behaviour than an actual personality disorder.

As I said many pages ago, the Fords are not the only dysfunctional family around. I think part of their appeal is that they push the right buttons for people who were also raised in dysfunctional families, for whom scapepgoating, victim-blaming, promise-breaking, denial, gaslighting, etc are normal. It's a form of co-dependency. It goes very deep - way beyond "he cuts the gravy and keeps my taxes low", it's more like "I feel like Rob 'gets me', he's one of US" - and that's why it's so intractable.

 

[Jonny5]

I think the pension rules in Ottawa may have changed in the past decade. Is there a critical date that Chow would have to meet in order to obtain her Federal pension?

It's six years to qualify and she has been there longer. Also you can start collecting at 55 and she's now 56

 

[themarc]

It's six years to qualify and she has been there longer. Also you can start collecting at 55 and she's now 56

So considering she probably also gets survivor benefits from Jack's pension I'm betting if Rob Ford says "I won't take a salary" Olivia could turn around and say "that's ok, neither will I"... I don't think at this point she needs the salary either.

 

[themarc]

The thing I really like about Olivia is that she is fluent in multiple languages - English, Chinese (multiple dialects) and likely French (due to Parliamentary duties and the fact that Jack spoke French also).

It's nice to have a potential Mayor of Toronto that can speak to the populace in a selection of different "first" languages - such a nice change from the current Mayor who can barely master his own...

 

[LowPolygon]

Rob Ford Fans Can Now Take Etobicoke’s RoFo Crack Tour

http://www.travelandescape.ca/2013/12/rob-ford-fans-can-now-take-etobicokes-rofo-crack-tour/

 

[BurlOak]

It's six years to qualify and she has been there longer. Also you can start collecting at 55 and she's now 56

Actually, I had it backwards. It appears that it is advantageous for Chow to leave now and not seek re-election as an MP.

After the next election, expected in 2015, MPs will have to wait until age 65 to collect their full pension, instead of the current age of 55. The recent reforms did not include changes to the eligibility rules that stipulate an MP qualifies for the pension plan after serving six years in office.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/0...tive-pensions-topping-100000-a-year-for-life/

 

[adma]

Used the work with the author. He was our office's lone vocal right winger, always trying to drag people into political debates so he could share his right wing views against abortion etc. No surprise he's part of Ford Nation!

I kinda figured it'd be one of those circumstances--and paradoxically enough, our present-day "don't trust the media" circumstances which the Fords so cannily exploit could just as well work against *him*, i.e. even as an editor/editorialist, he wouldn't wield the same "professional gravity" he might have a generation or two ago; those he claims to represent can see right through him.

(And those who'd take him on his word are more likely to be old-timers for whom "house newsletters" once carried authority.)