Living in a political bubble

I remember speaking to a classmate in my Canadian Politics course after seeing him read the National Post, and saying "ah, you're a conservative." He said he wasn't, but he read it anyway, along with the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. I found his answer odd at the time, yet I just had the same experience a few days ago when a coworker was surprised to find me reading the National Post, and said he didn't think I was a conservative. I said I wasn't, but I read it anyway.

Until I diversified my political exposure, I was the type of lefty I now criticize. I loved Michael Moore's books and movies, 9/11 conspiracy theories, blaming America for all of the world's ills, and had an illogical suspicions of anything to do with the private sector.

Then I found out that Moore is a hack who fabricates and deceives frequently, and my outlook started to change. A good friend of mine (you know who you are) smashed up some of my leftish economic arguments with cold logic, I started reading the Economist, and I discovered the one great Christopher (Hitchens) the two great Andrews (Sullivan and Coyne).

I wouldn't say I've become a conservative, but I am on the right-wing of the Liberal party, which puts me with the left on (most) social issues and with the right on (most) economic issues.

Allright, time for some politics. There has been some buzz recently about job losses in the manufacturing sector and the selling of Canadian companies to foreign investors.

If you're someone who is against foreign takeovers of Canadian companies, then humour me for a minute. Let's say you own something, like a house. You'd do whatever the hell you want with it as long as it was within the bounds of the law. It's yours. Someone comes along and offers you a great price on it. If you sell, you make a profit. Wouldn't you do it? Would it be fair for someone else to tell you that you can't sell something that you own? It's the same case with these Canadian companies. Their owners (i.e. shareholders) are getting great offers on them, and they will vote on whether or not they will sell their company.

As for the job losses, this one hits close to home because my family has been the victim of layoffs before. But look at things from the company's perspective. The primary purpose of a company's existence is to make money for its owners. Now the company can either can pay Canadian employees a certain amount or foreign labourers half (or even less) than that. Why wouldn't they do it? I know it sucks for the families that lose their incomes and livelyhoods, I've been there. Luckily Canada has (or had if you ask some people) a great safety net. We have Employment Insurance (EI), free training programs, subsidized housing, and in the worst case scenario, welfare. I know that all of these programs have flaws that need fixing, but I think the solution is to strengthen the social safety net instead of trying to tell companies who they can hire.