OTTAWA — Today, NDP Leader Avi Lewis announced the tabling of a motion in Parliament to ban “surveillance pricing,” the use of personal data to charge Canadians different prices for the same products.
Nor sure why you’re thinking about nation-breaking strikes. What makes you think there’s anywhere even remotely enough support for one?
To me that’s like asking what the NDP would do if earth was invaded by hostile aliens from Alpha Centauri. I know a lot of people on Lemmy like to fantasize about these massive worker uprisings but the truth is most people are way too content and have way too much to lose for that.
The conditions of modern Canadian life, as expensive as everything is, are just about a million times more luxurious than early 20th century Russia. People have abundant food, shelter, clothing, electronics, and entertainment out the wazoo. Most working class people these days work service jobs which may be boring or frustrating but they’re far better than working in a logging camp, on a farm, on a fishing boat, in a steel mill, or on an oil rig. People are warm and comfortable with air conditioning and regular breaks.
I said nation-paralysing, it’s an important difference. If Canada post had just stayed shut down, life would not have ended, but ooh boy would people (read voters) be annoyed their packages can’t arrive the normal way, and the the markets might go down which also makes people very upset.
The conditions of modern Canadian life, as expensive as everything is, are just about a million times more luxurious…
Yes, absolutely. And yet modern Western people complain like they’re in Aushwitz, or something, especially if that AC goes down for a bit. Like it or not, that’s what politicians have to work with. This is a democracy.
The Canada Post strike was annoying but I’d hardly call it nation-paralyzing. Most people barely receive any mail as it is. It was most troublesome for elderly people who still rely a lot on the mail.
A nation-paralyzing strike would be a strike by all truck drivers which would lead to empty shelves in grocery stores. That would really affect people in a serious way.
I wouldn’t worry too much about people complaining. People always find things to complain about. I work in a mail room and we get angry letters all the time because we send mail to people who have moved but not updated their address in their account. People get ridiculously angry at the thought that we might actually take a while to update our records when someone moves!
It was most troublesome for elderly people who still rely a lot on the mail.
Well, elderly people also vote the most, and some of them are poor and sympathetic and will go on the media.
The Air Canada strike is another recent example, if you don’t like that one.
I wouldn’t worry too much about people complaining. People always find things to complain about.
Sure, we shouldn’t. It’s basically your whole job to worry if you’re an politician in a democracy, though, and it’s whoever’s in government at the moment that gets blamed. (Even if everything goes fine people will eventually hate you!)
Nor sure why you’re thinking about nation-breaking strikes. What makes you think there’s anywhere even remotely enough support for one?
To me that’s like asking what the NDP would do if earth was invaded by hostile aliens from Alpha Centauri. I know a lot of people on Lemmy like to fantasize about these massive worker uprisings but the truth is most people are way too content and have way too much to lose for that.
The conditions of modern Canadian life, as expensive as everything is, are just about a million times more luxurious than early 20th century Russia. People have abundant food, shelter, clothing, electronics, and entertainment out the wazoo. Most working class people these days work service jobs which may be boring or frustrating but they’re far better than working in a logging camp, on a farm, on a fishing boat, in a steel mill, or on an oil rig. People are warm and comfortable with air conditioning and regular breaks.
I said nation-paralysing, it’s an important difference. If Canada post had just stayed shut down, life would not have ended, but ooh boy would people (read voters) be annoyed their packages can’t arrive the normal way, and the the markets might go down which also makes people very upset.
Yes, absolutely. And yet modern Western people complain like they’re in Aushwitz, or something, especially if that AC goes down for a bit. Like it or not, that’s what politicians have to work with. This is a democracy.
The Canada Post strike was annoying but I’d hardly call it nation-paralyzing. Most people barely receive any mail as it is. It was most troublesome for elderly people who still rely a lot on the mail.
A nation-paralyzing strike would be a strike by all truck drivers which would lead to empty shelves in grocery stores. That would really affect people in a serious way.
I wouldn’t worry too much about people complaining. People always find things to complain about. I work in a mail room and we get angry letters all the time because we send mail to people who have moved but not updated their address in their account. People get ridiculously angry at the thought that we might actually take a while to update our records when someone moves!
Well, elderly people also vote the most, and some of them are poor and sympathetic and will go on the media.
The Air Canada strike is another recent example, if you don’t like that one.
Sure, we shouldn’t. It’s basically your whole job to worry if you’re an politician in a democracy, though, and it’s whoever’s in government at the moment that gets blamed. (Even if everything goes fine people will eventually hate you!)