jdepape: thanks for the response. But do you have any emperial data that supports your statement of China exports of malt and that the higher tariff on malt than barley has no effect? USDA world trade figurues do not support this claim as China malt and barley exports have dropped last 2 years and have trended down since 2000. Furthermore, domestic consumption of barley and malt in China have increased steadily since 2000 as would be expected with the estimated 5% annual increase in beer consumption.
Other than that I will wait with high expectations for your expanded responses to my questions. Given your teasers to my questions, I have high hopes.
I will just make a couple more comments. First, in a democracy, what the "majority" wants and what they get rarely matches. It is quite amazing as a country we currently have a government and leader in power who had the support at the polls of only 37.65% of the 59.1% of the electorate who voted. The same arguments you use against the single desk I hear everyday from people upset with Harper and the Conservatives and which I think I would still hear even if they had a majority as I doubt we will ever see more than 50% of Canadians agreeing on a government. But despite its flaws, democracy is much better than all the allternatives. We each have the opportunity to freely discuss and attempt to change what we don't like. The only threat to democracy is that people will not accept the decision of the people made legally at the ballot box.
Second, bj, I also disagree with voter eligibility rules and gust, I too question the decisions being made, and to everyone else I agree the board costs to much. But if farmers vote to end the monopoly, I have no problem with that. I do have a problem when 3rd parties, such as the foreign owned maltsters tell us we have to get rid of the monopoly or they wont build here. (Sort of like the pro sports team telling a city either you build us a new facility or we will leave.) These are business, and if there is a potential profit to be made, they will build; especially if as jdepape says the CWB is not getting a premium, and actually competing on price. Therefore why are these industries not lining up to build instead of fleeing. Or are there other locations where they can make even bigger profits where they have and are building? Or do they just want to be kissed too when screwing the farmer more.
But the most important point jdepape makes in his response was: "But nobody NEEDS Canadian wheat..." and I couldn't agree more. In truth, Cargill, LD, or even Viterra could care less if they get my grain, or any individual Canadians grain. Individually farmers have zero market power. While jdepape may be right and the CWB does not have pricing power, they do have market power with 14 percent of world trade. I am still trying to figure out if we can afford to lose this limited market power should the CWB go the way of the OWB and the AWB.
Other than that I will wait with high expectations for your expanded responses to my questions. Given your teasers to my questions, I have high hopes.
I will just make a couple more comments. First, in a democracy, what the "majority" wants and what they get rarely matches. It is quite amazing as a country we currently have a government and leader in power who had the support at the polls of only 37.65% of the 59.1% of the electorate who voted. The same arguments you use against the single desk I hear everyday from people upset with Harper and the Conservatives and which I think I would still hear even if they had a majority as I doubt we will ever see more than 50% of Canadians agreeing on a government. But despite its flaws, democracy is much better than all the allternatives. We each have the opportunity to freely discuss and attempt to change what we don't like. The only threat to democracy is that people will not accept the decision of the people made legally at the ballot box.
Second, bj, I also disagree with voter eligibility rules and gust, I too question the decisions being made, and to everyone else I agree the board costs to much. But if farmers vote to end the monopoly, I have no problem with that. I do have a problem when 3rd parties, such as the foreign owned maltsters tell us we have to get rid of the monopoly or they wont build here. (Sort of like the pro sports team telling a city either you build us a new facility or we will leave.) These are business, and if there is a potential profit to be made, they will build; especially if as jdepape says the CWB is not getting a premium, and actually competing on price. Therefore why are these industries not lining up to build instead of fleeing. Or are there other locations where they can make even bigger profits where they have and are building? Or do they just want to be kissed too when screwing the farmer more.
But the most important point jdepape makes in his response was: "But nobody NEEDS Canadian wheat..." and I couldn't agree more. In truth, Cargill, LD, or even Viterra could care less if they get my grain, or any individual Canadians grain. Individually farmers have zero market power. While jdepape may be right and the CWB does not have pricing power, they do have market power with 14 percent of world trade. I am still trying to figure out if we can afford to lose this limited market power should the CWB go the way of the OWB and the AWB.
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