Canadian Taxpayers Association: Alberta Should Cut Spending

As Alberta's deficit continues to grow, political pundits and economists have much to say about the cause and effect of the province's financial woes.

According to a recognized expert at the University of Alberta, Alberta is the highest-spending province in Canada. A major blunder has been the financing of all this spending in an irresponsible fashion. The primary funding source has been income from the province's non-renewable natural resources. Non-renewable indicates that the income will stop flowing when the resources are no longer present.

A recent statement issued by the Canadian Taxpayers Association calls upon the province to cut its spending immediately. While the province intends to finance its deficit from emergency savings funds, this will literally wipe out these funds, leaving nothing out aside for a "rainy day."

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has stated unequivocally that he has no intention of raising taxes, nor does he intend to cut jobs from the province's payrolls. Moreover, he has announced that the province intends to move forward with $20 billion in building projects planned for the next five years. The province's population has grown by more than one million residents in the last two decades. More schools and hospitals are needed as well as assisted living facilities for a growing elderly population.

While numerous companies in the private sector, facing financial hardships, have worked with their employees to take a rollback in wages rather than face job loss, the province's employee unions have yet to be approached officially to discuss wage concessions. Considerable savings to provincial spending could be realized by coming to agreements with the province's 21,000 employees.

The provincial leadership has been rather reticent about necessary cost-cutting measures. Experts feel that residents may not take kindly to having surprises revealed at the last minute. Recovery may take several years but few feel that it will happen without specific government intervention.

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Evaluating Canada's Inflation: More Buying Power for Small Business

Volumes have been written in the last few months about Canada's inflation rate, currently sitting at 0.25% annually, and the interest rates set by the Bank of Canada. As the 2009 recession is seemingly coming to an end, according to many government and private analysts, speculation exists as to how the interest and inflation rates will be affected.

According to the chief economist for the CIBC, Avery Shenfeld, there should not be any expected growth above non-inflationary potential until sometime in 2011. The economic slack created by the recession is quite large and is expected to persist for a couple of years. Although the Bank of Canada is rather optimistic in its projections, Shenfeld feels that inflation will still feel the downward pressure of a sizable output gap well into next year.

Shenfeld explained that the core inflation rate did not decelerate this year as much as the Bank of Canada predicted. The reason for this deceleration slowdown is due, in part, to a process that economists call the income effect. Essentially, the Bank of Canada has excluded most of the volatile items that have been deflating from the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Putting aside economic evaluation, the real question is what this means for the average consumer. In real terms, a negative year-on-year inflation rate means an increase in buying power of the average wage. With lower gas prices at the pump, and new, lower mortgage bills, average Canadians will have more money in their pockets when they go shopping. Also important is the strength of the Canadian dollar. The strong dollar is having a dampening impact on retail prices of imported goods.

Mr. Shenfeld's report does not see the projected US recovery as having much benefit for Canada. The US stimulus programs, while spurring economic growth in that nation, contain trade barriers with Canadian manufacturers that historically have benefited from trade with the US. Thus, US recovery may actually dampen some of Canada's economic advancement.

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The Price of Ending the Recession

Government officials and economic analysts are in common agreement that Canada is headed out of the recession. While there are disagreements as to the exact timeframe, there is a fact that is common to all parties – the price tag.

For a country that proudly presented a balanced budget for twelve consecutive years, Canada had to revise its budget projections for the thirteenth year and for several years to come. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty recently announced his department's projection of a $50.2 billion deficit for the current fiscal year. He was quick to add, though, that this figure is "consistent" with meeting the deficit target. The government projects that it will present deficit budgets for the next four years, adding nearly $100 billion to the national debt. The current deficit is due primarily to several factors: falling tax revenues, both personal and corporate; a massive 47% increase in unemployment insurance premium payouts; and huge bailouts to the auto industry as well as other business subsidies.

While Mr. Flaherty is holding to his optimistic prediction of returning to a balanced budget in 2013-14, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and several leading economists are somewhat more realistic in their forecasts. However, both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister are in agreement that tax increases and major spending cuts are not being considered in order to expedite a balanced budget.

Some analysts have suggested that drastic changes to the budget are not advisable. Rather, once the stimulus programs spending has been depleted, the government should adopt a program to control spending growth. This will enable the government to eliminate the deficit over a period of several years.

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Leaving Your Purchases at the Checkout

Let's be honest; most of us have done it. Embarrassing as it might be, most people have removed an item from their shopping cart while waiting in line at the checkout. It used to be merely changing your mind, or realizing you took the wrong item off the shelf. Today, it is a totally different phenomenon. In today's rocky recession climate, people are tightening their belts. Some are doing it out of necessity while others are adopting a more cautious attitude. Whatever the reason, more people these days are careful of what they purchase. They come to the store with a list of needs, not wants, accompanied by a specific budget. If the tally should move above their available funds, something comes out of the cart.

As yet, there are no hard statistics for this latest trend. However, more and more stores are reporting a growing number of un-purchased items at the cash register, either removed by shoppers as they wait in line or removed by the cashier at the shopper's request upon seeing their balance.

Shoppers have also begun arranging their purchases. Health care and other basic necessities are the first to go through. If there is enough money in the wallet, the frivolous items go through last.

It's not just a question of cash. Credit card purchases have also been affected. Credit card companies used to allow customers to exceed their credit limits by up to 10 percent. No longer! Purchases that exceed the credit limit even slightly are being denied. Consumers wishing to avoid that embarrassment simply remove some items to keep their balance lower.

Internet shopping has become victim to the same trend. Research estimates indicate that as much as 59 percent of online purchases are being dumped before checkout. Much of this is attributed to the costs that are tacked on as one proceeds through various steps, including taxes, handling fees, and shipping charges. Some internet companies are reducing the number of steps in a purchase, as well as posting the costs up front, in order to retain customers.

Hopefully, the days of changing one's mind will soon return.

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Strengthening Your Business Using Advisory Boards

A small business or start-up that is approaching a major change – expanding into a new market; launching a new product line; breaking into a foreign market – may decide that it needs help or coaching before taking on this business challenge. For many such companies, the best tool is the establishment of an advisory board. While there are no set rules about setting up such a body, it generally is comprised of seasoned, experienced professionals from outside the business. A well-balanced, effective board can become an indispensable tool to help strengthen a business professionally and help it advance its goals.

As the purpose of the board is to be advisory, not operational, its members should be appropriate to the task at hand. If your goal is expansion of the business, the board members should be able to provide you with business leads and contacts. A business seeking to strengthen its executive team should recruit board members who can serve as mentors to the top staff and provide business skills. When financial contacts are your need, recruit business people from the financial world.

Of course, only you can evaluate the effectiveness of an advisory board. You must establish clear objectives and delineate the benchmarks that the board should reach. Also, be prepared to compensate board members fairly. These are professional people whose time has value to it. It is well advised that you seek the majority of your advisors from within your own personal contacts. After all, this is your company and complete strangers may be professionally appropriate but can you work with them?

Finally, don't get carried away with establishing a board with many members. Keep the number manageable so that the board will become a workable group. Quality, not quantity, is what counts.

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To Buy the Competitor or Not to Buy

Although the state of the economy is still uncertain, this should not affect whether a company should pursue acquisition of a competitor, if that is its intent. Rather, one should be somewhat more prudent and disciplined in how one evaluates the potential purchase.

During these recent difficult times, the markets have naturally focused their attention on companies in distress. This should not translate into a belief that the entire business sector is in ruins. However, as the competition may be in dire straits due to the present financial crisis should not be a reason to abandon ideas of purchasing that company. Careful assessment of the competitor is crucial. Seek to understand why that company is losing money. Will your investment merely save a struggling enterprise that was on its way to closure anyway or are there other factors at play that will make this a worthwhile purchase?

It is important to dissect the company and understand how it works. Were there management problems? Did the company mismanage its relationships with its customers and suppliers? Were the employees mistreated and, therefore, did they not perform well? Is the machinery sub-standard, thus affecting the product? Examining the company with a fine-toothed comb will allow you to make an effective decision as to whether this company can merge with yours. Similarly, it is important to do a proper evaluation of your own company. Are you in a position to absorb this company? Do you have the management capabilities for this merge? Will your staff cope with the additional production and sales? Will you need capital to overhaul machinery? Similarly, examine your goals. Perhaps you are only interested in expanding your customer base. In that case, go directly to the competitor's customers, rather than affecting a buyout.

Research is your best business ally.

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Cyber-Shopping Anyone?

In a country that is so highly attached to Internet access and the latest high-tech gadgetry, Canadians are slow to adopt the trend of cyber-shopping – shopping online. Online sales have certainly been growing at a steady pace - a 61% rise in three years – but they still lag behind online sales in the United States.

Analysts attribute Canadian reluctance to become cyber-shoppers to several factors. High shipping costs in Canada have caused a large number of shoppers to abandon their online purchase before completing the transaction. Additionally, when it comes to security, Canadians are far more sensitive than most other nations around the world. Simply put, many Canadians have an abiding fear of credit card fraud and are skeptical about revealing their credit card details online.

On the other hand, the rise of specialty brands online is winning over Canadian reluctance. The allure of securing hard-to-get brands or one-of-a-kind items has been a boon for many online retailers.

Some of the nation's larger retail outlets use their websites primarily for marketing and rely upon their sites to attract buyers to their stores. This has allowed a market to open up for smaller retailers whose "primary store" is located on the Internet.

Consumers still expect top service wherever they buy. For online stores, this translates into speedy and affordable delivery as well as reliable customer service. Moreover, online stores must market their sites in a variety of ways if they are to be noticed.

The variables of the economy affect the online stores as much as traditional shopping outlets. When consumers are in a spending mood, they are more likely to shop for items online that may be frivolous or unnecessary. However, when belt tightening begins, online retailers have to rapidly shift their focus to marketing items that are more affordable.

With annual sales in excess of $15 billion, and growing, cyber-sales seem to have carved out a niche with the Canadian consumer.

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Visa to the U.S.

Gone are the days when a Canadian family would hop in the car and drive down for a day to the closest city in the U.S. to do a little shopping. But the desire to purchase certain goods in the U.S. still exists. Now, in the world of eCommerce, a British company has made shopping in the U.S. available to Canadians while staying at home.

Borderlinx, headquartered in the U.K. with additional offices in Brussels, was established by experts in eCommerce, logistics management and international trade. The company enables U.S. retailers to sell their products to a global marketplace by providing innovative eCommerce management solutions. Similarly, consumers globally are provided access to the best quality products at the best possible prices.

Canadian Visa credit card holders are now able to purchase goods online from American retailers with relative ease. Through Borderlinx, Canadian shoppers are provided with a U.S. address and shipping services. This makes previously hard to access stores as simple as shopping from the store around the corner. Studies conducted by Visa revealed that 37% of Canadian online shoppers prefer shopping from U.S. stores due to the variety of products available. The Borderlinx service simplifies the shopping procedures and provides an on-screen calculator that allows shoppers to know exactly what will be the final price of their purchase. Additionally, shoppers through this service have the option of consolidating their purchases from several U.S. stores into one shipment, thus reducing shipping prices.

Canada is the first country to utilize this shopping agreement with Visa although other countries are expected to join later this year.

In the current economic climate, when consumers are careful how they spend their money, this new service affords shoppers an excellent way to make informed shopping decisions.

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Introducing CanNor, Canadian Northern Development Agency

Following promises made in last fall's election campaign and, more recently, in last November's throne speech, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper revealed that the headquarters for the new Canadian Northern Development Agency (CanNor) will be built in Iqaluit, capital of Nunavut.

The Prime Minister's announcement was made during a recent tour of the North, his third tour of the region this summer. CanNor will deliver funding for economic development, advocacy, and research. The newly established agency will receive $50 million in federal funds over the next five years.

The decision to locate the new agency's headquarters in Iqaluit has been met opposition from several senior government officials, stating difficulties finding enough housing and staff. Mr. Harper responded that challenges such as these are exactly the reason for establishing an economic development agency and, therefore, the government must place the agency directly where the challenges are the greatest.

CanNor will also have satellite offices located in Whitehorse and Yellowknife, as the agency is designed to work cooperatively with all the Northern territories. The new agency will take over some existing federal programs and will develop new programs adapted to the territories' realities.

As several other nations have their sights on the resource-rich northern territories, the Harper government is determined to concretize Canadian sovereignty over the region. Establishment of this stand-alone regional economic development agency will allow the Federal government to work with the region to help it reach its full potential, both human and economic.

The Premiers of both the Yukon and Northwest territories welcomed Mr. Harper's announcement but added that additional key economic developments are crucial to their respective territories in order to strengthen the entire Arctic region.
 
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Promoting Your Business on Social Networks

"The times they are a changin". Bob Dylan wrote these words nearly 45 years ago. He must have been predicting the future.
It used to be quite common that people assembled at social events and exchanged ideas, recipes, political viewpoints, and suggestions on where to shop for the best value. The 21st century has not replaced the traditional social gathering. However, it has augmented that with the modern and very powerful equivalent – the social media network.

Marketing studies have shown that recommendations from friends and family have the greatest influence on what people purchase. As millions have become attached to various social networking sites that connect people with similar interests worldwide, the circle of influence grows much larger.

While most social media sites are not designed as shopping venues, marketing specialists know that exposure on these sites can be extremely valuable. A prime example is Facebook. Facebook has more than 200 million subscribers worldwide. Members enter their profile on the site. Generally, this includes your demographics, preferences and, often, your occupation. Marketing pros at a company will post an attractive profile for their product or service. As soon as a Facebook member visits that company's profile, they are identified as a potential customer. Most Facebook members openly display their friends' networks. This enables the same company to view this circle of friends also as potential customers. Moreover, as the company can obtain a substantial amount of personal information about its online customers, this information can be extremely helpful in future marketing strategies and product development.
Businesses have discovered that social networks afford exposure to their companies that otherwise might not occur. However, it is wise to keep in mind that these are social networks and acceptance of a commercial presence will require imaginative marketing, rather than mere technical placement of corporate material.
 
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