Rebate Cheque

Earlier in the year the Manitoba Public Utilities Board determined that Manitoba Public Insurance overcharged by 45% in the 2009-2010 insurance year. Forty-five percent is a lot to over-charge.

A couple of years ago I wrote a blog entry about how Manitoba Public Insurance is lazy and wouldn't help me when I was out of province.

Today I received my rebate cheque for my overpaid premium. I'm glad it made it to me but in no way does this improve my personal opinion of MPIC.

The good part is the Public Utility Board told them to give the money back. The bad part is they were not even close to what they figured they were going to need. Since MPIC is a regulated monopoly, competition cannot regulate prices. Ratepayers didn't get any interest for having their money tied up for two years. At least they got it back.

There are some instances that regulated monopolies can work, insurance isn't one of them. There is no high infrastructure costs. there is no motivation to keep prices down. It's easier to pay back years later than come up short.

I'm glad I have my rebate cheque from Manitoba Public Insurance but if I have my choice I will never deal with them again.

Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

It was a raining day yesterday in Ottawa. It looks like it will be a rainy week. I much prefer the thunderstorm method of rain delivery. Not only do you get all the excitement of the thunder and lightning but you also get a quick shot of rain and you are back to sunshine.

I realize it is annoying to get caught out in a thunderstorm. It can be scary if you can't get to shelter and hail can hurt as well as being destructive but I will take that over days of continuous rain.

I finds several grey rainy days to be a bit depressing. I admit, it gets to me. Now that I live in Ottawa and tend to walk many places as well as spend time outside, I find rainy days bother me even more.

All that being said, you can't change the weather so my only option is to live with it. Besides, if rainy days are my biggest complaint, life is pretty good.

It's Easy To Hate The Right Wing

As part of the fallout of the Canadian Federal Election it has become apparent that a lot of people hate right wing policies. It's easy to understand why. The right wing believes in less government. They believe that you are generally responsible to take care of yourself. I can see how that can be unpopular with a lot of people.

Less government means the provision of fewer social programs. There are people who rely on social programs and limiting or removing them can cause hardship.

Right wing policies tend to reward those who take risk and generate productive economic activity. Because of that the rich have a tendency to get richer. I see how a lot of people don't like that.

The left wing tends to provide programs to ensure no one is left behind. They try to ensure no matter their situation, everyone has a roof over their head and food on the table. I can see how this can be very popular.

In Canada we have universal health care. Some people believe we have free health care. That is not the case. We must pay a lot of taxes to have health care that everyone has the same access to. It's important for people to understand that one out of every four tax dollars collected is used to pay for health care in Canada. Canadians choose to have universal health care and we choose to pay for it. Despite the cost, I can see how universal health care is popular.

There are a lot of good things from the left. Unfortunately, social programs tend to diminish motivation in a significant portion of the population. If you have a reasonable level of comfort and you are using more social services than you are paying for, the motivation to improve your position is greatly diminished. For whatever reason this doesn't seem to be unpopular with a lot of people.

I realize and embrace that different people have different experiences and beliefs. For a society to function, it is important to have varying opinions. I can see how social programs can be popular. That being said I prefer a system that rewards hard work. If you put more in you should get more out. Sacrifice should be rewarded.

That's my opinion, and I don't mind that some others have a different one.

Ramblings On An Election

Yesterday there was an election in Canada. As always there was winners and losers. Since there was losers people were disappointed. This is to be expected as it happens whenever people are unsuccessful.

For me, democracy isn't perfect but is is better than everything else. Only through free democratic voting does the will of the people be heard. Only with democracy does everyone have an equal say in how they want their nation to be lead and managed.

Democracy can leave a lot of people disappointed.

In Canada we elect a representative for our riding to go to Ottawa and represent our concerns. The party who has the most sitting Members of Parliament form the government. Because your vote is for your local candidate the party that forms the government may not receive the majority of votes. Thus can lead to frustration but it is how the system is built.

Voter turnout can be a huge source of consternation. Because voting is not mandatory not everyone chooses to vote. If you are good with numbers you can calculate that not a lot of people may have voted for the winners. Just remember that even fewer voted for the losers. It's important to remember we all have an equal say if we choose to vote.

It can be frustrating to a lot of people but democracy works. It's not perfect but I look at Libya as an alternative.

Back Home

I spent the last few days in Winnipeg. I have lived Herr most of my adult life and I don't miss the city. What I really miss is my friends.

I think most good people can say they have good friend. I have good friends. It was great to see so many but that's to be expected.

I think the best part was seeing people I didn't expect to. I rani to a lot of people who I really had no expectation to see. Some of them didn't know that I was going to be in Winnipeg and everyone I saw looked happy. It seems the people in my world are moving the right direction. It seems that life is getting better for a lot of people. It seems that life is pretty good.

When you look at the circle of people I live within the best thing is they are genuine and awesome. I have great friends who make my life, along with many others awesome.

I know that sounds sappy but sometimes you have to say great things.

I Don't Think Those Go Together

Today as I walked to the gym there was a guy jogging the other direction. This is not unusual in Ottawa. The unusual part was the guy was smoking while waiting for the light to change.

I will the guy props for jogging and working to get into better shape. I will also say I understand quitting smoking is very difficult and you have to be ready when you try to quit. I'm just not sure if the two go together.

I'll admit I'm not perfect. For years when I lived in Winnipeg I would go to the gym on Mondays after work and then go out and drink beer while eating chicken wings. I know that is not the most productive behavior. The smoking while jogging struck me as odd.

As I thought about it, I'm not sure why it was so strange to me. Many people who smoke also jog. Its not unreasonable to do both at the same time, yet I think it looks strange. It must be some expectation that if someone is jogging they shouldn't be smoking. It is just one of the norms that society seems to develop.

As I was walking to the gym today I saw a guy smoking while jogging. For some reason I found it strange, but it should be.

Down Time

I have been on a rather steady pace for about a year. I'm 3 days into a four day long weekend for Easter. It has been a very low key week-end which is what I need. I, like many people, seem to keep myself busy. For the most part I like to be busy but from time to time I just like to chill out and not keep any sort of schedule. This feeling only lasts a few days most of the time but when I am enjoying it.

It's important to be you. We seem to gravitate toward who we are. I took my current job in Ottawa because I figured it would have less work travel. It seems to have a very similar amount. That may be because it just how I know how to work. I'm a be out there and see how it's going kind of guy. I like to try it myself and I like to know as much as possible. It may not seem relevant today but the knowledge can bear fruit many years down the road.

As much as I like to stay busy, or at least I tell myself that, I do like the occasional bit of down time. I like the days where dozing off in the afternoon is ok. I eat when I want and I don't have to keep a schedule. It can't last too long. I can't handle two weeks of living like that but four days sure seems to be doing me well.

I'm enjoying some down time and it will help reinvigorate me for the workweek ahead.