Liberals still haven't figured out what went wrong...So I'll tell them

Okay Liberal Party of Canada, you obviously haven't figured out where you went off course, why Canadians snubbed you at the ballot box.  Every newspaper I pick up is filled with stories and quotes from Liberal party members and seniors within the party, all grasping at straws trying to identify the mistakes so they won't be repeated.

Of course not everything I read is wrong, you're getting close...but you're not quite there yet.  Allow me to explain it to you simply okay, that way you'll have no excuse when we go to the polls again.

So, how do you like my tone?  The thinly veiled condescension? 

You don't?  Good!!!  Because then you're on the right track.  Nobody likes the smug..."I know best" attitude the Liberal party has come to represent. 

Now let's talk about the private sector, where most Canadians work.  Have you ever worked at a company where the powers that be bring in someone from outside to oversee operations?  You know what that does to morale, no matter how qualified the new guy is.  Usually he has to fire a few people to establish himself, let the minions know who's boss. 

Well...that's pretty much what you did with Michael Ignatieff.  Rather than letting party members elect a leader, you imposed one.  Don't get me wrong, I think you made a wise choice...but its a choice that should have been made by party members, not senior party officials. 

And now I'm reading that some within LPC ranks are pondering doing the same thing again...not very smart guys.

Of course the Conservatives jumped all over Ignatieff's resumé, especially with most of it being from outside the country.  Even Rick Mercer took his shot saying on his blog:

Michael Ignatieff really wants to be Prime Minister. Of that there is no doubt.  In fact, he is so committed to the idea of running Canada, he moved here to do it. Which I think is a good thing because as a nation I don't think we're completely comfortable with the notion of a Prime Minister living in Massachusetts.

The political landscape has changed, the Liberals are no longer Canada's natural governing party, that's reality and you'd better wake up to it.  If you want Canadians to vote for your candidates, you're going to have to earn that support.  That means firstly treating your own members with respect and obeying your own rules when it comes to selecting your next leader.  

And on a final note...don't expect Canadians to jump right into the sack, no matter how well you choose your next leader.  You're going to have to earn our trust first. 

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Liberals still haven't figured out what went wrong...So I'll tell them

Okay Liberal Party of Canada, you obviously haven't figured out where you went off course, why Canadians snubbed you at the ballot box.  Every newspaper I pick up is filled with stories and quotes from Liberal party members and seniors within the party, all grasping at straws trying to identify the mistakes so they won't be repeated.

Of course not everything I read is wrong, you're getting close...but you're not quite there yet.  Allow me to explain it to you simply okay, that way you'll have no excuses when we go to the polls again.

So, how do you like that tone, the thinly veiled condescension? 

You don't?  Good!!!  Because then you're on your way to understanding.  Nobody likes the smug..."I know best" attitude the Liberal party has come to represent. 

Now let's talk about the private sector, where most Canadians work.  Have you ever worked at a company where the powers that be bring in someone from outside to oversee operations?  You know what that does to morale, no matter how qualified the hire is.  Usually he has to fire a few people to establish himself, let the minions know who's boss. 

Well...that's pretty much what you did with Michael Ignatieff. 

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Hey Liberals, forget the English French English French thing....pick the best leader

Contrary to what some think, I'm not a member of the Liberal party...So card holders take this as the opinion of an interested individual, but not from someone who's spent too much time drinking the kool-ade.

Drop the annoying habit of alternating between francophone and anglophone leaders, just pick the best one and give him or her time to grow into the job.

Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau, John Turner, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin, Stéphane Dion, Michael Ignatieff....ugh.  English then French, English then French, English then French then English again.  Hell, I could go back to Blake, but who remembers him anyway. 

So now you're supposed to pick a francophone right?  Don't get me wrong, its a neat idea...provided you get the right guy, disaster when you don't. 

You picked John Turner when it should have been Jean Chretien.  Stephane Dion is very intelligent and certainly earnest, but he was a disaster during the election....I won't rub salt in the wounds over the way voters treated Ignatieff.

The Liberal party isn't dead, just wounded.  You guys weren't decimated the way the Tories were after Mulroney, forcing them to eventually merge with Bible thumping Reformers. 

Take your time, respect democracy and your constitution, and get it right this time. 

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Real Estate at the tipping point - More voices predicting major correction

Want to be popular?  The most recently available statistics say 70% of Canadians are owners of real estate, so if you're looking to win friends talk bullish about the housing market...it'll be bull alright, but you'll be loved.

Who wants to hear that their most prized asset is going to drop in value by a quarter?  If your home was recently valued at $400,000...how are you going to feel when someone says it'll only be worth $300,000 in another couple of years.  Not too good I'd bet, and probably angry.  Probably as angry as the guys who bought stocks like WorldCom and Nortel for $100 plus. 

That's the psychology of the market at work, and it doesn't matter whether the market is stocks or real estate.  People like to hear that they're financial dynamos, that they've made all the right moves.  Smart money sellers looking for top dollar need eager buyers, and there's no shortage of industry 'experts' looking to validate even the dumbest decisions.

How could buying real estate be a dumb decision?  Ask the thousands of Canadians who plunged into sub-prime mortgages over the past couple of years.

SUB PRIME?!?!  That was in the U.S. not in good old risk averse Canada!!!

What should we call mortgages amortized over 35 or 40 years requiring no money down?  If that's not sub prime then what is?  Especially when interest rates are the lowest since...uhm, ever.

So who else is chiming in predicting a major correction for most people's most valued asset? 

In today's Globe & Mail economist David Madani is saying that housing prices will decline over 'the next few years'.  YOU CAN READ IT HERE

How popular is Mr. Madani?  Not very I'm betting.  Mortgage broker Gordon McCallum devotes about 10 paragraphs on his blog, explaining why this economist is (in his heavily biased opinion) out to lunch...Why David Madani is Wrong.

The mortgage broker might be more popular, but I think those who listen to the economist will be richer for it. 

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