Category Archives: 3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS

3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS, 4- HOW WE THINK

THE UNETHICAL CANADIAN REAL ESTATE MARKET

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Nowhere in Canada is a company allowed to advertise a product at a certain price without being made to sell it for that price. That is, except when it comes to real estate. The recent practice of creating bidding wars by advertising a house for a price far below what the vendor is willing to sell, crosses the ethical line.

In bidding wars, potential buyers are not provided with details of other offers, forcing them into making high-pressure, time-limited decisions that can cause them to overpay by tens of thousands of dollars. It is purposely designed to place buyers in a vulnerable state in order to take advantage of them. Also, overpaying falsely drives up the cost of housing, especially when supply is low.

Bidding wars are the latest of what, up until now, was a gray area in the ways real estate agents can manipulate buyers and sellers. Most methods are subtle, and you may not even be aware of them. Think about it, when looking to buy a house, the agent showing the property has nothing to do with whether or not you like it and how much you are willing to pay. Sure, they can provide details of the neighborhood, and point out the house’s features, but most of this is obvious and shown on the MLS listing. Beware of agents claiming to be better at sales than all the rest, they are the ones skilled at various psychological techniques that can be used against you.

Open houses, for example, mostly benefit the agent. After all, if your house is listed on the MLS, any serious buyers know it’s for sale and can schedule a private viewing at their convenience. Nosy neighbors and people not serious about buying tend to account for most of the traffic. It is those who are not serious that agents are looking for. These are their possible future clients. They can even be used as ponds for the house they are selling. Being falsely led to believe that the seller could accept a ridiculously low offer can get a non-serious buyer engaged. Who could pass up the “deal of a lifetime”? Even though the offer doesn’t go anywhere, it softens up the seller on other future offers below asking price. The experience also changes the non-serious buyer’s mindset, making it easier for the agent to get them to look at other “deal of a lifetime properties”.

Offering free appraisals for people not serious about moving is another tactic. Some agents will overestimate the value of their current house to convince them to sell. Once listed, they come up with complex market situations as to why their house is not selling and how they need to drop the price.

The negotiation part of the sale, when the offer is going back and forth, is another stressful time to watch out for. A counter offer has a much better chance of being accepted if it is presented just before it expires. Your own agent could purposely hold off on presenting a counter offer to you for this reason.

These are only the methods I have personally noticed when buying and selling, no doubt there are many more. For most of us, buying or selling real estate is the biggest financial transaction of our life. Decisions made should be well thought out, and not while in a temporary, artificially created mental state. When buying or selling, beware of the friendly agent that brags they can do a better job than anyone else. Manipulating you is how they do it.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS, 7- CURRENT NEWS

CANADA IS NOT FOR SALE…YET

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It won’t happen while Donald Trump is in power, or by threats, but the idea of Canada and the US eventually joining together to become one self-contained mega country makes sense. Those who can’t think past their pride can imagine it as the US joining Canada as 50 new provinces. In actuality, it would be an entirely new country with a hybrid universal constitution and a blueprint for a free healthcare system that works. So obviously it won’t happen overnight.

Nowhere in the world do two such large countries border together that are so similar. If a mutually agreed upon merger of any two Countries ever happens, it will be here. Both Countries still have some evolving to do, but as that happens I believe we will become even more alike.

Forming a self-contained mega-country that is easily defendable would also preserve our freedom. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s secretive agendas, we should never assume we will never be challenged. Not to say we shouldn’t have trade with other countries, just not be dependent on it.

In a world that has seen nothing but Countries splitting apart or taken over, the voluntary merger of Canada and the US would demonstrate cooperation never seen before. They could be an example of what other democratic Countries strive to be like and join once they achieve it.

What better legacy for a president, prime minister, and the people of 2 countries to leave behind than the merging of two nations, laying the cornerstone for world peace.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS

THE NEED FOR A LIVING WAGE

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It’s hard to get kids to play a game they perceive to have little or no hope of winning. Chances are they will be bored, disruptive, and may cheat out of frustration. Eventually, they will refuse to play at all. Even as an adult, how pointless it would be to join a game of Monopoly that has already started. All the properties have already been bought up and the $200.00 for passing “Go” doesn’t even get you halfway around the board. For far too many people working for minimum wage, this game scenario is their life. The effects are similar to the kid’s game, lack of self-worth and hopelessness leading to mental issues, disruption, drugs, and crime.

Not everyone has the drive, ability, opportunity for education, luck, or family to help them get a high-paying job, especially these days. But those who work 40 hours a week at a minimum-paying job should be able to afford the basics of food, clothing, medical care, and a place to live. These days, they are lucky to have food or shelter.

Food banks and charities are bandaids that don’t address the problem. Raising the minimum wage to a living wage is the only solution. Gradually increasing the minimum wage every year by twice the rate of inflation until it reaches a living wage would provide hope and relief to workers, and a foreseeable path for employers to adapt. Prices will increase, some businesses will fail, and consumer spending will change. Necessary pain to stop what is becoming “minimum wage slavery”.

As the number of people who have no money continues to grow, and the wage gap widens, instability for everyone increases.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS, 7- CURRENT NEWS

US TARIFFS ON CANADA HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH BORDER SECURITY

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I don’t think anyone knows what President Trump’s plans are, not even him sometimes. That being said what’s clear to me is, that he is fed up with the US thanklessly doing the lions share of policing the rest of the world and wants to begin withdrawing support. Because of the worldwide instability this will cause, he wants to fortify the US borders and make the US independent of relying on importing goods from other countries. By placing tariffs on imports, it will encourage start-up companies in the US to begin producing currently imported items themselves, not to mention pouring billions of dollars of revenue into the government. Telling Canada that by increasing border security, tariffs can be avoided when he has no plans to drop them, is just a trick to get a gullable Canada to pay more towards fortifying the US border for him. Hopefully, our politicians will figure it out soon.

Although I understand what he wants to accomplish, his methods are economically reckless. He should have started with lower tariffs, at around 10 percent, increasing them year over year. This would allow US startup companies time to begin producing tariffed items without the US consumer being forced to suddenly pay 25 percent more overnight. It would also allow time to work out the complex problems tariffs will bring. That being said, 25 percent is most likely Trump’s phasing in point and we should be preparing for 50+ percent by the end of his term.

Trump’s tariffs could turn out to be a double-edged sword for US citizens should the US go back to free trade. Profitable companies born out of tariffs during the Trump term could go under if they can’t match the prices of imported items without tariffs.

There is not a lot Canada can do to stop Trump and we should be preparing long term, to start losing the US as a trading partner, at least for the next 4 years. Forget about increasing border security! If anything, threatening to reduce it back to what it was and use the money to subsidize Canadian businesses affected would be a much better strattagy. That, along with the counter tariffs planned is all we can do. Outrage by US citizens from the pain he causes them is the only thing that will change his tariff stratagy.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com

3- SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS, 7- CURRENT NEWS

SCHOOLS ARE KEY IN TREATING MENTAL ILLNESS

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In recent years the number of people suffering from mental illness has skyrocketed. A recent study at Harvard Medical School suggests that 1 of every 2 people, or 50% of the population will experience some form of mental illness in their lifetime. It is both impossible and impractical to treat that many people with the current system, without change many people will needlessly suffer.

The most effective way to deal with this problem is by adding Mental Health throughout the elementary and high school curriculums. Teaching students about how they may feel at different points in their life along with common cognitive therapies to deal with it would save unmeasurable amounts of suffering and money. Just knowing they are not the only ones who may be feeling the way they do can be a comfort in itself. Of course, this won’t be enough for everyone so knowing when to get professional help and how to spot someone else in crisis would also be part of the curriculum.

I can’t think of any subject taught in school that’s more important than a student’s health. Squeezing in time to teach mental health is not only imperative but critical for the changing needs of future generations.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com