Today's (CPP) special
If, even today, the self-employed and others without a company pension cannot afford to voluntarily contribute to an RRSP for their old age, where will the money come from to voluntarily contribute to the pooled registered pension plans that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty proposes (Many Pools to Play In - editorial, Dec. 20)?
In the looming postretirement scenario that most self-employed persons and others without pensions confront, it seems this pooled plan would ensure that cat food remains the daily special.
L.W. Naylor, Stratford, Ont.
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Your "many pools" are all major for-profit corporations, namely banks and insurance companies. Why would Canadians want their pension premiums contributing further to the profits of your "pool" owners, given the mess that the finance industry in general has created across the Western world?
Ashley Dermer, Vancouver
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The pooled plans Jim Flaherty has proposed would be like group RRSPs but sponsored by a financial institution, as opposed to an employer. They will charge relatively high management fees because there will be a lot of pooled plans out there, with different investment options, so economies of scale won't be reached. Unlike the CPP, there is no mandatory employer contribution in Mr. Flaherty's plans; no defined benefit based on career average earnings; no inflation protection; and no assurance of full portability. Significantly, enrolment of employees may be not be universal. There will almost certainly be an opt-out provision at the discretion of a province. This is, at best, a poor alternative to CPP expansion. Opposition from the big banks and financial institutions has temporarily trumped advocacy for an expanded CPP. Still, at least six provinces favour CPP expansion. The issue is not going to go away.
Ken Georgetti, president, Canadian Labour Congress
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Until he backtracked on CPP reform, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's approach to CPP overhaul was much appreciated by people such as myself - people who work from paycheque to paycheque to meet the basics, let alone saving for retirement.
May I remind Mr. Flaherty, as well as the rest of us, that it is taxpayers who fund MPs' pension plans, the very same people who have the gall to tell us to fund our own pension plans.
Randy Walsh, Toronto
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What? You, too?
When I read about Will Ferguson's Christmas memory of Santa's sooty kiss on his forehead (The Monday Q&A - Dec. 20), I felt as if I had found a lost family member. As children, the first thing my sister, brother and I did on Christmas morning was run to the mirror and pull back our bangs to make sure Santa had indeed visited and remembered to kiss us goodnight before continuing his gift-giving journey. You're telling me now that we weren't the only ones?
Joanne Mackay-Bennett, Toronto
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Nash equilibrium
Barrie McKenna (Who's Carney Really Talking To? Heads Up Ottawa - Dec. 20) argues that "What the banks really want is for the government to sanction their mortgage-tightening cartel" and implies banks will not take action to address concerns about indebtedness to "keep their market shares and nice profits." In fact, the situation is a perfect example of a Nash equilibrium, where incentives combine in such a way that the rational decisions and actions of every player lead to a suboptimal result. That is precisely the type of concern economic regulation is designed to address. Anyone who believes such situations can be resolved without government intervention is bound to be proven wrong.
Anne Fortier, Ottawa
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Head 'em off
Re Queen Could Disappear From U.K. Stamps If Royal Mail Is Sold (Dec. 20): Everyone seems to always be after the Queen's head. She is not amused.
Douglas Cornish, Ottawa
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Held liable
Having spent 40-plus years as an agent working both directly for a single life insurance company and later as an independent, I concur that the "lack of accountability" problems cited by Tara Perkins and Grant Robertson are pretty well as they have written (Through The Loophole: How An Industry Outgrew Its Regulators - Dec. 18).
The solution is, however, simpler than waiting (hoping?) that improved regulation/legislation will solve the problem. Product manufacturers (i.e. the insurance companies) should be held liable for the actions of both their Managing General Agents and the agents who put their business through these MGAs.
Were this so, insurers would be far more careful about whom they appoint as MGAs and, in turn, MGAs would do more due diligence around the agents from whom they accept business. Layered over these relationships would be minimum required amounts of bonding and errors and omissions (E&O) coverages designed to protect aggrieved policy owners from the financial consequences of proven inappropriate advice on the part of an agent.
Jim Rogers, Vancouver
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Consumers hold policies directly with an insurer, and that insurer stands behind its products; life insurance agents are licensed and abide by codes that require them to put customers' interests first. Canada's life and health insurance regulatory regime is internationally respected for protecting policy holders. As part of its continual assessment of the industry and its regulation, insurance regulators are studying the activities of Managing General Agents to determine whether more regulation is appropriate.
Frank Swedlove, president, Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association
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Marrakesh memories
Everything described (A Bazaar Seduction - Dec. 18) is true but there is another side to Marrakesh. We spent a week in September in the heart of the old city in a small riad - only five rooms, with wonderful, friendly people full of good advice. We wandered all over on foot and felt completely safe, more so than in many North American cities. When we were lost, frequently, someone always helped; if they didn't speak English, they would find someone who did. The only hazard was the bicycles and motor bikes sharing the narrow streets, too narrow for cars - but we soon learned to dodge.
In Djemaa el Fna, we wandered among the stalls, drank wonderful orange juice, took double-decker bus tours of Marrakesh and the Oasis, and a ride in a carriage drawn by two beautiful horses. My picture of my husband holding the monkey cost far less than quoted in the article. Our memories of Marrakesh will be of the wonderful, friendly people we met and how well they communicated with us; so many spoke English as well as French, Spanish and, of course, Arabic.
Hazel Serin, Courtenay, B.C.
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Handel on fame
Two points of contention: Handel actually lived only nine years longer than Bach, not 34 (All We, Like Sheep, At Christmastime - Dec. 20), but more importantly, describing the current popularity of George Frederick's music over Johann Sebastian's overlooks the latter's famous last words: I'll be Bach.
Murray Charters, Brantford, Ont.