If I were an opposition politician, I wouldn’t touch this issue with a barge pole.

Not saying you are wrong, just saying we have yet to find the answer to the question which is raised by the numbers which Canada Post is using for justification.

Thar be the truth. Like any of us will ever find that out.

A subsidy for Canada Post would be very harmful to the progress of many industries. For example, it would encourage companies to continue to use paper based systems, rather than the more efficient and environmentally beneficial electronic systems – e.g. online billing.

I have encountered a lot of people who are anxious about the loss of jobs. I understand their angst, but it is unwarranted. History has shown that the market will reconfigure and the unused labour will be put to more productive use. You may not be immediately able to imagine these new uses, because this is a process that will require thousands of entrepreneurs many trials to discover. It is a process that has gone on for at least 200 years.

I challenge anyone to read the old census reports and other historical records (as I have done). 100 years ago almost NONE of the jobs that were common in society are still done today.

As I think back to my youth, I can still remember legions of secretaries with manual typewriters, receptionists who answered phones and gas station attendants who pumped gas. It was the law in Nova Scotia that every gas station had to have a mechanic on duty, but cars don’t break down as much any more. Surely we would not want cars to be less reliable so there would be more jobs!

The suburbs have slowed in their growth and in many places the tide has reversed. Many cities have active programs to prevent suburban sprawl and increase density in their core. Around the world the trend is toward urban development. In the major cities in Canada these trends are already very evident. Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Surrey are all developing their city centers.

The postman will soon be a quaint idea from another time. He/she will join history’s long list of outdated professions.

I certainly would not be in favour of political intervention in this matter. Canada Post and government policy did not create the circumstances that exist today. Any politician who pretends he or she can reverse the tide of history is either a fool or is trying to appeal to our natural angst about the future.

I don’t know if we’ll all be flying around in jet packs or living on other planets, but I know one thing with near certainty – the job you’re doing today will not exist in 50 to 100 years, perhaps much sooner.