Let’s DISH
The Conference Board of Canada‘s annual report tells Canadians that we’re slipping in status: from being in the club of the top five world-wide (out of 24) in 2001, we’ve fallen, due to various economic factors impacting the measure of our productivity, to 12th place in 2005. Our middle class isn’t growing at the same exponential rate as China’s (d’uh), nor might there be enough middle class jobs around if policies (taxation) and infrastructure investment and diversification aren’t put on the front burner.
Maybe we can all get rebranded and make some cash or get some perqs that way? I read today that a 125-person town in Texas renamed itself DISH. That’s the stock ticker name for EchoStar Communications Corporation, the US’s 2nd-largest satellite television provider. The Texas town changed its name in exchange for free TV services.
Question: how does something like that get factored into productivity measurements? If the good people of DISH, TX can now, due to saving money on satellite TV bills, use more of their discretionary income to purchase the durable goods advertised on TV, doesn’t that affect productivity measures (or, if they’re all manufactured overseas, the trade gap)? Jeepers… it’s a strange new world.
And just think, if we were still at the stage where people are given surnames based on origin or residence, we could have a whole clan of Dishlanders, Dishmans, Dishtons, and Dishkins.
Ah yes, the Dishtons of Texas — they came over on satellite…
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