Trade+Finance+&+Economy

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Calgary does not posses enough philanthropists to fund the arts to be renaissance city. People are to focused on luxury. Tod Hirsh states, "In Calgary yes this is a very affluent city even though we have gone throu what people want to spend their money on it's big houses and nice cars that sort of thing. And the busiest store in the mall is the apple store you go to market mall and look at all the people in there they want these luxury items like the Ipad and IPods. By this he means that Calgarians are focusing on living a more luxurious life instead of trying to help the community, of course this is not true for every one but it mostly true.

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During the Italian Renaissance, we saw competition between major groups for economic domination; do you see some of these conditions in Calgary today? Specifically, do you see competition between companies for greater economic power that may spur them into the global stage?

 "Yeah definitely. If you look at all the office towers downtown and oil and gas companies there is lots of competition for profits. And they compete with each other not only for profits but for workers as well. So yes to the first question."

 During the Italian Renaissance we saw only minor conflict over a powerful economy, do we see a similar amount of conflict in Calgary? Specifically do we see any conflict over the economy in Calgary, if so, is it major?

 "Well no not really we don't go to war over it or battle like they may have seen during the renaissance, but we do see some conflict. There is lots of conflict if you look at the oil and gas sector you see companies that want to get the oil out of the ground cheaply. But the conflict is with people who are concerned about the planet. So they are saying maybe this is wrong. Maybe we don't need to do it this way, maybe it is bad for our planet. So we see a lot of that even within Calgary. We also have people saying corporate profit isn't everything we want to make our city attractive. We want to have parks, nice architecture and art galleries sort of like the renaissance and make life more attractive like nice schools and hospitals. So yes we see some conflicts. But we're a little more polite about how we fight over it these days."

 During the Italian Renaissance we saw new and innovative ways of banking and currency, assisting the Florentine economy boom. Do we see any new ideas or innovations in Calgary? Specifically do we see these new and innovative ways to foster trade in Calgary today?

 "Yeah we do. And Calgary is sort of a center for finance. Especially banks helping finance these oil and gas companies. A lot of the innovation doesn't happen in calgary it happens more in Toronto or New York or London some of the bigger financial centers, but since it's so globally connected financial companies use the same techniques. For example internet banking and the ATM just were developed recently and in the grand scheme of history this is pretty new and cutting edge ways to do banking. And Calgary is part of that."

 During the Italian Renaissance we saw the economy and society come together to have a substantial role in the Florentine economy. Do we see our society working towards a difference in the economy? Specifically do we see the society being committed to the advances of the economy?

 "Yeah you do see that it depends on how you see advancement. Some would say lets build a bigger freeway or more homes in the suburbs. Where others will say why build freeways they just create traffic congestion and pollution instead why don't we build more public transit like trains and subways or why don't we condense ourselves and build more high-rise buildings instead of building outward and reduce our environmental damage. So I think different people have different views about what the advancement of Calgary is gonna look like. But everyone has some visions of what they'd like to see Calgary as."

 During the Italian Renaissance we saw people’s worldviews shift toward material possessions and a more luxurious lifestyle Do you see some of these developments in Calgary today? Specifically do you see people spending their money on luxurious items more then necessities?

 "In Calgary no this is a very affluent city even though we have gone through a pretty tough year it's been a recession. So yes were avery affluent city you look at what people want to spend their money on it's big houses and nice cars that sort of thing. And the busiest store in the mall is the apple store you go to market mall and look at all the people in there they want these luxury items like the Ipad and Ipods. And there is a lot of that with the affluence of the city. People do want those luxury items even restaurant meals 30-40 years ago restaurant meals were only if you were traveling if you were on vacation and you had to eat out and now Calgarians eat out al the time it's a luxury it costs a lot to eat out so yeah there is alot of pursuit of luxury items in Calgary."

 Jags, Calder, Ben  _  __Calder, K:__

__In response to the question does Calgary have support from the public towards economic advancement? Senior Economist Todd Hirsch States that Calgarians want to advance but they each want to do so in a unique way.__

__More Specifically he means that each Calgarian sees advancement differently some see it as expansion and development of highways and other see it as build apartments and reducing our environmental footprint. But they all want to put forth advancements to enhance our economy__

__ "It depends on how you see advancement. Some would say lets build a bigger freeway or more homes in the suburbs. Where others will say why build freeways they just create traffic congestion and pollution instead why don't we build more public transit like trains and subways or why don't we condense ourselves and build more high-rise buildings instead of building outward and reduce our environmental damage. So I think different people have different views about what the advancement of Calgary is gonna look like. But everyone has some visions of what they'd like to see Calgary as." – Todd Hirsch __

__ By this he means that everyone has a unique vision and there are different ideas but everyone wants Calgary to evolve and grow for the benefit of the economy. He also thinks some people think environmentally where as others think less environmentally. __ _ Jags

In response to the whether Calgary possesses the competition between major groups, to make it a Renaissance city, Todd Hirsch believes that with oil and gas companies there is lots of competition for profits. And they compete with each other not only for profits but for workers as well. Specially, Further, In this sense, he believes that the people in Calgary, compete to the point of advancement. Because of the competition, we are moving forward more frequently. Because one company will be ahead, and the other will work that much harder to be in the lead, so it's a never ending struggle for the lead. Giving us more and more innovations and profit. He states, "If you look at all the office towers downtown and oil and gas companies there is lots of competition for profits. And they compete with each other not only for profits but for workers as well. So yes to the first question," By this he means that companies are fighting for domination, encouraging ideas and thoughts. ___ Ben Calgary does not posses enough philanthropists to fund the arts to be renaissance city. People are to focused on luxury. Tod Hirsh states,"In Calgary yes this is a very affluent city even though we have gone through a pretty tough year it's been a recession. So yes were a very affluent city you look at what people want to spend their money on it's big houses and nice cars that sort of thing. And the busiest store in the mall is the apple store you go to market mall and look at all the people in there they want these luxury items like the Ipad and IPods. By this he means that Calgarians are focusing on living a more luxurious life instead of trying to help the community, of course this is not true for every one but it mostly true.

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In the Italian Renaissance, trade and economy was a prosperous time due to high demand of items. Would you consider Calgary’s companies to be trading their products around the world? "Yes, If you look at what Calgary's economy is based on, is a product that is traded around the world. But we mostly just trade with one country which is the United States. And we trade almost only one product which is oil and gas, so fossil fuels. We don't only trade to the United States, we also trade to other countries but just not as much. Were pretty much limited in one area only which is Fossil Fuels."

In the Italian Renaissance, trade and economy was a prosperous time due to high demand of items. Would you consider if Calgary posses the people that foster and encourage trade around the world? "Yes we do. We have the people we just have to motivate them and get them outside. We trade mostly to the United States and we trade mostly Oil and gas. The economy can be big and strong and have a lot of money but its also really easy to be changed because its hanging on one thread which is oil and gas. Yeah we have the people we just need to know how to diversity them. If United States were to have a big oil boom, we would be screwed because they are our main trading partner. They've invented gas called shale gas which means they don't need our gas anymore. So much of our Economy and Government is based on natural gas."

When the Italian Renaissance happened, there were new clothes designs and new styles. Does Calgary have the same kind of predicament? "Probably not, I think in Calgary we don't suffer the need for fashion unlike Europe and Hollywood. Were a bit more stable when it comes to Fashion, which is great."

Can the amount of higher ranked citizen’s and/or “Nobles” affect the economy enough to have a negative or major effect on the lower class? "Yes, it can. When we had the boom, where there was so much money in the town, the rich were getting richer and the poor getting poorer. The spilt between groups became wider. Over the last 10 years, the average income has been going up, but the median income has been going down. You start to have to work harder for the people at the bottom end of the scale. So yeah."

During the Renaissance, wealth was a sign of power. With money people can buy out major government groups and even higher organizations. Do you think these sorts of scams are happening today? "Well Wealth is certainly still a sign of power and that everyone strives for. If you had more money then you were more classy, basically money was power. Money doesn't buy you power over the government. It isn't open corruption, type like bribe. For example, in the Municipal level of government there is no law against giving money to a Candidate, so if you gave me 55, 000$ thats legal. And if I did get elected did you think I would listen to you a bit more or my advisers? Its wealth buying power."

Wesley's Rich Point: In response to the question "Does Calgary posses the necessary conditions to become a Renaissance City?". Calgary poesses some of the necessaries to become a Renaissance city but our facts tell us otherwise. A regular Italian Renaissance City has many things, such as Art, Culture, Architecture but most of all a Strong trade and Economy. We Canadians, trade one main product, which is oil and gas. If one day, oil and gas was eliminated from the world or we couldn't find anymore in Calgary or Canada. Then we would be in a economic depression which we are in now. "The economy can be big and strong and have a lot of money but its also really easy to be changed because its hanging on one thread which is oil and gas". USA accounts for 76% of exports and 65% of imports as of 2007 - (Canada Stats). "Yeah we have the people we just need to know how to diversity them. If United States were to have a big oil boom, we would be screwed because they are our main trading partner. They've invented gas called shale gas which means they don't need our gas anymore. So much of our Economy and Government is based on natural gas" says Expert Brian Pincott. By this we mean Calgary does not posses the necessary conditions to become a Renaissance city.

Christopher's Point In response to the question "Does Calgary posses the necessary conditions to become a Renaissance City?". <span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">No, “USA accounts for 76% of exports and 65% of imports as of 2007.” -(Canada Stats) That means if the USA went dead then we would have to rely on other traders such as China and Europe. That’s only 24% of exports and 35% imports. This would rock Canada’s economy and financial platform. During the Renaissance, merchants had many countries; they didn’t have all their eggs in one basket. Therefore, if say…India went dead, then merchants would be out of some select spices, but could continue trading with other countries and keeping their economy stable. This allowed the economy of Europe to flourish, so if Canada wants to remain stable if the USA collapses, then start trading more with other countries around the world.