Considering the provincial election was in the middle of May, was this poll conducted before or after the election?

Oh, doesn’t matter ..this is just another poll, like the ones that predicted an NDP landslide .. haven’t we learned our lesson about polls already? LOL

Perhaps they should call this the snivel meter. Sounds about as scientific as a ouija board.

Seems the small business association is about as up-to-date as government with their web site……

http://www.cfib-fcei.ca/english/lobbying/british_columbia.html

I think that small businesses with their bank and three levels of government doing everything they can to stifle and complicate them, I can see where confidence comes and goes. Want to start a small business? Buy a big business and let the government help you run it.

“According to past results, index levels normally range between 65 and 70 when the economy is growing at its potential”

So what happens if we are in a stagnant period of economic growth, or economic decline? If growth potential is nil or virtually non-existent, what should the index levels reflect? If that were the situation, would the index levels even matter? Heck, why do the index levels even matter at all?

Survey was taken before the election so it’s now pretty much meaningless.

Exactly my thoughts, NMG.

Couple of points.

1. What is a SUSTAINABLE economy? Does it have to grow? Or maybe continuous growth is not sustainable. Seems reasonable to me. Horror of horrors.

2. Along those lines how can we compare today’s economy among the trading world countries to the economy of the Roman Empire? I would assume that the health of the economy is relative.

3. Thus, how can we determine what the potential growth is? Is potential growth sustainable ad infinitum.

4. Does an economy which is growing at its potential have detrimental effects on human health? How about negative effects on the enviroment?

5. The three legs of the balanced stool – economy, environment, society – how do we know the stool is balanced?

Who else uses the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’ measurement system? How valid and robust is the system?

Actually, the CFIB does good work. Their surveys only go out to registered (paying) members, and ask pertinent as well as general questions, and they are targeted by province, as applicable. The results are what the membership has to say about the survey topic, so I would consider that fairly accurate. At least as accurate as the opinions expressed by the members who return the survey anyway.
metalman.

“Actually, the CFIB does good work.”

As with most things, whether the work being done by anyone is good bad or indifferent is either a matter of opinion or a matter of how they stack up against an accepted industry standard.

“The results are what the membership has to say about the survey topic, so I would consider that fairly accurate”

There is no dispute as to what was said and that it has a high level of accuracy to it.

The thing is that the questions have to do with what people will be doing, so it is predictive not retrospective.

Let me try these questions out on you.

1. How is your business doing today as compared to a year ago? Better, the same, worse?

2. A year ago, when you looked forward and set what you considered would be an attainable goal did you expect to be doing better, the same, worse?

3. Looking ahead to next year at this time, do you expect to do better, the same, or worse than you are doing now?

4. Do you consider yourself to be a good, average or poor business forecaster?