DAVID MILLER'S PRODIGAL SON ECONOMICS
This is David Miller's quote with regards to his property tax hike in Toronto.
"That is fair and what I committed to do my best to do," he said one day after council approved a new land transfer tax and car registration fee that are expected to raise a total of $175-million next year.
"People have been really clear. They want their services maintained and they want investment in new services."The problem is this, David Miller is not an economist. He has no real experience in running a major city's economy. As a silver spoon Harvard grad, his knowledge of economy is theoretical at best. As a former member of the NDP with a Marxist/socialist outlook, his policies are not only unrealistic but create damage in the long run.
Let's keep it simple. Let's say a son is dependant on his dad to give him money every month as an allowance. Let's say his costs are 3000 dollars for things such as rent and food. Let's say the dad gives the son the money.
Then let's say instead of spending the money on rent and food the son spends it on unessentials such as video games and movies and comics and parties.
He still still needs to buy the rent and food for his existance. Those are essentials. He then comes back to the father for more money. He is angry but still loves the son and says he can give him some more, but not as much this time; maybe only 1500 dollars. The son then takes that money and puts a little towards the essentials, but the majority still towards the fluff.
The son then comes back to the father a third time. By now he is tapped out and very upset. He does not have enough money to give to the son or keep for himself and they are now both in dire straits due to the son's negligence.
That is where the city of Toronto is now. David Miller is the son. The average Torontonian is the father. The money is tax. The essentials are transit, police, sanitation etc. The frivolities are city council salary increases to the tune of 20,000, arts that nobody cares for (remember the lactating lesbian exhibit?), caving into wealthy union demands.
David Miller was not elected by people who understand the economics of a large urban center. He was elected by emotional artists, environmentalists and fat cat union leaders. None of which knows or cares about how to run a large urban city like Toronto.
It is not a coincidence that is was artists and labour heads who cheered him on yesterday. It was not a coincidence that it was economists and the average working class Torontonian who did not.
Sadly, most Torontonians do not understand economics like this and vote in socialist politicians based on emotional rhetoric, not based on ration, logic and reason.
I can see Toronto in a huge downturn for the next stretch. That does not make me happy. Businesses will leave, the poor will pay a heavier tax burden then they deserve and the price will be heavy.
The saddest part of it all is this though; Torontonians, forever stuck in the 60's, only have themselves to blame. Because at least at the end of the day, the prodigal son acknowledged his wrong doing and apologized. An apology is something that will never come from David Miller's mouth.
ONTARIO PC'S : FIND YOUR STEPHEN HARPER!
I agree with
this.
"John Tory should step down as Progressive Conservative leader and either seek the leadership again or ride off into the sunset, says a former provincial cabinet minister.
John Snobelen, a minister in former premier Mike Harris's government, said in the wake of the Oct. 10 election debacle the party's grassroots must determine whether Tory can lead them into the 2011 vote."John Tory is a good man, but he is not right for the leadership of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party. Tory has a hard time connecting to voters. Personally, I think the main issue is most people do not really know where they stand with him. The left mistakenly think he is too far right and the right see him as too left. I would much rather see him run again as mayor other than stay on as leader of the Ontario PC's.
It cannot be taken lightly that he did not win his seat back against Kathleen Wynne. I predicted that he would not, before the campaign officially started. That he chose to run against her in a far left Toronto riding showed an error in judgement that cannot be taken as a casual mistep. It was a gross mistake.
Similarly, when the Toronto Star says you should stay on...you know it is time to fall on your proverbial sword and leave for the betterment of the party. The Star wanted Tory to stay because they know he has no chance at winning.
I understand wanting to stand by your leader, but John Tory did not stand by the base of his party and now we pay with a few more years of the McPolitician.
What the Ontario Progressive Conservatives need to do is find a young Stephen Harper or Mike Harris
(yes, I said that!) that will run as a conservative. One that is honest and charismatic. Too many PC leaders think that if they only go more left, the left will like them and they will win. Understand this; the left will
never love a conservative leader and will always fearmonger about them.
The Ontario Progressive Conservatives need to take a page from Stephen Harper's handbook and find a young conservative ideologue who is smart, bright and
not intimidated by the white, secular latte set and even holds them in contempt. If you don't fear something, it can't hurt you. And people will see that. Even go so far as to find someone who is a bit of a social conservative.
Yes, I said that too! Remember, Tory lost not because he was "churchy" (he is not), but because the "churchy types" didn't show up to vote for him.
Don't believe me?
Who is your Prime Minister after a decade of Liberal rule? I was right that Tory would lose his seat and I am right on this. Ontario PC's take my advice. Do not go further left...go further right. I am not saying you will win; there are too many factors that go into an election for me to say that. But at least you will have a fighting chance.
CALL YOUR BOSS A SONOFAB...!
As I struggle to understand Stephane Dion on CFRB and try to hold back laughter as I hear him spin and spin until he capitualtes like a damp rag to the floor in a steambath, I came across this;
"Regular swearing at work can help boost team spirit among staff, allowing them to express better their feelings as well as develop social relationships, according to a study by researchers."..."We hope that this study will serve not only to acknowledge the part that swearing plays in our work and our lives, but also to indicate that leaders sometimes need to 'think differently' and be open to intriguing ideas."I am not a prude. I swear. I am not perfect, nor do I think every form of swearing is unacceptable.
However, I will take a radical guess and suspect that many of the researchers that did this study are left-wing. They seem to want to affirm 'anti-social' values while confining to the dust bin of history 'social' or 'traditional' values.
Let me ask this; how long do think it would take for these same proponents to cry out
harrassment and
hate if certain swear words or invectives were used?
Think of all of the swear words you can say? Think really hard. How many could be construed as sexist, racist, homophobic or hateful?
Do you think they would be tolerated by the same people who are endorsing this study?Yeah, I know. Another dumb study by another dumb research group with nothing to add to a culture that is dumbed down enough as it is.
ELECTION POST MORTEM: DON'T ABANDON YOUR BASE
"The hustings are over, the bunting is down, the mad hysteria is at an end. After the chaos of a general election, we can return to normal."Edmund Blackadder IIIBut if I may, perhaps the next leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario will learn not to abandon his/her base. Red Toryism will not win you an election. It will only piss off your base and make them not turn out to vote for you.
...and how many more times do we have to learn the lesson that leftists in urban centers will not vote for anything with a conservative label on it?
At least when Stephen Harper lost in 2004, we could hold our head high. He is/was a man of principle and went out on his own terms. He took anti-establishment positions on everything from SSM to Afghanistan to taxes.
And now he is our Prime Minister and will be for the near future.Right now, do you think John Tory is happy or sad that he danced in gay pride?
Right now, do you think John Tory is happy or sad he spent all those hours hob-knobbing with the Ottawa-Toronto latte media cliques and throwing them BBQ's?
Right now, do think John Tory is happy or sad he tried to give more money to urban arts?
And if he really believed in all of those things, then he was with the wrong party.
My PC candidate lost today. I am not surprised. Toronto went red. I am not surprised. But it is easier to lose when you voted
for something as opposed to against.
I voted against Dalton McGuinty.
I won't lie to you. As I walked into my polling station I came within a hair of voting Libertarian due to their policy of abolishing the pubic school system.
That would have been me voting for something.But I voted PC because my candidate had a
not so so-so chance.
The only bright spot is that rumour of Dalton McG being the seen as a potential new Liberal leader of Canada. I would love to see Stephen Harper make mince meat of that intellectual paper-weight. And the fact that they even mention Ruby Dhalla! I have seen her a few times on Michael Coren and the words
vapid and
flake came to mind.
If that's what the Liberal Party of the Future holds...let's get in our Doc Brown Delorean right now!
But for now, let's just hope a real conservative with back bone is willing to take back the province.
STRATEGIC VOTING?
For personal reasons, I have not been able to post as much about this election as I would have liked.
Nevertheless, I will add my voice to the number that are now saying we need to deny Dalton McGuinty another majority.
Thankfully, I live in a riding which, while most likely going Liberal, has the Progressive Conservatives as the next bet.
I rarely say this, but if you are in a riding where the NDP could seriously overtake a Liberal candidate, it might be worth strategically voting to try to do anything we can at this late date to deny McGuinty a second majority.
It is a shame that Ontarians are so uneducated, that they would allow this to happen.
I am also sorry that so many conservatives have allowed themselves to have their fear button hit and not even be aware how they are being played.
"CATHOLICS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED" - DO NOT VOTE LIBERAL
"Catholics, you have been warned."
These are Angelo Persichilli's ominous words for those Catholics who will vote for Dalton McGuinty in two days.
As he writes,
"A BATTLE IS COMING
The Charter of Rights and Freedom, rightly or wrongly, has successfully been used to challenge the Canadian constitution and the BNA Act Some could even argue that the Charter has made the BNA act and the Constitution irrelevant. I'm betting another battle will happen again in Ontario pretty soon, and McGuinty will have to choose between funding everybody or nobody. I think I know what he will decide.
Catholics, consider yourselves warned. "These are wise words, but sadly, ones that will not be heeded as Dalton heads to a second majority.
And lets be very clear;
Dalton McGuinty is perhaps the most dishonest, power hungry Ontario polititican I have known in my life-time. I disagreed with much of what Bob Rae stood for...but you knew what he stood for.
Dalton McGuinty has no principles, no scruples and no honour. He only cares about appealling to his ideologically motivated cohorts and could not care less about the children, families or elderly of this province.
His re-election will be a shame.
And those who vote for him will only have yourselves to blame. Those spinmasters who run his campaign knew what buttons of hate and intolerance to press and you allowed those buttons to be pressed.
I say that even to conservatives who will bail on John Tory over a non-issue.
You have no one to blame but yourselves.
Happy Thanksgiving.
