Three Billion to Bring Back the PST?

Is the Province’s finance minister that stupid?  Sure, I can see $2 Billion, given $1.6 Billion has to repay the bribe from Herr Harper, but what is the other Billion for? Tipsy Gordon’s wine bill? Or is part of it for Brown Paper Bag Mulroney?

On that bribe money that has to be repaid. Has the great mental geniuses in the Finance department even considered asking for payments from Herr Harper and his gang of bullies?

I mean isn’t that what Real Business people do, when they have to pay back a huge sum of money? They either get a loan, which is repaid by regular monthly payments, or they arrange a repayment schedule with the one the owe the money to. 

So is there some reason that can’t be done with the $1.6 Billion?

It is strange, that something that took only a few weeks to negotiate, implement, while dismantling the PST, now will take well over a year to reinstate. The supposed target date for bringing back the PST is set for March 2013.  ( you do the math, this is August 2011. seems like 17 months to me )

Ya know, it is amazing at how Politicians think that the average voter is just a stupid mindless yob. I mean they postpone things like a referendum, to try and give themselves some breathing space. They negotiate deals that change our tax system, in backrooms, almost overnight, then tell us it’ll cost billions to bring back, and over a year and a half to boot.

Think about it.

Do you really negotiate something like a harmonizing a tax within weeks and more than that, just right after a Provincial election? Hell, even during that very election, Tipsy Gordon and his Finance Minister were asked about that, and said no, nothing was in the works or being discussed.

So, IF we assume they were telling the truth, then it happened in just weeks.

The problem with our elected leaders, of all parties, is they get hung up on ego. Once the get to power, they assume they can do whatever they want, mainly because us local yokels are just too dumb to figure things out. Like telling us suddenly that it will cost $3 Billion to revert back to the PST.  Funny, if they could know that in just a day after the vote, why didn’t they know it before? And if they did, why didn’t they use that number in their campaign to convince voters to support the Harper Stealing Tax?

Course, it would be interesting to find out, just what does that figure involve? Not like we will be told, mainly because well, we are just too dumb to understand all this high finance bullshit.

Then too, IF it really is going to take that long, perhaps our Premier might want to consider pushing the date further back? After all, doesn’t the agreement run out in 2014 or something? If it does, then hey, let’s not revert back till then, and hey, we wouldn’t have to pay back the bribe money, now would we?

Course it would require our Premier to actually know when the deal expires, and well, I guess she’s been too busy figuring out when to call the Provincial election, to bother with such details. Mind you, I’d have expected our finance Minister to know.

Be interesting to see Bill Vander Zalm become a leader of a some political party again. I mean, he actually did rally the people behind the get rid of the Harper Stealing Tax, and WON TOO!

Maybe he should be our next Premier again?

Let the Fear Mongers Loose, the HST is Defeated

It is an interesting note, at how so many Conservative Loyalists are so quick to decry the democratic action by their fellow citizens. I mean, while some people bitched about Harper winning a majority with only 40% of the popular vote, that was it.

Now his efforts to force BC to accept the HST ( more aptly referred to by many, as the Harper Stealing Tax ) have failed, one can rest assure, he is gong to be laying it on thick.  Like forcing the Province to repay the BRIBE money he gave Gordon Campbell. 

All venom aside, the issue is really rather simple. This vote wasn’t a vote against a Harmonized Tax, nor was it even a vote against business, or prosperity.  It was a vote against backroom deals, and shady politics.

And didn’t Stephen Harper first get elected on a promise of Open Government, that would be fully accountable? And didn’t our tipsy former Premier, make similar promises?

Fact is, the province was heading into an election, and somehow, the discussions ( or shall we say strong arm bullying ) to harmonize the provincial sales tax with the GST got forgotten about. Or at least wasn’t considered worthy enough, to be mentioned to the people of the Province.

And unlike the unleashed hordes of doom sayers hitting the boards, the simple truth was that the HST didn’t deliver the increased savings, it was touted as being the reason for bringing it into being. IT didn’t increase jobs, in any market, except perhaps the unemployment lines.

It certainly didn’t spur real estate sales, and even the low paying hospitality industry was hard hit by the tax. Instead of being a boon, it caused a real noticeable slump.

And yet the Hordes of HST supporters are saying we have now lost all that we gained under the HST.  Problem is, WE DIDN’T GAIN ANYTHING.

As to the alleged nonsense, that now the low income will suffer more, because the Province has to repay the bribe money, is false. The low income citizens are already paying for it, by having to pay an additional $700+ out in increased taxes, as a result of the HST.  Oh, but yeah, they do get back $125 (roughly) in 3 easy payments.  Like that helped offset the added cost to them?

Items that never had a provincial sales tax on it, suddenly did. How is that Revenue Neutral?  And who could least afford to pay for that, why hey, the Low Income folks.  So to all those who are bitching that this repeal of a tax grab will hurt the average Joe/Jane, needs to understand one simple thing.

THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN SCREWED BY THE HST.

Let Us Make Voting More Crooked

Elections Canada ( I am sure under some behind the scenes prodding from our Conservative Gang of Thieves ) is now pushing for ONLINE VOTING as a means to attract more voters.

Read into that : More ways to fuck the people

Even the so called voting machines they have, have been proven to be unreliable, not just in being secure, but in glitches that throw in wrong numbers.

Course, without a PAPER TRAIL, verification of votes becomes even cloudier, and we all know how that works out, don’t we? Like just look at the lovely way the Americans vote.

Had Electronic Voting Increased Voters?  NO!

Course our little band of Goniffs ( thieves ) think we should be using our home computers to log in, and VOTE for the candidate of our choice.  After all, we all KNOW HOW SAFE HOME COMPUTERS ARE, RIGHT?

There are a lot of people who think our One Person One Vote rule is outdated, and that we need Multiple Votes, in order to truly reflect the will of the People.  Some go so far as to say that it will help promote Democracy, because we will have influence in choosing elected officials, not just in our little riding, but in the region.

In short, we reward those who get off their fat asses and vote, or so the belief is. Course the reality is, that whichever party gets its faithful out in droves, will steal the election under such a system.

Electronic Voting, from computers, is a more devious method of conning us into assuming it will insure a more democratic approach, and garner more actual voters.  Truth is, it is one more way to SCREW WITH THE VOTE.

Truth is, that we are naturally lazy. For some reason, people don’t think voting is all that important. Course when they wind up needing something, that isn’t there any longer, well gee, suddenly they are pissed off at the Politicians.

Fact:  My mother is 94 years old, she can no longer leave the house. Yet she hasn’t missed a Federal or Provincial election yet. She insists on getting a ballot, and making her X and having it count.

IF an old person like her, with her infirmities, can VOTE, then really, is there any reason the rest of us can’t? ( I have not missed a federal election vote, since I was 18, and I am 56 now.  Can you match that? )

To begin with, IF you want more people to vote, then make it simple. Don’t make it a choice, make it a requirement, especially if you want Health Care or other services. IF you fail to vote, then you either pay a large fine, or you get little in the way of government benefits. Things like tax cuts, tax deductions, should be tied into whether or not you have Voted in the last election.

Don’t vote, don’t get the benefits.

Tell me that won’t get a huge voter turnout.

Secondly, get away from all this technological bullshit. Simple paper ballots are easy to use, easy to make a selection on, and more importantly, EASIER TO CONFIRM.

No, I am not talking about the crap the US used, like in Florida that saw George Bush become President, but the kind we use now. Simple, put an X next to the candidate, fold and toss in a box.

OH, and the bullshit argument that it is all decided by the East folks, is just utter nonsense. IF we in the West want more Elected Officials, then uh it is simple, GET MORE PEOPLE LIVING HERE.

Voting by computers is just stupid, and more than that, IT IS A DIRECT THREAT TO OUR DEMOCRACY.

Fines To Keep You Safe

There was a little snippet in todays local newspaper, about how our Police will be cracking down on bicycle riders.   They are going to start to levy fines if you ride your bike on the sidewalk, and they are also going to fine you, if you aren’t wearing a helmet.

Yep, Victoria has a helmet law for bicycles.

Now, personally I don’t have an issue with either of those, but here is the kicker for me.

IF you ride your bicycle on the sidewalk, well get ready to cough up $135.00

Now, I can see how some kids that tear along the sidewalk could pose a risk to the elderly. More than likely it would be more to themselves, and with grass on one side, and the road on the other, I suppose it could be serious too.

IF you are caught riding your bicycle without a helmet, well cough up a hefty $27.00

Uh, let me see here. The whole idea of requiring everyone to wear a helmet, while riding a bicycle, was due to the catastrophic head injuries that were happening, to all ages of people. It was found that even simple spills could cause some serious head injuries, hence the law to require people to wear helmets.

So just how much of a deterrent is these fines?   I would guess that most aren’t about to ride on the sidewalk than remember to wear a helmet.  Like come on, these days even young kids have more than $30 in their wallets.

I mean who comes up with these crazy fines? Like I’d say that if riding your bike on the sidewalk was worthy of $135 fine, then riding without a helmet should be at least $200.   After all, which costs more to treat, a bruised knee, or a cracked skull?

Buffet Is Absolutely Right

He’s right, the RICH do need to pay more in taxes, and NO, it won’t stop investment, it won’t dry up new ideas.  Just how many of the fat rich cats, actually are investing in our Infrastructure?

It is nothing but a Conservative Public Relations gimmick, that uses fear to make us think that if we tax the wealthy, as we are taxed, that somehow we are all going to be living in cardboard boxes.

Fact is, it is that giveaway to the Rich, that is at the heart of our economic problems. By constantly giving those who have the most, more breaks, it is the rest who wind up paying more.  And for less.

Like honestly, tell me what new advances in sustainable fuels has come from all the BILLIONS in tax cuts, the Oil Industry has received?  Anything?

So what if the wealthy have one less mansion to keep in mothballs, or one less new Mercedes? Does it really matter if they have one less private airplane to fly them around?

Harper needs a reality check, as do all Conservatives. The gap between the Have’s and the Have Not’s is widening, and that has been proven to always lead to Revolution. 

Hell, just ask the Romanoff’s, or the French Aristocrats. How about the Cuban’s?  Anyone remember Castro?

Ya know, I have my dream too. I want to be in that class, where money isn’t an issue. Sure having a few billion would be nice, but have you thought about how you’d manage it?

Today’s wealthy buy luxury yachts, airplanes, and Mansions all over the place, but what does that contribute to our society? It employs maybe a few people, at slightly higher than minimum wage salary, but what else does it accomplish?

Does it keep one single factory working full shifts, to put out new cars, new washing machines, new television sets?

Does it keep thousands employed at high paying jobs in the tech industry?

Does it keep shipyards working, to replace aging cargo vessels or does it simply insure that the luxury suites on huge Cruise ships are filled?

Does it put food on my table?

NO, it doesn’t, and that is simply because the majority of today’s wealthy aren’t looking to invest in our infrastructure, but in securing more money through profits. That means manipulating the stock market, in buying up companies then downsizing them to make them more money.

The elite of our society need a wake up call, a reality check.  And we, the people need one ourselves, so we’ll stop electing fools like Stephen Harper/