Category Archives: The Issues

Finances, Politics, Provincial

Re-post: Balanced Budget Realities

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Originally published November 2012

If Christie Clark is actually serious about balancing the budget next year, come hell or high water, it is time to consider voting green or to run for the legislature as an independent.

The right always likes to trot out the bogyman of irresponsible NDP spending to scare voters as is currently happening in Ottawa.

And while Adrian Dix has demonstrated a worrisome lack of understanding of, or connection to, the financial realities of the province and its citizens Premier Clark’s promise to balance the budget next year borders on the insane.

Insane: utterly senseless: an insane plan.

Consider these givens: the 2012/13 budget called for expenditures of $43,869,000; the deficit for 2012/13 has been revised upwards to $1,470,000 which is 3.4% of the budget; the rise in the deficit is mainly a result of falling provincial revenues, revenues that are realistically not going to recover for the 2013/14 budget year; the promises Finance Minister Mike de Jong has made concerning the return to the PST means provincial sales tax revenues will suffer a significant reduction next year (on top of the $300 million HST repayment to Ottawa); the cost to provide the same services next year as were provided this year will be higher – particularly health costs which are rising faster than costs in other areas; the rationing of mental health services has already resulted in the deaths of British Columbians as a result of the lack of sufficient services; the increases in Justice costs (police, incarceration etc) will necessitate cutting more funds from the rest of the budget.     

Balancing the budget for 2013/14 will require cutting 3.4% (+) from next year’s budget.

Given the realities of the way the province spends its money most, if not all, of the cuts will have to come from healthcare and education.

Yes you could make cuts to social services, family services and related programs…..but the hard facts are that cuts in those areas do not result in any savings. Rather they result in higher costs to the government in other areas of the budget such as Justice.

Trying to avoid cuts to health and education by making cuts in other areas, areas that tempt politicians and the public because they seem ‘easier’ than cuts to healthcare and education, will inevitably force even deeper cuts to be made to education and health.

Given the level of wilful denial, of self imposed blindness, embraced by both voters and politicians in British Columbia –  Pray that Clark is Lying.

Consider, Issues, Life

Mercurial Mood: The Saga Rolls On

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The record setting high temperatures provided solid evidence that with the power windows on the Cougar deciding to open or (worse) close only occasionally – a random, unpredictable occasionally – only the fact the air conditioning works so well will make the Cougar drivable this summer..

Even then driving will be a hot, sweaty affair. And the cost of the gas to run the air conditioner…….well, I could swear that with the air conditioner running you can almost see the gas gauge falling.

Still………..

But when the transmission began to feel……..off, off as in: even if you treat me gently, one of these days I won’t transform engine power into turning wheels…….it was time to consider asking people to keep their eyes out for new transportation for me.

Hoping to find that most rare automotive quarry – an economical vehicle in excellent condition and at a price I can afford. Casting to the winds, to the Universe, my wish to find an incredible automotive deal before the Cougar suddenly needs repair.

As if to encourage me, the pins on the driver’s door shifted allowing the door to sag which requires lifting the door up slightly to alight the latch mechanisms on the door and car body, allowing the door to latch closed. Now this isn’t a problem, when you are aware of it, when closing the door from the outside. The design of the outside door handle makes it easy to lift and close solidly the door.

Once you are aware and remember the need to pay careful attention to closing the door. Interestingly, before that awareness develops the unclosed door provides one a kind of likability index. As in how many people stop to warn you your door is not closed and that they could not get it close. Bonus points if there were two or more and one stayed by the car until you got back to it.

As I said, closing the door from the outside is easy. From the inside on the other hand……I now travel with a piece of yellow nylon rope on the passenger seat. When I get into the car I form a loop, hook it on the bottom corner of the driver’s door and if I lift and pull correctly the door closes and latches. If not done correctly: repeat until door latches.

Every time I get into the car provides encouragement to ask people to keep an eye out a suitable replacement vehicle; but does not provide a sense of undo urgency.

That sense of urgency was provided as I was making my Tuesday trip to Mission for coffee and conversation. As I was heading onto the Mission bridge a piece of tire flew past the driver’s window as the front end got a little wobbly.

1 + 1 = %$#@!!~!! The driver’s side front tire would appear to be having…….issues.

Wisdom winning out over convenience I pull over and stop, before I got out onto the two lane bridge deck.

Setting the four way flashers to flashing I carefully exit the car and take a look at the tire; finding a big piece of rubber missing, snapped steel strands and an ominous big bulge. Looking at that bulge I am torn between the wisdom of stopping and the knowledge of having to change the tire right there.

Maybe Fate, the Universe, is not using the Cougar to toy with me or test me or to get me and I would have made it across the bridge and into parking at The Junction. Right, and the phone call yesterday telling me I had won a free cruise and there were just an item or two I needed to take care of to get my (not so free) ‘free’ cruise was not a scam.

I empty enough stuff out of the trunk to be able to retrieve the tire changing paraphernalia and proceed to change the tire. A job made easier by having performed it on more than one occasion and having stopped where there is ample room. A job made dangerous by all the thinking challenged distracted drivers who apparently not only fail to see the big boat of a Mercury Cougar with its emergency flashers flashing, but fail to notice my non-petite self. Forcing me to pay careful attention so I can I scramble to safety when needed.

Interlude:

I was in Shoppers Drug Mart this week filing a prescription and while I was waiting for the prescription to be prepared I wandered into the drool and dream area – electronics and computers. And there in the computer area was the item from Jay Leno’s monologue – a product to allow you to attach your tablet etc to the steering wheel to make using your device(s) easier while driving.

Corporate profit is not an evil thing, but corporate profits on devices that promote and enable using electronic devices while driving is definitely Corporate Irresponsibility.

Returning to out tale, I have managed not to be hit, to remove the old tire and put on the spare. I lower the jack and discover that, as I should have anticipated, the spare is flat. Oh Joy!

It is my background as a Chartered Accountant, and not paranoia that Fate or the Universe is out to get me, which has me carry a big old fashioned heavy steel red bicycle pump in the trunk of my car. It is a decision whose wisdom has been proved on several occasions over the years.

150 pumps and a few breath catching breaks later the spare (rejoicing that it is a small spare and not a full size tire) is reasonably inflated and not leaking  I make sure everything is loaded in the Cougar, do a final walk around to make sure that everything is really in the car and that there are no other apparent mishaps waiting to happen.

I climb into the Cougar, loop the yellow nylon rope around the bottom corner of the driver’s door and with the door, with just two attempts, closed proceed over the bridge for coffee – and the opportunity to wash the grime off my hands.

Now prepared to spread my search for a ridiculously excellent……an incredibly, ridiculously, mind blowing excellent……an incredibly, ridiculously, mind blowing, unbelievably excellent…… an – you get the idea – deal of exceptional automotive value, an automotive gem at a zircon cost.

Casting my words, my petition, my orison as it were, into cyberspace – hoping they might…ahem….’net me a paragon, a pearl, a prize.

Casting my words onto the breezes and winds, hoping to open a path to an outstanding automotive prize.

Casting my words upon the ears of those whose paths cross mine that, in the manner a stone dropped into a pond sends outward ripples that rebound and intersect, the words may find their way to the ears of someone seeking to bestow the gift dependable transportation.

Coda:

Rolling along in my automobile

Bushwhacked by my front wheel

That adversarial fate

Decided to delaminate

 

In the blink of an eye

Past my window did fly

A warning most dire

A chunk of the tire

 

Forewarned

Forearmed

The Break

To Brake

 

Fortune turning away

Fate’s sly game play

Preserving the day

For walking the Way

Consider, Media, Mental Health, Politics, Provincial

FINALLY – Something to Vote FOR.

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FINALLY – Something to Vote FOR.

Hearing that Abbotsford city Councillor Moe Gill was going to run as an independent in Abbotsford West was a Yabadabadoo moment for me.

Finally an opportunity to look forward to election day and casting my ballot for something (or someone), instead of needing to hold my nose and vote in a manner I judged would cause the least damage to the province, the economy, and to society.

When people ask who I am voting for I get to tell them straight out “I am voting FOR Moe Gill”, instead of having to say something like “I am voting for a minority government”’ or “I am trying to decide who is the lesser evil”.

Upon hearing I am voting for Moe Gill, many feel it necessary to state that, without being a member of a political party that can form the government, Mr. Gill cannot accomplish anything.

I like to begin my reply by pointing out they were just complaining that MLAs do what the party tells them and ignore the concerns and opinions of the people who elected them.

Moving on to remind them of their complaint about having to decide which party is the least objectionable. I opine that when you are forced to vote for the lesser of two evils, you are being forced to vote for an evil.

I then note the reality that there are many topics that political parties will not talk about and if forced to address, respond with platitudes; the reality that political parties are avoiding even talking about, much less addressing, important issues because the public does not want to hear about these issues – leaving these problems to grow until they reach a size where they ‘self correct’ with painful negative consequences; that political parties, mired in their ideologies, have no real understanding of the economic reality in BC or the financial situation most British Columbians are faced with as evidenced by the current election campaign; and, as evidenced by the current election campaign, none of the political parties has any new ideas about how to steer the ship of state through these turbulent times – without wrecking on one of the issues they pretend (BLEEP! I hope they are pretending) doesn’t exist or whose existence they ignore.

I remind my audience that for several years I have been writing about how we cannot afford the consequences that our current politicians and parties, with their ‘politics as usual’ behaviour, are bringing about and allowing to grow. That in order to avoid the painful consequences that ‘politics as usual’ is building up, we need to dislodge the entrenched political interests and get MLA’s who will tackle the important issues, even if the public does not want to hear about these issues – before the issues and consequences blow up in our faces.

I remind people that, although politicians have evolved a system that forces many Canadians to vote for the lesser of evils instead of for or on issues, we still have the right to vote for anyone we choose to. Calling on people to encourage independents to run for office – and for people to get out, support and vote for any suitable independents. Having written for several years about the need for independent candidates to run for office……when Moe Gill tosses his hat in the ring as an independent, I will be following my own call to action and voting for the independent candidate running in my riding – Mr. Moe Gill.

Independent candidates need issues to address but are not muzzled by a party, permitting them to address issues important to the future of the province and citizens, as well as issues important to their constituents.

Independent candidates can give a voice to those persons and issues the political parties do not wish to hear about or address.

I have watched the deterioration of Mental Health services in our health region, watched as the lack of resources and services have resulted in the death of people and the growing number of citizens who are turned away – until their mental health deteriorates to a point they are dangerous to themselves and the public.

I have watched a system that keeps doing the same thing over and over for those struggling with substance use problems, even though the outcome has an unacceptably abysmal ‘success’ (less than 5%) rate and we know that best practices elsewhere have significantly higher (90%) positive outcomes, in the apparent belief that if you do the same thing over often enough at some point you will get a different outcome.

I have watched things continue to worsen because of the lack of a voice that can effectively raise the issue.

I attended Moe Gill’s press conference and statement about the need to address mental health issues and later heard from people who had heard media reports about Moe Gill calling upon government to address mental health issues and failures.

Yes an Independent does not belong to a party that can form the government.

But Independents can effectively raise issues; raise issues the government and its MLAs want to avoid for political reasons; need to represent their constituents and are not hampered in this be party decisions or interests of the party deemed more important than the interests of citizens; one Independent can change the conversation, the election of several Independents can change the agenda.

We can no longer afford ‘politics as usual’ and the painful negative consequences ‘politics as usual’ leads to.

We need, we must, change. We need to take back our government in order to get good governance.

Which is why I will be voting FOR Moe Gill, encouraging other residents of West Abbotsford to vote for Moe Gill, and encouraging those with independents (OK, non-wacko independents) to support the independent in their riding

Love the sound of that – voting FOR something.

I am voting FOR something, I am casting my vote For our independent candidate in Abbotsford West, voting FOR Moe Gill.

Media, Politics, Provincial

Calling it ‘The News”, doesn’t make it ‘The News”.

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Anymore than calling a jackass a thoroughbred and naming it Secretariat makes it a Triple Crown winner.

Although, the jackass is closer to a Triple Crown winner than the Media’s coverage is to being ‘The News’.

To borrow from the CBC’s Journalistic Standards and Practices ‘The News’ requires:

“Our mission is to inform, to reveal, to contribute to the understanding of issues…..”

To illustrate how what Media delivers to the public as ‘The News’, fails to qualify as ‘The News’, let us examine an important issue from the current BC election and the questions media has failed to ask on behalf of the public.

The NDP, in their current “low nastiness” (as Adrian Dix labels the behaviour) anti-Liberal advertisement, have raised the ghost of the HST.

While the failure of the media to ask Adrian Dix and the NDP to substantiate their claims of the HST harming the economy and of jobs lost due to the HST is aggravating, voters are use to politicians throwing around imaginary numbers during election campaigns.

The Liberal’s ‘balanced’ budget allowing the Liberals to claim to be financially prudent; the NDP’s budget raising an ‘extra’ $1.5 Billion allowing Mr. Dix to make campaign promises spending that $1.5 Billion while claiming the NDP are not about wild spending that substantially increases the deficit and the debt.

But in ignoring the harsh reality of the hard, real numbers associated with the HST, the media has not only failed to contribute to the public’s understanding of the matter, but have served to misinform the public.

Since Mr. Dix and the NDP raised the matter of the HST why has the media failed (yet again) to ask Mr. Dix to explain to voters why he feels that it was better to return the $1.6 billion dollars Ottawa paid BC to bring in the HST, rather than use that $1.6 billion to build hospitals and meet other needs BC has?

Why, when campaigning to convince voters to extinguish the HST were Mr. Dix and the NDP so careful to avoid speaking about the necessity to repay Ottawa $1.6 Billion if the HST was extinguished? Given the financial pain and problems associated with repaying Ottawa its $1.6 Billion why did Mr. Dix and the NDP fail to ensure the public clearly understood that extinguishing the HST meant repaying Ottawa the $1.6 Billion and then make their case to the public as to why it was a good idea to extinguish the HST and repay Ottawa its $1.6 Billion? Especially in light of the federal governments statement that if BC extinguished the HST BC would HAVE to repay Ottawa its $1.6 Billion?

Taking into consideration that Mr. Dix and the NDP are seeking to form the next BC government and the poor state of the BC provincial governments finances why has the media never asked Mr. Dix:

Given: The federal government has just finished its long negotiation with the Ontario government to bring in the HST and has offered (take it or leave it) the governments of Quebec and BC $1.6 Billion (each) to bring in the HST. The post winter Olympics economy is no longer booming and BC government faces the need for hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for needed capital expenditures. Quebec said yes to bringing in the HST in exchange for $1.6 Billion.

Facing those circumstances would it not have been irresponsible for Gordon Campbell (any premier) to have said no to Ottawa’s $1.6 billion.

Is Mr. Dix saying that under those circumstances he would have said no to Ottawa’s $1.6 Billion? Would that not have been an irresponsible action? If Mr. Dix is saying it would not have been irresponsible to say NO to that badly needed $1.6 Billion, what is the reasoning behind that claim?

Mr. Dix and the NDP are running around the province blaming the Liberals for the government’s failure to invest hundreds of millions of dollars, a billion + dollars, in new hospital facilities; when it was the actions of the NDP, in convincing the public to extinguish the HST, that are responsible for $1.6 Billion going to Ottawa, rather than going to fund new hospital facilities.

A reality the media apparently feels it unnecessary to question Mr. Dix about in order to provide the public with information necessary to understand and evaluate the issue.

Which is why a jackass is closer to being a Triple Crown winner, than the media’s coverage is to being ‘The News.’

Provincial

Star Candidate?

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With the BC Liberal party choosing to foist their ‘star candidate’ Darryl Plecas on the Liberals in Abbotsford South I found myself wondering what makes a candidate a ‘star candidate’.

Looking at Mr. Plecas it seems all that is required to be a ‘star candidate’ for the BC Liberals in our 15 minutes of fame obsessed society is merely to have your face appear on television several times. Looking at Mr. Plecas also makes it clear that it is getting your face on the boob tube that matters, not the content of your words.

For television reporters in BC, when you need a ‘criminologist’ to stridently declare ‘drugs bad’ or ‘lock ‘em up’ or ‘violating people’s charter rights is fine if it makes things easier for police (to bad about the innocent people who become collateral damage)’ or ‘cost doesn’t matter’ Mr. Plecas is your go to guy.

If you are seeking thoughtful or insightful commentary, you go elsewhere.

Driving along South Fraser around West Oaks Mall the observant will notice that the election signs are different on either side of the street.

Not surprising since a check of the provincial electoral district boundaries will show the boundary between Abbotsford West and Abbotsford South runs down the middle of South Fraser Way in that area.

Walking along the street past Mr. Plecas’s election office one comes upon some elections signs in front of Envision Credit Union.

 

Look back at Mr Plecas’s office and see:

Clearly Mr. Plecas’s campaign office is in the wrong riding.

It is understandable why the BC Liberal party would prefer candidates of limited cognitive ability and limited ethics. But one would have thought they would at least insist on the cognitive ability to locate your office within the boundaries of the riding you are seeking to represent.