Category Archives: Finances

Finances, Municipal, Snafu

Insult to Insult to Injury

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Over the years many people have compliment me on my willpower for my dedication in swimming 5 – 6 days a week. The truth is that it is not so much willpower or dedication as it is being highly motivated. 

As the years have accumulated all the contact sports, injuries etc have come home to roost with a vengeance. To maximize, to maintain, mobility and minimize pain I need to swim those 5 -6 days a week.

Which is why the sizable surcharge imposed on the users of the Abbotsford Recreation Centre (and the City’s other facilities) to pay the multi-million dollar subsidy for a professional hockey team and a multi-million dollar subsidy to the well connected members of the Heat ownership group is so painful both as a citizen of Abbotsford and physically.

The surcharges have pushed the cost of a pass for ARC from affordable (with planning and frugality) to out of reach for the best part of Abbotsford’s citizens – as well as propelling the cost of using public facilities well past the cost of using private facilities. Only in Abbotsford would you end up with the public facilities affordable only for the well-to-do and the private facilities affordable to the general public.

The reason I have not followed so many others to the private recreation facilities is that I am a length swimmer and it is only the public facilities that permit 25 metre lengths.

The limitations on swimming imposed by being able to afford to swim only during toonie swim times means that since pool fees moved into the stratosphere my mobility has been decreasing and my pain levels have been increasing.

Struggling stiffly, slowly and painfully up to start the day serves as a daily reminder of city council’s practice of serving the needs of council’s egos rather than the needs of the taxpayers – with the notable exception of well connected taxpayers.

Adding insult to the injury of the usurious surcharge is the decision to abuse perfectly fine walls with paint to caricature a mural – as opposed to using the money frittered away on the mural to keep the cost of admission less extortionate.

A mural that seems to have a great deal in common with a Rorschach inkblot adds yet another layer of insult. Filling balloons with paint and having patrons throw them at the walls would have gotten much the same look, at a negligible cost.

Council, in typical council fashion, painted murals in a building where the cost of painting the murals pushes the admission cost up leaving people unable to afford to use the facility and see the murals.

The purpose of public facilities is not to fritter away money on murals or to provide funds to provide multi-million dollar subsidies to/for a facility for a professional hockey team or to provide multi-million dollar subsidies for an ownership group to buy themselves (themselves – not the city that is paying the subsidies) a professional hockey team.

The purpose of public recreation facilities is to provide amenities that all citizens can afford to access.

Caveat emptor, Federal, Finances, Provincial

Choice isn’t about HST or PST

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The author of a recent column on the HST stated “I’m sick of the lies…”, a sentiment I am sure many voters in BC and across Canada would echo. Although I am not sure why.

After all, for decades voters have been rewarding the politicians who have lied to them and told voters what they wanted to hear by electing them and punishing those who wanted to focus on important issues, who told the truth or told voters what they did not want to hear.

To put it in terms of animal husbandry – we have been selecting for and breeding politicians who lie.

So why is anyone surprised that politicians lie?

When you consider the list of issues and challenges voters don’t want or refuse to hear about, or think about and the list of issues and challenges voters ‘know all about’ – even though the evidence shows what they know is erroneous; the choices or priorities voters do not want to have to choose among or set; the things voters just plain don’t want to hear……..it is tough to talk about anything without either lying or eliciting the same response from voters that you get taking a stick to a hive of Africanized bees.

Voters want governments to provide all the services voters feel they are entitled to and/or want, they want them provided NOW – and they don’t want these services to cost them one penny more than they are paying now.

The provincial Liberal government should have said NO to funding anything but provincial infrastructure (i.e. the sea to sky highway upgrades) for the 2010 Winter Olympics. But then Vancouver would have not hosted the Olympics and then everyone (including the voters) would be blaming the Liberals and saying they should have funded the Olympics. And you can bet that if the Liberals had said NO, the NDP would have flipped and been demanding the Liberals fund the Olympics and raising the Liberals ‘losing’ the Olympics as an election issue.

And when the BC Liberals were unable to say no to the federal government’s HST compensation offer because they needed the $1.6 billion so badly to cover Olympic expenses and Olympic cost over runs. No one who supported the 2010 Winter Olympics should be complaining about the HST because the HST is part of the price of hosting the Winter Olympics.

And to layer financial irresponsibility on top of financial irresponsibility they was all the money wasted on throwing a one year anniversary celebration of the Olympics. Where were the taxpayers then? Oh ya, they were out partying.

About politicians the author also said “…. start performing on our behalf instead of using all their brain power on ways to get all our money.”

Politicians are not using all their brain power to get all our money. They are using all their brain power to keep getting re-elected and to form the government. In order to do this they must try to satisfy voters who want more, more, more. Voters who, if they do not get their way, throw a temper tantrum that would put any two year old to shame (as Mr Vander Zalm and the anti-HST forces are doing) and throw out the politicians who dared to suggest that there is such a thing as enough and replace them with politicians who promise voters whatever voters want and tell voters whatever it is they want to hear. You know, the politicians who lie to them.

So it is not that politicians are focused on getting as much money from voters pocketbooks as possible for the sake of getting the money. Rather politicians are focused on giving voters what they want , when they want it – as best they can – in order to get re-elected and remain the government.

It is simply that this course of action requires governments to maximize the amount of milk (cash) the government can get out of people to add to the funds they can borrow so they can give people what they want and are demanding and get re-elected.

Federal, Finances, Provincial

The HST and ‘Myths”

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An anti-HST supporter was waving around the anti-HST ‘Top 7 HST Myths’ claiming it was absolute proof that extinguishing the HST was the only choice and that extinguishing the HST would have no negative consequences for BC.

Since he wouldn’t let anyone actually read this ‘proof’ it was necessary to hunt up a copy of a paper with the advertisement in its pages to see what ‘proof’ the ‘Top 7 HST Myths’ offered in support of it being worth accepting/suffering the consequences of extinguishing the HST and returning to the PST/GST.

You can find the information allowing you to reach an understanding of the HST, PST/GST, the issues and consequences of extinguishing the HST by going to http://www.hstinbc.ca/media/Its_Your_Decision_GSTPSTHST.pdf and reading the independent panels report yourself.

Because the Extinguish Yes/No decision will have a significant effect on healthcare and other services and the finances of BC it is imperative for voters to invest the time in getting the facts and not the nonsense both sides are vomiting forth.

What is to be found in the “Top 7 HST Myths?

From Myth 1 “…a total tax increase of $1.6 billion per year”; from Myth 2 “…increases taxes for British Columbians by $2.8 billion per year”; from Myth 7″ over $28 billion in new taxes in just 10 years” – $28 ¸10 = $2.8 per year and “the independent panel says the HST generated $850 million more than budgeted.” [the GST was implemented a year ago – July 1, 2010]

So is the tax increase $1.6 billion a year? $2.8 billion a year? or $850 million a year? DUH!

From Myth 7 “Ottawa collected $300 million more in corporate taxes under HST than under PST”

The HST is a sales tax – ‘corporate taxes’ are income taxes.

Prior to the HST Ottawa collected the 5% GST (Goods and Services Tax) in BC. When the HST was implemented by BC it was BC that made changes to what its sales tax was collected on; Ottawa made no changes to the rate (5%) nor on what goods and services that rate applied to.

Under the HST Ottawa collects exactly the same revenue it would have under the GST. DUH!

From Myth 7 “The independent panel says the HST generated $850 million more than budgeted.”

Where? A question readers can seek an answer to while reading the independent panel report “It’s Your Decision”. While reading the report one can read the biographic information on the panel members to form an opinion as to how much weight to give the reports information in making one’s decision.

The report does say that in budget years 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 the HST will generate addition GROSS sales taxes of $820 and $893 million which will NET out to $531 and $645 [NET = GROSS – the HST rebates and income tax breaks].

It would appear the anti-HST forces have so poor an understanding of this matter – GST/PST/HST – they fail to understand what “It’s Your Decision’ is actually saying. Reading “It’s Your Decision” makes it obvious that $1.6 billion or $2.8 billion or $850 million are all incorrect figures for the extra revenue the HST generates. DUH!

From Myth 5 “Bribes of $175 per child when your cost is closer to $400 a year each makes you wonder if they think all of us failed math as badly as they did.”

While reading “It’s Your Decision” you can find the information to take $400 per year and determine how much has to be spent per child to generate an extra HST cost of $400 an year. When you do the math – which is rather straight forward and simple – you find that in order to pay $400 more per year per child you need to be spending $33,613.00 per child. Might I suggest that anyone spending $33,613.00 per child per year can afford to pay the extra $400 per child per year in taxes?

Speaking of “…failing math…” – DUH!

From Myth 4 “A onetime rebate of $175…”; from Myth 5 “Bribes of $175 per child…”.

There is the possibility that what these statements reflect is that the anti-HST vote is so committed to ‘winning’ and/or ‘punishing the Liberal government’ they will lie by omission.

On the other hand, with the degree of ignorance and the lack of understanding demonstrated in “Top 7 HST Myths” by the anti-HST forces, the proponents of extinguishing the HST may be ignorant of the $232 million in HST rebates that will be paid out to British Columbians every year and the $200+ million dollars in yearly income tax breaks British Columbians will benefit from with the HST. DUH

From Myth 4 “Seniors and people on fixed incomes are some of the hardest hit by the HST”; from Myth 5 “Next to seniors working families are among the hardest hit by the HST…”

The HST is a sales tax, a consumption tax. The more you spend, the more you consume, the more things you purchase and the higher the cost of your purchases (designer clothes, Ferraris, etc) – the more HST you pay. Those hardest hit by the HST are the big spenders, the wealthy who can most afford to pay more.

If you are a low income earner, poor, living in poverty, living on a (low) fixed income you get HST rebates and/or income tax breaks.

The lower your income, the better off you are financially under the HST. DUH!

From Myth 7 “We’ll owe $1.6 billion if we cancel the HST – False”; BC has received only $1 Billion”.

BC has received two payments from Ottawa, one received when the HST legislation was introduced in the BC legislature and one received July 1. 2011 when the HST went into effect totalling $1.124 billion. The final $475 payment was due July 1, 2011 but with the scheduled referendum on the HST has not been paid and will not be paid until the HST is approved in the referendum. The $1.6 billion represents the total compensation BC was to receive for the HST.

While it is true BC will only need to repay $1.124 billion to Ottawa, it will have to ‘repay’ $475 million to the 2011/2012 BC budget to replace the $475 million it was to have received on July 1, 2011.

No matter how you slice it, BC and BC taxpayers will be out of pocket the $1.6 billion it was to receive from Ottawa for implementing the HST. DUH!

From Myth 7 “the HST generated $850 million more than budgeted……government already has $850 million to repay Ottawa. BC has only received $1 billion and Ottawa collected $300 million more in corporate taxes under the HST than the PST. So it’s a wash.”

As noted earlier 1) the HST has not generated $850 million more than budgeted; 2) BC has received $1.124 million and will have to forgo the final $475 million dollar payment; 3) Ottawa collected the same revenue under the HST as it would have under the GST – there was NO ‘extra’ $300 million collected.

It is not ‘wash’. If the HST is extinguished the BC budget will be out $1.6 billion, and that $1.6 billion will have to be replaced. Either taxes will need to be raised $1.6 billion OR healthcare, other government services and expenditures will have to be reduced $1.6 billion. In other words voting to extinguish the HST is voting for less healthcare (more beds in the hallways, longer waits for services at hospitals and so on) DUH!

Myth 7 “”keeping the HST would cost British Columbians – over $28 billion in new taxes in just 10 years’

If you use the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 numbers from “It’s your decision”, accepting the 25% year-to-year increase in revenue and do the math you get an estimated $10,875 billion which is a far cry from $28 billion (“failed math”?). Duh!

Top 7 HST Myths – the fallacies and WTF are they thinking.

Why would you ever assume that, given our current economy and the demands taxpayers have been making on government, that any HST dollars collected above the budgeted amount remain available to repay Ottawa?

The sluggish economy means that other revenue sources have brought in less dollars that budgeted. The demands taxpayers have been making for more government spending (services) means spending is over budget. Less revenue, more expenses where is the money to cover the budget shortfall to come from? That’s right – the extra revenue generated from the HST. Leaving no mythical big pool of money lying around to repay Ottawa the $1.124 billion and replace the forgone/lost $475 million – $1,599 billion that will have to come from the pockets of British Columbians. DUH!

Declining/returning the $1.6 billion from Ottawa.

Most of the $1.6 billion that BC was to receive from Ottawa came out of the pockets of Canadians other than BC residents. Personally I favour letting Canadians living outside of BC pick up the tab for most of the $1.6 billion. For some unfathomable reason the anti-HST forces want to return this money to other Canadians and have British Columbians pay extra taxes to cover the $1.6 billion.DUH!

That there is and will be no need for new taxes to pay for services provided to citizens by the BC government; that if the HST is extinguished the extra funds the HST would have raised will not have to be raised by other taxes/fees.

While the statement “the ‘independent panel’ says…” would seem to imply the anti-HST forces have read “It’s Your Decision” their own words in “Top 7 HST Myths” make it abundantly clear that if they did read “It’s Your Decision” they failed, or lacked the capacity, to understand the budgetary and financial realities of the Province of BC.

The report, in plain language, sets out the reality that BC, without extra funds (taxes) from somewhere, is facing the need for significant cutbacks of budget expenditures (services such as healthcare).

Indeed the report specifically cites the way healthcare costs are ballooning and the reality that even with the hundreds of millions of extra tax dollars generated by the HST healthcare costs will outstrip the ability of the province to fund healthcare.

So, whether it be from the HST or some other combination of taxes/fees the province of BC either needs significant increases in revenue or to make significant reductions in healthcare, education and other services.

The real question that needs to be addressed isn’t as to whether the HST is raising more money – it is – the question is what are those funds being used for and what are the consequences if those funds are lost.

Finally, the true falsehood revealed by “Top & HST Myths” is the myth that the anti-HST forces understand the issues and consequences involved in extinguishing the HST.

The ‘proof’ contained in “Top 7HST Myths”, set out in the anti-HST forces own words, is that the anti-HST forces lack an understanding (lack the mental acuity to understand?) of the financial and budgetary realties facing the Province of BC or of the nature and workings of the HST.

Disturbingly, if the anti-HST forces cannot comprehend the issues surrounding the provincial budget and the HST – they cannot understand or appreciate the far reaching negative consequences of extinguishing the HST.

Which is at least a more acceptable reason than self-aggrandizement or malice for why the anti-HST forces are working so hard to lead British Columbians off a cliff and int0 self-destruction of the provinces finances, healthcare and other services that would be brought about by extinguishing the HST.

I will be voting NO to the question of extinguishing the HST because of the far reaching consequences.

I urge you to go to http://www.hstinbc.ca/media/Its_Your_Decision_GSTPSTHST.pdf and read “It’s Your Decision” – the independent panels report – for yourself. Read carefully, give it careful thought and make up your mind based on facts not ‘myths’ or hyperbole.