Comments on The Burd Report: Sunday # 1

L'il Lou may be fine when it comes to cutting ...

2009-10-15T13:36:24.383-04:00

L'il Lou may be fine when it comes to cutting ribbons at store openings and delivering cheques from the Province (our tax money), but if he is challenged he quickly becomes defensive and rude. He doesn't listen either, he just wants to talk talk talk, like a good liberal.

I have participated in meetings with the MPP on several occasions, and each time it was worse. In the end, our group gave up even trying.

I did not vote for Mr. Rinaldi. It is unlikely tha...

2009-10-15T08:42:50.945-04:00

I did not vote for Mr. Rinaldi. It is unlikely that I ever would vote for a representative of his party unless it was a vote against the Conservative because I thought there was a danger they might get back in.

But I do have a grudging respect for Lou. He is quite the politician. He remembers everybody's name, he remembers what everybody's involvements in the community are, he comes across as humble when he gives the standard appearances at various events and shares the glory while he's there. He gets a lot done for individual constituents and for his riding as a whole.

These are good characteristics in a local member of provincial parliament. We could do better, sure. But we could do a lot worse and we have in the past.

... but in other posts, the lament is that busines...

2009-10-12T09:05:52.728-04:00

... but in other posts, the lament is that businesses are pulling up stakes and moving our jobs wholesale to states in the U.S. that give 5 years tax relief and government start-up subsidies because they've been devastated by hurricanes or whatever, or, The Phillipines, or, wherever. What new jobs are created in Cobourg? The ones where the new company is given 5 years municipal tax relief and federal start up subsidy. Paying tax on toilet paper is, as Deb says, pretty much unavoidable. Buying life's essentials when you have no job and your EI has been exhausted is pretty much impossible.

When I worked for the Fair Tax Commission under th...

2009-10-11T11:29:18.046-04:00

When I worked for the Fair Tax Commission under the NDP in the early 90's, the HST was on our list of taxes to consider. This idea is not new and several provinces adopted it years ago.

No consumption tax is fair because it is not based on the ability to pay like income tax. For example, we have no choice but to buy toilet paper, rich or poor.

Sixty years ago tax revenue came equally from business and individuals. Now that balance has been tilted considerably away from business, who pay dramatically less now than in the past. That's not fair either, but we have been conned by big and small business groups that they are the engine of the economy and thus in need of special treatment.

As long as we tolerate that, we will continue to be screwed, HST or not.