These items may save us from financial Armageddon??

Budget snippets that are touted as financial lifelines:

• Tax cuts that give people earning $80,000 pa about $200
• Tax cuts that give people earning $20,000 (only the deserving poor) $500
• Give the unemployed (the 30% in Ontario that qualify) another 5 weeks on benefit
• Give a home reno credit of 15% (10% after tax)
• Give Municipalities access to lots of dough but only if they match it (pushing local taxes higher because municipalities aren't allowed to run deficits)
• Seniors get another $1000 age credit but no relief for the RRIF ballsup that has cost them money this tax year.
  
• A whack of money for retraining but retraining for what, we don't have a national skills database or even know exactly what trades need to be replaced due to the ageing workforce. And if we did would they get hired? For example we know that we need nurses but can't afford to hire them!
• I hate to be cynical but when this happens what else is there? - $8.3-billion skills budget over two years, half of which will be used to freeze premiums. So business gets a break (they pay double premiums so they benefit doubly) and it is touted as training!!

On quick assessment this budget strikes me as a failure all round, because :

• Not enough money without strings to do anything realistic.
  
• The Cons have produced a Lib budget to stay in power, abandoning all semblances of conservatism. How the party base can handle this is anybody's guess, they must be going nuts.
• The Libs will produce an amendment but will fail to get support and end up supporting a budget that could have been written by them.
• The infrastructure money will really only mean that those construction workers laid off last fall might get to get to work a little longer next fall as some of the projects may kick in.
• The unemployed didn't get what they needed - more weeks and better access to a crappy system, nothing for provincial support to help when the workers drop off EI and go on Welfare.
  
• The municipalities will not be building much because they do not have matching funds. For instance will Cobourg accelerate its plans for a seniors centre just to access infrastructure money? I doubt it if taxes have to go up.

Just a few morning thoughts, comments please

Today's the day!

Tuesday, Mr Flaherty bought himself some steel toed boots yesterday - I wonder who is going to feel the swift kicks?
All this infrastructure money just spewing from the Treasury, makes one think just what has been spent over the last three years from the Canada Build Fund - not a penny in Toronto, well that's what the Mayor says. So how realistic is it to think that we have shovel ready projects when the funding will depend on cooperative funding? Can Cobourg afford to boost its capital budget to match whatever goodies Mr Norlock has in store for us? If tax cuts will lead to structural deficits and infrastructure will lead to higher municipal taxes (to pay for its share) just what can Mr Harper do to stimulate quickly? Hey, how about just mailing us all a cheque for $100,000 (34 Billion divided by 34 million people). I know how to spend that kind of money.

I'm no economist: but.

Having watched economists for years it is fair for us to act like them sometimes. Especially when the government of the day produces economic statements, that purportedly have come from us (witness the homage being given to extensive consultation processes).

So this is what I would like to see:

• A budget built for the future, in other words this budget money must all be throwaway money. Any attempt to change existing tax structures that would impede the ability of the country to run itself in good time must be resisted. It should also be noted that tax cuts got us into this mess. Squandering a 12 Billion surplus in 2 years was foolish!
• Throwaway projects must be geared to the biggest bang for the buck. Manufacturing must be nurtured by an aggressive import replacement program and accelerated equipment tax credits.
  
• Tax credits must be used not tax cuts for business because if a company is struggling they don't pay tax anyway.
• Personal exemptions must be raised and made retroactive to last year's tax forms. People will spend a refund.
  
• Put the money in the hands of the people who will spend it as opposed to those who will save it or pay down credit cards. That means that the provinces have to receive higher transfer payments to help with their social support programs.
• Employment Insurance must be extended to beyond the life of the recession. We cannot afford higher welfare costs to cover the drop in EI.
• Older workers on EI must be paid to "bridge" the time needed to allow them to retire at 65.
• Municipalities must not be allowed to fund non-essential infrastructure. In Northumberland we are over serviced in the urban areas, we do not need any more water treatment or sewage plants, perhaps we do need to finish the botched effort in Plant 1.
• Defence re-equipment must be Canadian Sourced. No more American trucks when we can build them in Chatham.
• Any local infrastructure projects must have a local employment policy, no more trucked in labour.
• Money must be used to lower student loans, we cannot have a productive society hamstrung with debt.
  

All pretty basic stuff but because most of the list is practical as opposed to being political much of it will not see the light of day.

Hitler movies on the Internet

Cruising around you tube one can find a movie clip featuring Hitler in his bunker ranting and raving about something (Hey, if I spoke German I'd know what it was all about). All I know is that this ranting and raving has produced repros of the clip with each one sub titled in a different way. On commenter on Youtube has identified the clip as being from a movie called the "Downfall" This one is all about the day Hitler opens an Internet account. Others are called: Hitler finds his subtitles are all wrong

Naturally Canadians have discovered the tape and are subtitling it to lampoon Mr Harper. Here is one called "The Harper dictatorship" No comment just listing it for open discussion.

You're all invited

The Council of Canadians and CUPE have invited all and sundry, the public too, to a Maude Barlow presentation about the sellout of our water resources - to all and sundry! It is on Tuesday 27th of January at the CDCI East at 7pm. Click here for a poster

Congratulations

Congratulations to the ScotiaBank Major Midgets in winning the Silver Stick International Hockey Championship. I am confused by the plethora of hockey divisions (based on age) but for any group of kids whatever age to go this far and actually win is an amazing achievement. But this feat should not be the last for this team, this year, for as detailed in the CDS here they are still in contention for the, most times, unattainable - the triple crown ( which is winning the International Silver Stick, the OMHA championship and the Ontario Hockey Federation championship). Just a pity that they cannot, due to insurance regs and a wimpy council decision some years back, be accorded the highest of local honours - a congratulory ride through town on the fire truck.

This needs more scrutiny

Yesterday coming back from Canadian Tire, that's another story, CHUC news reported that the County of Northumberland is going to hire a Financial Analyst and the money to do this is coming from the Roads fund. If this is true why? Can this FA find the millions needed to offset a big tax increase? What aren't the other Financial people doing now that this job can be justified? Why, with the Roads budget diminished by millions and an infrastructure deficit of many millions can it stand a raid of $100,000? Questions I am sure that the good County Councillors have already asked and having received satisfactory answers, are now ready to vote for the new position.

But where is the poor bloody taxpayer in this? I suppose the next job to be created is one that will implement the recommendations of the Financial Analyst, and the major ones will involve layoffs to be sure, just what we need in these times another bloody pencil pusher!

What an interesting take on the state of affairs

This article from the G&M is very interesting (to me anyway) it should be required reading for pundits of all stripes. Article here

Wednesday morning

So feel any different now that the Big O is in charge? A couple of local topics:

The Sidbrook Hospital
A zoning change has been allowed to redevelop the property from a private hospital to a six unit condo conversion. Fortunately the outside and inside heritage assets have been protected by the conditions of the heritage agreements on file. Unfortunately unless frequent and constant monitoring is a reality then those assets may not have protection after the wrecking ball had been taken to them. But I wish all concerned success in this vital piece of heritage protection.

The Centre Pier Project
Port Hope's Centre Pier is another heritage asset that needs protecting. Just another collection of old and useless buildings, some might say but a group of local preservationists called "The Pier group" are trying to persuade Town Council to save the buildings and not follow through on the Municipal Intention to demolish the buildings. To understand why the buildings need to be saved click here. If you agree that this project is a worthy one express your support to Chris Wallace at info@thepiergroup.ca, Tel: 905 753-1122. Or write to Port Hope Council

The most appalling aspect of this demolition is that it will happen after we spend piles of money to remediate the buildings. So let the Federal Government spend the money to clean up the buildings and site and then allow the Town to spend their money to demolish the buildings; what a waste.

Getting ready for the trip to the South
click here for the travelogue

Perception is sometimes reality

The CDS is reporting comments made at last night's Council meeting by the Deputy Mayor, full story here. Essentially the signup activities by the Port Hope Health Centre (PHCC) has the DM concerned. Calling the signup activities "A duplication of effort". Noting that the PHHC has extended both the mandate that covers the type of patient and the geographic area to be served he observed that ""It's a concern" that this solicitation is taking place by a Port Hope-based centre". Mayor Delanty chimed in saying "We seem to be at cross purposes, We're serving the same people in West Northumberland. It's unfortunate."

So what do we make out of this? Not enough orphans to justify a recruitment committee? Only Cobourg should do this kind of thing? We have spent a quarter million dollars on this effort and now we're quibbling about signup activities and where patients should go? Sad ain't it!

Perhaps if the powers to be had figured out accurately the number of people needing Doctors then we would have known how many Port Hope could have and the rest go to the recruitment Committee.