How about a little Transparency

A Secret Society?

Ok, I admit it, I find the Canadian Taxpayers Federation pretty annoying. Don’t believe for a moment that they, as they claim, speak for Canadian taxpayers. From where I sit they seem pretty much like a right wing lobby group.

They describe themselves as a non profit organization funded by Canadians. People like you and me. Somehow, I doubt it.

So where does their money come from? They describe themselves as a non-profit organization. What credible organization has no Annual General Meeting? They do have a Board of Directors although there isn’t any sense, judging from that list, that the organization is anything but a wing on the Conservative Party’s right flank.

They have a staff of 10 to 15 people who can afford suits and have offices, or at the very least a desk, in Ottawa, Toronto, Regina, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Quebec and Halifax. Not cheap.

They are not a charity so no contribution tax credit if you donate to them.

Most groups offer a bit more transparency than the CTF. What do they have to hide I wonder. I have never, ever come across any person who admits to being a member. Pretty shady I figure.

What annoys me more than anything else is that Canadian media outlets are constantly parroting the organization’s rhetoric along with the that from the Frontier Institute for Public Policy and the Fraser Institute, taking their research as gospel truth. They take their media releases at face value and uncritically spew them back at us on the public airwaves. I know it is cheaper that paying for research or giving your reporters a little time to dig around themselves but dammit, it ain’t right. I for one would like to hear a bit more from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Enough of this secret society stuff.

Trickle Down Hoax

The Harper crowd is on the road again, this time to convince Canadians that what this country of ours needs more than anything else is, tax cuts to business. The move to reduce corporate taxes is right in line with solid Conservative economic thinking. The way it is sold to the voters is that when business is doing well, everyone is doing well. Keep business happy and we'll all be happy.

I just can't imagine how governments think that we, the taxpayers will, swallow this load of crap. The problem is, that this idea of trickle down prosperity is a hoax. It is a hell of a theory, it should work but it all falls apart because historically, business doesn't keep up its end of the bargain. Corporate owners and executives pocket the extra profits and laugh all the way to the bank. .
When times are tough workers are expected to accept increases that fall below the rate of inflation to help keep business afloat. When the economy gets back on track, no matter how well they are doing, business never seems to thank the employees for their help by increasing compensation willingly.
The same businesses Harper wants to reward with tax cuts are the same corporations who have shifted their production off shore putting their Canadian employees out on the street.
They under fund employees' pension plans, reduce staff and, increase workloads.

Harper tells us things are tough for business but consider this:

Canada’s best-paid 100 CEOs breezed through the worst of the recession with earnings 155 times higher than the average Canadian income earner, says a new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

The study, Recession-Proof, looks at 2009 compensation levels for Canada’s best paid 100 CEOs and finds they pocketed an average of $6.6 million during the darkest period of the recession – a stark contrast from the total average Canadian income of $42,988.

“At this rate of reward, this handful of elite CEOs pocket the equivalent of the average Canadian wage by 2:30 pm on January 3 – the first working day of the year,” says the study’s author and CCPA Research Associate Hugh Mackenzie.

Does that sound fair to you?

Consider that in the 1950's government's tax income was split about 50 /50 between individual and corporate taxes. Today individuals carry the lion's share of the tax burden and if the Harper gang get their way, corporations will see their share decrease once again.

An on line CBC poll, which I know isn't the most accurate way to judge public opinion, shows that 75% of Canadians don't support this effort.

I'm going to write to the Prime Minister. I hope you do the same.

Something Wrong with this Picture?

Patty Cake Fiacco

Just in case you wondered from time to time who pays most of the freight in Regina, here are a coupe of hints.
According to the Premier, Brad Wall Saskatchewan is booming economically. I don't really see it frankly but Brad insists.
So, in a boom, do you really have to offer incentives to corporations to lure them into your city/province?
Apparently you do.
Mosaic, that other American based Potash corporation is moving its "head office" to Regina when ever they get the new McCallum Hill Tower built in downtown Regina. The building, by the way, is the first new office tower  build in boomtown in 18 years..
They announced the move about a year ago but, development friendly city hall just agreed to give  the multi billion dollar corporation a five year tax break worth $1,500,000. I guess that decision was made to encourage a move that had already been decided upon tax break or not.
This in a year that, for those who actually pay city taxes, they will go up almost 5% and water tax will increase over 27% over the next  three years.
I wonder how a guy gets in line for the trough.

Watch Pat Squirm

Big news in Regina.  Property taxes are going up almost 5% and water will cost us 9% extra in each of the next three years.
Anyone who has been paying attention shouldn't be surprised though. The
Pat Fiacco has always run on a "no increased taxes" platform as if a city could always maintain services in the face of increased costs by just tightening a few belts here and there, contracting out services and by beating up on city workers. It is cheap politics and gets people elected but it doesn't work in the long term.
Under his leadership services like snow removal have become a laughing stock and now Pat has to start talking realistically about  services and where the money is going to come from to provide them. I find it kind of funny.
Pat has always been guided by the self interest of groups like the Canadian Federation of Independent business that is speaking out against any hike. They don't think this is the right time to hike taxes. Nothing new there.
Personally, I don't mind paying my fair share. It is worth every penny just to see Pat squirm.

Does Tom Lukiwski Think I am Stupid?

My Member of Parliament is Tom Lukiwski and to tell you the truth, he is a bit of a disappointment. He is pretty much invisible in the community or, for that matter in the House of Commons. In fairness, he may be out there attending threshing contests and tractor pulls but we city folk really never see Tom.

I do hear from Tom though. As an MP he has the right to send me unsolicited junk mail using Canada Post and he does that with a vengeance. Tom doesn’t pay for that of course, we do as taxpayers.

I always thought the service was so Members of Parliament could keep the voters back home up to date with what their MP was up to. With Tom they are all pretty much campaign material churned out by the bright lights in Ottawa. Tom sends me quite a few of those mailings. They are very badly put together, kind of sophomoric in style and contend, and always offensive.

I’m getting used to them, in fact, I keep an eye out for them. They are easy to spot. They are uniformly grey and these days what we get are attack ads aimed at Ignatieff or Layton.

I think Tom figures this amateurish material will encourage me to vote for him but I can't imagine why. When I get his mail I either recycle it right away, or if it is particularly bad I write something encouraging on them like “God Tom you are an idiot.” And send them back by return post.

I am not going to support Tom for a list of reasons longer than my arm and I can't imagine how any body with half a brain would think this stuff would win me over. I have come to the conclusion that one of two things is going on:

Either Tom Lukiwski thinks I am stupid or;

Tom Lukiwski is stupid.

Frankly I am not sure which is true but I am beginning to lean towards Tom being a dunce.

Either way Tom, stop sending me your bloody campaign material.