The Secrets Of Vancouver BC, Canada

Listening to the Silent Majority

Premier Christy Clark Now Has The Chance To Lead The Way On Tax Reform.

BC voters have shown us they have been pushed to the wall on taxation. We’ve finally  said enough is enough, and that we will no longer stand silent while politicians tax us into poverty.

Now that Christy Clark knows her chances of her party getting reelected are almost nill, why not start a move towards a complete tax and budget overhaul. With the odds of getting a far left government next election at almost 100%, she could find honor by at least doing something to protect us from them.

“The B.C. government, I think, has got now to sit down with business and all stakeholders and perhaps develop a Son-of-HST version that is a consumption tax, that is a fair consumption tax and allow it to not have to refocus its efforts on business taxes or on income taxes, which was their goal,” said B.C. Chamber of Commerce President John Winter.

BC in general is not business friendly. The reason is that we put up too many barriers to the creation of new businesses, and we lack competition. Our productivity suffers because of this, as well as employment growth.

Most are sympathetic to the fact that they need money to pay for all our freebies. The problem in BC is the government has crossed the line years ago in intrusion into our lives. We are a model nanny state.

The time for government to re-focus on what they really are responsible for, is now.

Christy could gain credibility and undo the damage done by Gordon Campbell by:

1) Cutting spending. Americans are leading the way in the “cut spending” movement, and spending cuts would be generally accepted. Yes the interest groups will all scream, but it’s about the silent majority. Government is spending beyond our means, and now is the time to make a few hard choices. We have a bloated government and now is the time to cut staff through attrition/hiring freeze, and salary freezes on public employees. Re-size government to the future.

2) Shutting down ICBC and getting out of the booze business. This would create competition in our insurance market and lower costs for most BC residents. Privatize the Liquor stores as Alberta did years ago. Once this is done, look at all ministries and shut down the foolish ones – it’s easy pickings here.

3) Getting rid of the carbon tax. It’s a sham and does nothing of what it represents. Our energy prices are only going up. Killing this tax would be a move to eliminate the deception Gordon Campbell left us with.

4) Reform the school districts. Focus on delivery of education not the bureaucracy. Create on school board and downsize or eliminate all the others.

5) Health Care? We know it’s going to bankrupt us in the next 10-20 years. Start looking for solutions to streamline delivery and to cut the waste.

6) Tax reform: BC taxes are the opposite of transparency. They have hidden a myriad of taxes in everything we buy. This makes everything more expensive in BC, and it is a silent job killer. The nickle and dime approach is petty and is causing tourists to stay away. Buy a bottle of water and see what I mean.We hide taxes on homeowners for things not related to owning a home, businesses for things that have nothing to do with business, and consumers for anything they can come up with.

Flat tax is the way to go, and a “Son of GST” would fly if the two happened at the same time. If the flat tax was handled correctly, you could even remove sales tax. The goal should be to streamline government income, and the best place is at the source. Removing the massive paperwork eliminates needless positions and expense. It also makes BC competitive in a global market.

If we don’t address the areas above soon, we’ll be forced to in ways we won’t have any control. Our wealth has been driven by housing and now that is about to end… and when it does, well see that it has been a mirage.

I know that BC has a strong anti-growth sentiment, and we need to instill the idea that growth is good, NOW. We’ve been held hostage by the enviro-nazi’s long enough, and hopefully now the silent majority will become vocal.

It is the only way we’ll be able to maintain our standard of living in the future… as the decline has already started.

Enjoying California This Week

California in June is the best time to be here – other than going broke, everything here is at its summer’s best.

Can’t really feel the collapse that is here, but I am seeing empty malls, and finding it easy to get into great restaurants.

Here’s how California and Arnold drove the state into collapse…

It turns out there’s a force in California politics that’s much more powerful than the Governator: a culture of spending pushed by public-employee unions, money-grubbing corporate-welfare cases, and more.

Sadly, California and Schwarzenegger are hardly alone in spending well beyond their means. As many as 40 states face whopping deficits that are only going to get worse as the recession continues.

If country-wide trends do start in California, Rep. McClintock worries about what’s in store for our nation. “As high taxes, high borrowing and high spending destroy Californias economy, Californians are moving to those 49 other states. If we allow the same policies to destroy our country where are we going to go?”

“Hasta La Vista, Arnold” is written and produced by Ted Balaker. Director of Photography is Alex Manning and Associate Producer is Paul Detrick.

Carole James Shares NDP Logic

Considering beer is $28/dozen, and I have to take out a small loan to buy scotch, I’m not sure how NDP left-wing logic explains how raising wholesale prices won’t mean we’ll pay more… Carole James is a gift to Gordon Campbell… she should change her name to Carole Dion.

VANCOUVER — A New Democratic Party commitment to raise wholesale prices charged to private liquor vendors doesn’t necessarily mean higher booze prices, Leader Carole James said yesterday while campaigning in on Commercial Drive in Vancouver.

James said there has to be a level playing field for the government liquor stores and the hundreds of private liquor stores opened in B.C. after the Liberals allowed them into the market. The Liberal government recently reduced the wholesale prices charged to private vendors and an NDP campaign promise is to raise it to match the public store cost, about six per cent.

“It’s up to them as businesses whether they pass that cost on,” she said. “It was the government that gave the private stores a break, gave a gift to them and said we’re going to let you buy liquor cheaper than the public liquor stores do.”

She said people will still be able to buy at the same price in public or private stores, “unless the owners decide to hike up prices.”

So, those nasty private liquor store owners will decide if we get screwed again… for some reason they pay their staff 1/2 that of a government liquor employee, and they are still more expensive. Maybe Carole could look into why this is? And why we get taxed twice if we have a drink at a restaurant?

Find me a party that promises to lower beer prices,  privatize the government liquor stores (and auto insurance), get rid of the fraudulent carbon tax – generally move BC into the 1990′s – and they get my vote.

Canadian Environmental Tax Fraud

Here’s how imposing taxes on anything under the banner of the environmentalism gets out of control.

BC has perfected the system – taxing us for throwing out a TV 10 years ahead of time (the disposal tax), a double tax on bottled water (deposit and environmental taxes), a tax on the environmentally safe replacement for Roundup, and the list goes on…

Now we see how we were duped into the continent’s first test of a carbon tax:

First, we have a tax that is revenue neutral – the Carbon Tax – sold to the people of BC by bribing them with a cheque of $100:

From the government website:

On July 1, 2008, subject to approval by the legislature, British Columbia will begin to phase in a fully revenue-neutral carbon tax with built-in protection for lower income British Columbians.

The purpose of the carbon tax is to encourage individuals and businesses to make more environmentally responsible choices, reducing their use of fossil fuels and related emissions. The tax has the advantage of providing an incentive without favouring one way to reduce emissions over another. Business and individuals can choose to avoid it by reducing usage, increasing efficiency, changing fuels, adopting new technology or any combination of these approaches.

A propoganda support site for the tax pops up…

For months we’ve been touting the British Columbia carbon tax, and for good reason. Not only is BC’s carbon tax the highest by far in North America ($10 per metric ton of CO2 this year, rising stepwise to $30 in 2012), but the rollout of the tax has seemed to be handled with great intelligence.

And now we have the mayors clamoring to get at the revenue generated…

Metro Vancouver’s 21 mayors kicked a $300-million political football into the B.C. election campaign yesterday, calling for carbon-tax revenues to be put toward transit shortfalls.

“This money has already been collected and needs to be redistributed,” said Diane Watts, who chairs the Mayors Council on Regional Transportation. “We don’t need any more taxation.”

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, a former NDP MLA, praised the mayors’ decision as a “bold step.”

So, a tax that was to be revenue neutral will soon morph into a new way to fund an out of control transit system.

Keep this in mind next time your province wants to levy a tax on your behavior… BC has become the poster child for the fraud called Global Warming.

If The $10 A Pack Doesn’t Get You…

Marijuana may increase smokers’ risks, study says

Smokers who light up an occasional joint may be putting themselves at a dramatically higher risk of developing chronic lung disease, according to a new study by Canadian researchers.

The findings indicate that marijuana, even in small doses, seems to accelerate the harmful effects of smoking and greatly boosts respiratory problems and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The disease, which is often caused by smoking, actually encompasses a few disorders, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. People with COPD often have difficulty breathing and shortness of breath, and experience increased coughing. It’s one of the leading causes of death in Canada.

In the study, published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers found that, as expected, smokers were at an increased risk of developing COPD. But that risk was much higher among those who smoked cigarettes as well as marijuana, according to Wan Tan of the James Hogg iCapture Centre for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research, based at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver….

Despite this, an editorial being published today with the study suggests that marijuana users may not need to worry their habit will lead to serious lung problems. Dr. Tan’s study, as well as past research, hasn’t identified a strong association between marijuana use and chronic lung disease, writes Donald Tashkin, medical director of the Pulmonary Function Laboratory in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

But, you can have your pot and smokes too… Check out e-smokers magazine – all the nicotine with no smoke or taxes.

photo credit: rougerouge

Wish We Could Have A Tea Party In BC?

If you are following the Tea Party movement in the US, and starting to hear of the backlash against them, you’ll find this video interesting.

The Tea parties are growing at an incredible rate, and should dwarf the anti-war and illegal immigrant protests of the Bush years.

As the far-left has taken over BC long ago, we’ve learned to quietly live in the nanny state. Our health system that now takes up 60%+ of our budget, homeless funding that tops $50,000 per homeless, and in a not-to-distant future when we run out of money, we’ll be encountering a “get the rich” mentality the US in now under.

As this movement rises in the US, one can only hope Canadians are paying attention. Here’s the main web site.

Bonus: Obama Rap… h/t

Where Does The $6-7 A Pack Go?

Ontario Looking To Extortion To Stop The Bleeding.

TORONTO — The Ontario government will introduce legislation Wednesday that would allow the province to sue tobacco companies to recover costs associated with tobacco-related illnesses, Attorney General Chris Bentley said.

Mr. Bentley said the legislation, if passed, would allow the province to directly sue tobacco companies for alleged wrongdoing and for the recovery of past, present and continuing tobacco-related damages.

I think someday they’ll prove that…

…  smokers cost the health system less over the long run – usually smoking leads to a short, terminal disease. Think of how much Alzheimer patients chew up our health care money. Or those folks living to 100.

Could it be that enough people have decided against paying the exorbitant taxes on smokes? You’d think at $10 a pack there would be a fortune to pay for the health care of smokers.

How much does the tax on cigarettes bring in? Shouldn’t this go directly to health care?

Or are cigarette companies just an easy target for extortion.

Just saying…

photo credit: Thomas Hawk

Quit Backing Losers – Rick Santelli

Finally someone gets air time over the ridiculous plans of the Obama administration. The amazing part is that CNBC couldn’t censor it, as it was live.

On CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Feb. 19, Rick Santelli, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange floor reporter, along with several traders, expressed his outrage about President Barack Obama’s plan to “spread the wealth” for people that didn’t deserve it. He said a stimulus should go to people who live responsibly rather than some sort of housing bailout to people that lived irresponsibly.

“If you want the economy to work, maybe we should give these perks to people who will carry some water down the road.”

Amen.

CNBC big wigs must have flipped out over this one.

Gawker media and the left wing blogs try to play this down, but the comments show where the real sentiment lies.

Enough of “Peggy The Moocher” – oops, I may get accused of playing the race card.

Ot looks like Americans are waking up, and the protests are gaining steam…

Rebel Yell: Taxpayers Revolt Against Gimme-Mania

UPDATE: The White House on Friday dismissed a cable television reporter’s criticism of President Barack Obama’s housing bailout plan as the ranting of an individual who “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs poked fun at Santelli by inviting him to come to the White House to read the details of Obama’s plan. “I’d be happy to buy him a cup of coffee,” Gibbs said. In a nod to Santelli’s caffeinated style, Gibbs then wryly added: “Decaf.”

Golf Season Is Around The Corner

I was thinking of getting the clubs out soon, and maybe hitting the range. Then I came across this video… it pretty much sums up my game.