I have returned! I was away on a vacation to Disneyworld with my son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons. We had a great time and I will have a few comments on the trip in later posts. My son wrote the mortgage post while I was away in case anyone was feeling sorry for me about having a mortgage at this stage of my life.
Rested and ready to rock.

Connect the dots and you will find that the harmonization of the GST and PST in Ontario is a Liberal tactic to offset the huge deficit caused by their uncontrollable spending over the past several years. McGuinty and his government have consistently spent massive year end surpluses during which time they were receiving record revenues. The Provincial debt has now grown to $162 billion while Ontario has gone from being the financial engine of Canada to being a “have-not” province needing financial assistance from the Federal Government. Now as the population struggles with a global recession the “Libs” have no choice but to increase taxes yet again to shore up their books. This comes on the heels of another statement made during last election where he (McGuinty) promised, once again, not to raise taxes. He made the same promise the first time he was elected and then went right out and raised the health taxes by $2.7 billion. When are people going to wake up and realize that giving over 50% of your hard earned money to the government is far too much? In 2010 the average Ontario citizen will be paying an additional 8% tax on just about all services now taxed federally at only 5%. Haircuts, gym memberships, taxi fares, railway and airline travel are a few of the items which will be hit with the new tax. When is enough enough? Are we all brainwashed robots that follow lockstep with our masters at Queen’s Park and bow down to their constant demand that we work harder so they can have more money to spend on social programs that are 9 times out of ten, inefficient, wasteful, and not needed in the first place. A properly managed government would have anticipated the need for funds when the economy takes a downturn, which by the way, has happened time after time on a cyclical basis over the past 150 years. We have to get these “socialistic tax and spend mongrels” out of office and reverse this trend before the Province goes broke and both business and people begin a mass exodus elsewhere. If we, the citizens of Ontario, do not elect a fiscal conservative government the next time around I may decide to get into politics myself in an attempt to bring back Conservatives values and get the Government paws out of our pockets. I’ll give the current Conservative Party a hint……..get your accountants to add up the costs of all taxes, including the abusive alcohol, tobacco and fuel taxes. Then hammer and continue to hammer these Liberal spendthrifts on the numbers. Facts don’t lie.

I wake up to the bright sunlight beaming through my window, stretch my arms and legs then rise from bed to meet the day head on. After a hearty breakfast I begin to complete a few chores before I venture out into the community. I have several cans and paper coffee cups to take outside but I can’t find any plastic bags to put them in so I can limit the number of trips to the garage. Realizing that I won’t find any bags because they have been banned by the municipal government I load up my arms and find that I can complete the task in two trips which really isn’t that bad. Next I walk out to my front yard and grab my new weed digger which I had to buy because the “weed and feed” fertilizer that I usually use has been banned by the Provincial government and in fact the sale of any pesticide for residential use has been prohibited in the Province. Once I had unearthed the 5 or 6 dandelions that had sprung up overnight I got in my truck and headed up town to do some shopping. I always strap on my seatbelt which is a wise thing to do but even if I only forget one time I know that it will cost me $250.00 because it is the law. Once on the road I hear my cell phone ring which is located in my right front pants pocket and by virtue of pure habit I hit answer and put the phone to my ear. Immediately before I could say “holy cow” I was pulled over by the phone police and given a $150.00 ticket for driving and using a cell phone which has recently been banned in Ontario. Oh well I guess the local gendarmes will put the money to good use. Next I pull into the parking lot and I see a young lady standing beside her car smoking a cigarette while her 10 year old daughter is sitting inside the car with the windows up. It then hits me, of course, this scene has been created by the recent ban on smoking in a car with a youth inside. Generally you would think this would be common sense but thank God we have the government to look out for us. After I get a few groceries I decide to buy some alcohol beverages and of course in Ontario I have to get out my GPS to decide “what is the best route to follow to limit my mileage while I complete this task?” You see I can only buy beer at the “Beer Store” or the “LCBO” however the LCBO and the Beer store sell different brands of beer so I have to look at my list to see where I should go. Thankfully I can buy wine at the Grocery store but it is generally limited to one winery so I have to go to the LCBO for most wines. You can’t buy liquor at the “Beer Store” but it is the only place you can return liquor bottles to recapture the deposit you paid when you purchase the liquor at the LCBO. It can be confusing but the Government says this is the best way to sell spirits so they must be right. Once I have conquered the alcohol challenge I decide to go and purchase some cigars which I enjoy from time to time with a nice glass of scotch. Once in the Smoke shop I look around and I can’t see any cigarettes or cigars on the shelves. When I ask the clerk he tells me that the Government banned the practice of showing the smokers the packages of cigarettes or cigars because it may entice them to buy. I said, “But this is a smoke shop! I came in here to buy smokes! Why would seeing the packages have anything to do with the desire to buy that I already possess?” The clerks answer had something to do with “the government knows best”. So I had to look in a book with pictures and descriptions to buy my cigars which seems like a lot more trouble but hey, who am I to say? Once I had my cigars I thought wouldn’t a nice beer and a sandwich followed by a cigar make for a nice lunch? I decide to go to a Road house that has a patio where you can sit outside to eat. Once I settled down in my chair and begin to read the menu a waitress walked up, saw my cigar and proceeded to inform me that I couldn’t smoke on their patio. When I asked why? I was informed that I could smoke at the restaurant next door because their patio wasn’t part of their main building (meaning their roof and sides weren’t connected) but because their patio was deemed to be part of the main building it was banned by the Government. Totally exhausted from meeting the day head on, I decided I had better return home and grab a nap before attempting a trip into Toronto where I would have to deal with a myriad of new taxes imposed by the city government. I realize that these taxes are for my benefit but it is difficult to remember how much money I have to take with me because of so many different types of taxes. Of course the Government has taken steps to make it easier to understand by merging the GST & PST which raises the tax on almost every service and many products by 8%. Thank goodness we have a Government that is sensitive to our needs.

I heard an amazing thing last night while watching the Michael Coren program. The subject was racism and the comment that caught my ear was that roughly 95% of the GTA’s welfare recipients are white. I was not aware of this statistic and at first I had a difficult time digesting the information. But after thinking about some of the other remarks made such as the fact that most of the folks working in the fast food joints and other minimum wage jobs are usually races other than Anglo-whites it started to make sense. This is exactly the same thing that has been happening in the USA for years except in the States it is both whites and blacks that dominate the welfare rolls. The more and more our society tells people that they don’t have to work because the government will take care of them the larger and larger the welfare state becomes. As these people leave the workforce they have to be replaced and that is where immigration, both legal and illegal, swoops in to save the day. In Canada it is third world citizens and in the US its Mexicans, and what do these people have in common? They have come from a place where the Government doesn’t provide them with a cradle to grave income and they believe that hard work is the only way they can make things better for them and their families. Now in this current economic environment when more and more people lose their jobs we will more than likely see the welfare numbers swell. My guess is that when things start to improve many of the people that needed welfare to survive in bad times will remain on the dole. This is generally what happens after every recession and it also is why the “normal” unemployment rate average always rises at this time as well. A 2.5 to 3% number was always the norm in the 50’s and 60’s and then 4 to 5% was the standard until after the 80’s recession and then 6 to 7% became the norm. If we follow suit it will probably be 10% when this is all over in a year or two. As these numbers rise the makeup of the folks on the dole will eventually include all races because it isn’t the colour of someone’s skin that puts them there it is a culture of entitlement that is permeated by socialist and liberal doctrines. The obvious result of this evolution is the need for more Government funds and thus higher taxes on those that do work. Entitlements are the weapons of mass destruction to any free, democratic and capitalist society.

Regardless of anything else a Liberal or socialist tells you during an election campaign you can be sure of one thing and that is you will eventually pay more taxes if they get elected. Two interesting items in the news over the past week illustrate some of the negatives of this holy grail of Liberalism. One is in Canada and the other is in the United States but both center around excess taxation and the discouraging impact it can have on a city. First the news came out of Toronto that business and industry are growing more rapidly over the past few years in the suburbs outside of the city of Toronto rather than inside its borders. The reason is that businesses are relocating to areas that provide a lower base of taxation rather than the excessive load placed on them by the socialist Mayor and Council of Toronto. Instead of working in the City and living in the “burbs” the opposite is now happening and of course if there are fewer businesses to tax guess who must pick up the slack. Many US cities have gone this route and have paid dearly as their inner core begins to fail and become rundown as businesses leave. Detroit comes to mind as one of the worst I have ever seen as buildings become vacant and windows are boarded up, crime rises and citizens are simply afraid to venture out on the streets. There is no money in the city coffers to make repairs or improvements so the place becomes a haven for gangs and slumlords. Toronto “the good” is headed down this road and unless a new way of thinking permeates City Hall TO will resemble Detroit or New Orleans in a few short years. The other example is in New York where the State has implemented the “millionaires” tax that is levied on anyone making over $300,000 a year. People that live full time and part time in New York State and qualify for this tax are reacting in a way that is puzzling the politicians. They are moving themselves and their businesses out of the State! Amazing development wouldn’t you say? Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump are two of the better known people who have publically declared the foolishness of this tax and the harm it will do to the State’s revenues. However with nothing but “good riddance” coming out of the mouth of the Governor they are both leaving and taking their money with them. It is very sad to see this kind of attitude in politicians that should be trying to improve their States and Cities not push away successful people and enterprises that no doubt already pay a lot of taxes even without this new levy. I worked for a Company in Toronto that threatened to pull up stakes every year for 20 years because of the high cost of doing business in Toronto and finally did just that in 2006. I admit it wasn’t only the taxes but combined with energy and Labour costs it made running a business in the city uncompetitive on the world markets. I agree that business should have a social conscience but their purpose is be profitable not a benevolent caretaker. Socialists and Liberals will always kill the “Golden Geese” so if people do not have the common sense to stop reelecting them history will continue to repeat itself. The next time you are in TO stepping over a homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk or ducking bullets from a gang drive-by shooting stop, think of my words, then remember “I told you so”,

Why are Canadians so ready to line up and give away their hard earned money? Is it because we have lost the desire to be independent and now want to be looked after by the State? I wish I knew because I’d like to tap into the incredible power that would be unleashed if a tax revolt arose amongst the usually complacent and obedient citizens of Canada. Can you imagine if the ordinary “Janes and Joes” of our society decided that they had finally reached the point where the straw breaks their backs. We must be getting close to it if you consider that the disposable income of a family in the 60’s was more, in relative terms than that of the families in year 2008. A man could go to work and bring home enough money so that his wife could stay at home and raise the kids. They could pay off a mortgage and drive a decent car without being on the verge of bankruptcy. The family could own the latest technology such as a radio and a TV without going into debt. They could also go on vacation for two weeks a year and enjoy hearty meals every day of the week. This is a lifestyle that would still be possible today if people didn’t have the massive taxation burden on their shoulders. In our current era unless one of the spouses makes over $150,000 a year it is rare to see a family that has only one parent working. Even at this salary the person most likely will pay upwards of 40% of their gross in personal income tax. This now leaves us with approximately $90,000.00 to support the household. A mortgage on a reasonably sized house for 4 people is at a minimum going to cost somewhere in the range of 20,000 to 23,000 a year and food for 4 people would cost around $12,000 a year. Roughly another $6,000 annually for insurance, heat, hydro and water leaves the family with $41,000. Two cars, usually a necessity in today’s suburban world will more than likely eat up at least another $12,000 a year and the fuel to run them is estimated to cost you at least $6000 during the same time frame. With $23000 left we’re whistling Dixie but wait there is still another tax bill from the government. Remember the GST (5%) and the PST (8%) on just about everything you purchase including the items of necessity previously mentioned above. We will leave out the land transfer tax you paid and the tax on the lawyer’s fees that you paid when you purchased the house because it was a one-time cost but remember this happens every time you purchase a house and can run into the area of $10,000+. Property tax is around $4000 a year on average unless you live in downtown Toronto or Essex County and estimating the combination of GST & PST @ 10% another $9000 + 4000= 13,000 reduces the net income of this family to $10,000 a year or 7% of gross pay. When my Dad was earning $10,000 a year in the early 60’s his disposable income (using the same estimates as above) after expenses was closer to 15%. When the Liberals impose this extra PST next year it will further erode a family’s earnings by another 8% on items previously exempt. I am urging a tax revolt by all citizens because I am tired of paying such a large chunk of my money to a bunch of incompetent fools who do nothing but line their own pockets and give away massive amounts of it to people who choose to earn nothing. Enough is enough.

You might be thinking, what does that mean? Well, we know what a sugar daddy is. A young woman is being supported financially by a man with financial means for late night activities. How can I draw a parallel with welfare? Being a middle class tax payer, I pay over 50% of my wages to the government. I know not all goes into social programs but a fair chunk does. I am supporting everyone on welfare, me and the other 20 million tax payers. And like a mistress that pulls the plug on a sugar daddies fun by telling his wife, If I don't pony up my share of the tax bill I get thrown in jail or at least taken to court and made to pay what I owe! As for a wife, she'll take everything you own and you'll suffer for the rest of your life. So revenue Canada is a little more compassionate than a spouse. So as you can see we are sugar daddies to the welfare system and if we don't keep paying we'll be punished. You might be asking what we get out of paying for the welfare system. Just like a mistress, if you look at your paycheck you'll know your getting SCREWED!