PayADimeVille
So.
Apparently British Columbians are now so debt-free that the wizards of Clarklandia have decided that they can throw a few bones back at various and sundry demographic slivers that their numbers boys tell them they will need in the suburban swing ridings come what may happen in May.
But make no mistake, the screws of regression are still clamped down tight.
And the cronies are still winning big.
And the resource industries are still not paying anywhere close to their fair share.
And, despite what the local puffed-up punditry will tell you from here until the weekend, the real debt is, as Norm Farrell has done a fantastic job of showing, through the roof:
But Norm's graph, above, is not the even the real real story.
Because, when you throw the cronified contract obligations onto the bonfire of the insanity you add another $100 billion to that last bar with nary a sparkle pony in sight.
Meanwhile...
Are our public schools as good as they were in 2001?
Is post-secondary tuition where it was?
Healthcare?
ICBC?
Hydro?
Ferries?
Parks?
Courts?
Emergency services?
In point of fact, I would challenge anybody, anywhere, to tell me one provincial public service that ALL the people use that is in the shape that it was fifteen years ago?
PR/Spin/PAB-Bottery houses, excepted, of course.
Which has to have anyone who has been paying attention asking...
For what?
I'll tell you for what...
For a massive tax/user fee and debt obligation shift onto the backs of those who can afford it least.
But not to worry...
Because some people's kids will come out of all this completely unscathed.
As for the rest of them?
Well.
You know....
__________
And don't even get me started about the PR value of a line item increase in the budget for public shool 'supplies'....That, right there, in my opinion, tells the entire story of the how hard the great regression has squeezed us...And, the kicker (in the head on that one?)....Unless I missed it, don't think I saw the need for that sort of deal for the privates we are still giving $300 million a year to so that they can keep on keepin' lots of folks' kids out...
And just where are those BC Hydro numbers anyway?
Finally, if you need an actual breakdown of what went down yesterday, Iglika Ivanova and Alex Hemingway of the CCPA have a good thorough summary up.
.
18 comments:
the propaganda matrix
200 propa BC staff not one more sheriff... case dismissed.
If you vote on ethics there will ba a change this year
FRPC- ALL BC POLI DONATIONS - 7899 pages of Search Results. Total Contribution For This Search: $158,236,698.41 Dollars. (158 Million dollars
http://contributions.electionsbc.gov.bc.ca/pcs/SA1SearchResults.aspx?FilerSK=(ALL)&EDSK=0&FilerTypeSK=0&Contributor=&PartySK=0&ED=(ALL)&FilerType=(ALL)&Filer=(ALL)&Party=(ALL)&DateTo=&DateFrom=&DFYear=&DFMonth=&DFDay=&DTYear=&DTMonth=&DTDay=
When the government promises lower taxes people get ecstatic. They don't seem to realize the downside of lower taxes is poorer services. It is not uncommon in Victoria to have an 8 hour wait at the Emergency ward, nor is it uncommon to wait over 3 hours at a walk-in clinic to see a doctor. I even have a 6 - 8 week wait to get an appointment with my family doctor. These were not the norms 16 years ago.
The trouble with reducing taxes is that once they are lowered, it is political suicide to raise them again. So we are stuck.....
suggestion boxes efficiencies and economies of scale like np3 national perscription pricing/purchase program would lower costs but no political will (Pay to play?)
Totally of topic, almost, but why can we not be privy to the BC Hydro/IPP contracts? Why can't we know: (i)What are the costs to terminate? (ii)What is the length of contract? (iii)What are the conditions to renewing said contract? Are these not contracts between the taxpayer and the IPP? Why the secrecy? Where to go for an answer?
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
looks like BC buys IPP currently at 1.7 billion dollars every 12 months
so were overpaying probably a billion dollars over open market rates.?
BC hydro financials and or bc financial under contractual obligations
page 5 2017 1,771 million dollars
http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/ocg/pa/13_14/Contractual_Obligations.pdf
Thank you RossK for continued articles.
I have said it before- for an old geezer like myself- big issue is to reform the election financing laws- if we can rid ourselves of the practice of political donations from corporations and unions- it will change the political landscape forever in BC, and put a stop to crony capitalism, and stop the US style politics.
That being said, am eagerly waiting Pam Martins tweet in regards to a bazillion dollars in the prosperity fund, as she did last election.
as to services now and then, well it takes 8 months to see a specialist. The problem is that during that 8 months the condition worsens and what might have been fixable in some one no longer is. so Christy and her cabal have sentenced some people to death, a life of pain, the list goes on. Until it happens to you or some one you know, you don't care.
Why did the little 3 year old die in a hospital recently, sent home from the e.r. only to have to return and die? would an e.r. with more staff and funding have saved her life? Then there all those children who died in care or after aging out of care.
What are the impacts on children and their parents forced to live at 50% below the poverty line, on welfare and disability. that type of abject poverty does lead to real illnesses and other problems. How many die early deaths because of that?
Perhaps some student doing a Masters and/or PhD would like to study it.
In the mean time if you like reduced taxes expect there to be reduced life expectancies and it might be yours.
With the debt load this province carries, if the interest rates go up a couple of percent, we will be Detroit North and we know who will suffer. All of us who are not "friends and supporters" of the B.C. Lieberal party.
The promises of reduced MSP, after the election if there is a raise in interest rates expect that to be forgotten.
Christy and her $2 billion surplus, how many people died so she could have that? She "stole" that money from us the taxpayers. she and the b.c. lieberals nickeled and dimed the most economically deprived people in this province to fill her coffers. She was so busy fund raising, she forgot to govern.
Surplus? Outright theft through so called "User Fees". The new term for regressive taxes in this province.
Believe these people? are you kidding me. They all should be run out of BC on a rail, what a crock. Nothing but lies and rip offs while their cronies get rich off our backs.
We need to rid ourselves of Christy and her party, period. Jail is too good for them, banishment to Baffin Island...now there's a thought.
Mike Smyth: http://theprovince.com/opinion/columnists/mike-smyth-msp-cut-doesnt-match-governments-pre-budget-hype
"About a million British Columbians have the MSP paid directly by their employers, meaning many won’t even notice the tax has been cut."
What the BC Liberals have done, surreptitiously, is reduced the MSP(tax) that those businesses pay out on behalf of their employees.
As to the PST not having been reduced from 7 to 6 percent just wait until the election gets into full swing and then you'll hear the cut of 1 percent introduced across the province BUT will be tacked back on for those living in Metro Vancouver's Translink jurisdiction to use to build ten years of infrastructure .... including the Bridge to replace the George Massey Tunnel.
Further to e.a.f.'s comments, a normal person in Christy Clark's shoes would be so guilt-ridden over the death of Rod MacIsaac that they would resign from their position. A normal person in the Liberal Caucus would, after the death of Rod MacIsaac, decide that they no longer want any part of the operation and resign. It's totally beyond me how these politicians can sleep at night. Just boggles the mind, really.
Why did Christy Clark not scrap MSP completely? Simple. Maximus continue to get paid in full regardless of the amount of MSP collected and secondly, the rate can be increased again with a stroke of the pen as long as the infrastructure is still in place. These guys might be crooks, but they are not stupid.
https://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/BC-Politics/2012/06/26/MemoFile/
Anonymous@8:12
What could possibly make Basi and Virk comfortable with illegally handing confidential government documents to Bruce Clark, Christy Clark’s brother, while Christy was Deputy Premier? Especially when Basi and Virk were on record as saying they didn’t trust Bruce?
Wouldn’t he be the last person they’d hand the documents to unless they were very comfortable that somebody had their back? Gee, I wonder who that would be?
Instead of draining the swamp ,Christys feeding the alligators?
The BC Govt owes $170 billion, but we have a Surplus!
The Road To Hell is Paved With BC Cronyism
Democracy a front to fundraiising?
Democracy is now dead in this province. Government influence can be bought and sold in this province as easily as buying a quart of milk at 7-11.
Corruption reigns totally. The Law?, that's pure farce. Organized crime runs this province... a 2 year old can see that...
BC Hydro must make a
Payment to the Province of an amount no less than $259 million by June 30, 2017
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