Surely customer service has improved in the last few decades ... it seemed horrible to me here in the 1980s. Special interests dominating the agenda - not even sure what that means. Fewer job prospects ... we've done very well in this recession compared to most other countries.
The rest of your complaining is about ... inflation. Really? Why, inflation is so low now, compared to what it used to be. What next, you'll be complaining that your savings account doesn't pay you 8% interest anymore?
He doesn't even say what he is comparing to. Is it a time in the past? Do you have any idea how much lower income taxes today are compared to 20 years ago?
Or perhaps he is comparing us to some mythical perfect city with high labour demand, low rents, low taxes, and free transit. Wonder where that is?
People have totally missed the gist of my post. Citizens
complain to address wrongs committed against us by the very people we've elected in to represent our interests. So long as elites think that they can get away with their poor work ethic, the modus operandi of Tax and Spend will go on un-reproached.
Toronto's operating budget has increased by 50% in the last 5 years. With the City of Toronto Act, courtesy of Mr. McGuinty, Mayor Miller caved to the unions on the Sick Bank. Property taxes that are rising well beyond the rate of inflation, bag tax, garbage tax, unionized wage increases during a recession, land transfer tax, license plate tax, new and ever increasing user fees, and a general sense of entitlement and disregard for the taxpayer by City Council. On Friday, May 7th Mr. McGuinty said Ontarians should want to pay
more taxes in order to leave a legacy, like our grandparents did, for future generations. My response to Mr. McGuinty is, our grandparents never paid anything close to the taxation levels of this generation. Is it possible that those with secure government jobs that include generous indexed pensions, early retirement, along with very comprehensive pre and post retirement health care, primarily at the expense of the public purse, don't appreciate the plight of the average taxpayer?
The Fraser Institute recently released a report which tells us that Canadian tax bills (1961-2000) have increased by 1,624% while expenditures on housing increased by 1,198%. And just to put that into context the report also noted that during the same time frame food had only increased by 559% and clothing 526%... taxes are taking a greater part of a family's income than basic necessities such as food, clothing and housing. City halls in Ontario have become dysfunctional...Toronto included. Oh sure, there are some good councillors but many of them still don't get it. Constantly increasing taxation is becoming a serious matter for young families in Canada, including Toronto. In the upcoming fall municipal elections people need to remind politicians that the quality of life that we enjoy is the result of a vibrant private sector that generates tax dollars and not the politicians who spend them.
Since the days of John Sewell, this city has been hijacked by the socialist left and the disastrous results of their policies can be seen all around us. When a bridge to Toronto Island becomes the theme of an election (a topic which I warrant 80% of the city doesn't give a hoot about!), you know the agenda has been hijacked. All we hear about in election campaigns are the plight of the 'homeless', bicycle lanes, green roofs and other such nonsense. Meanwhile, jobs are fleeing the city, services are in obvious decline, traffic is out of hand, infrastructure is crumbling, there are shootings in our schools - but none of this seems to make it to the election campaigns on their own. We need someone in the Mayoral chair to at least raise the issues that most of the people care about, rather than the vocal cabal of 5% who seem to monopolize City Hall's resources and time. It's easier to paint a few lines on Jarvis St to shut the bicycle lobby up, then it is to actually fix the traffic problems in this city, for example.
