GraphicMatt
Looking forward to a FRESH START for Toronto
I don't want to be too pedantic about it, but I would like a list of a few examples of extreme left policies Miller had.
I don't want to be too pedantic about it, but I would like a list of a few examples of extreme left policies Miller had.
Extreme in the context of the budgetary shortfalls in a generally centrist Toronto. Initially, rather than even consider any sort of realistic service cutbacks (which is something the public actually supported 2:1), he chose instead to levy a punitive land transfer tax. That alone is a pretty good example of left leaning gall.
People tend to prefer unspecific service cuts over tax increases - were there specific services Torontonians were okay with cutting? Even Ford doesn't seem to see any services that could be cut.
When people say that welfare should be cut, I always hope they don't find themselves in a desperate situation where they have to turn to others for help. I've worked with welfare recipients for years. Yes, there are some who abuse the system. There are people who abuse every system. However, those folks are in the minority but they do give a bad rap to the majority who are just trying to feed their family. Welfare recipients are people who have just had lousy luck or found themselves in temporary difficulties; sometimes they are students trying to get through school. Sometimes they are young adults who have been thrown out of the family home. There are lots of reasons people find themselves on welfare, and what they receive is not enough to make ends meet. It's always easy to target welfare recipients as a bunch of lazy bums who just want government handouts, but this is not at all the case for the vast majority.
It's completely unscientific data but I think Ford will lose at least 10% of his supporters in the next election. Maybe another 25% will be lost from the type of voter who simply wanted change and Ford was the most extreme opposite to the status quo. Given that we know that none of his policies made financial (or even logical) sense, he's not going to be able to follow through on many of his main promises. Finally, his entire campaign was based on negativity against the previous administration, a card he won't be able to play in the next election. In 2014, Ford's going to have a hard time mounting the kind of support that propelled him over the left.
Hey, I'm not the one advocating starving people to death.Huh?
That's the weirdest leap I've seen in a while.
Though...it may depend on the calibre of opposition, too. With another SmitherPants situation (or Harris vs "not up to the job" McGuinty in 99, or Harper vs Dion in 08, or *maybe* Harper vs Iggy in 11), voters might still opt for the-devil-you-know by default...
And nobody else is either. You're basically making strawman arguments, with a bit of hysterics thrown in.Hey, I'm not the one advocating starving people to death.
I'm sorry, I thought I heard you making bizarre suggestions such as eliminating welfare.And nobody else is either. You're basically making strawman arguments, with a bit of hysterics thrown in.
Then you heard wrong. There are several in this thread who have suggested looking at revamping it, not eliminating it.I'm sorry, I thought I heard you making bizarre suggestions such as eliminating welfare.
Ah, it was indeed not you who had proposed further eliminating it.Then you heard wrong. There are several in this thread who have suggested looking at revamping it, not eliminating it.