British Columbia debt near $60 billion.
- Thread starter JLM
- Start date
That's debatable as I think the early days of WAC weren't too bad and he never ran any deficits.
All of the past BC gvts (recent memory that is) have used the same strategy to bribe the electorate and the schmucks just keep on voting them back in.
They haven't quite figured-out that it's revenues from the private sector that keep the wheels greased. They somehow think that if they keep on creating more gvt jobs, that it will magically be different next time.
BC needs two govts. One to appease the weirdos in Vancouver/Victoria and another to handle the rest and the resources that funds the only hole above the ground (Vancouver). Without the weirdos in Vancouver, BC would be flourishing.
No doubt, the tail wags the dog in that neck of the woods.
Nat resources coming out of their ass in the form of forestry, fisheries, gas, hydro, mining (damn near every precious metal in demand), possibly the best protected natural deep water port and almost direct access to the tenth (?) largest economy in the world (that being California).
But, we gotta give credit where credit is due... They've worked very hard for the last 40 years to f*ck up the province and no question about it - they've excelled in that area.
Nat resources coming out of their ass in the form of forestry, fisheries, gas, hydro, mining (damn near every precious metal in demand), possibly the best protected natural deep water port and almost direct access to the tenth (?) largest economy in the world (that being California).
But, we gotta give credit where credit is due... They've worked very hard for the last 40 years to f*ck up the province and no question about it - they've excelled in that area.
I didn't think Dave Barrett (1972-1975) was too bad, but he did a couple of stupid things, took the strap out of the schools and gave hippies a dog welfare allowance. He also brought in the A.L.R. (good). Bill Bennett was all right but his term ended during a recession so he probably wasn't remembered too fondly. Vanderzalm ended up a disaster for three reasons, he mixed religion with politics, he mixed personal business with politics and he wasn't good at managing his people, but actually a good man himself and a hard worker. Harcourt was good but not mean enough. Dave Stupich may have been his undoing over Bingo Gate.
You guys have problem put the problem in a nutshell, Government trying to do business.
Personally, I would like to see BC declared an international heritage park, stop all logging, mining and oil pipelines.
When I lived in the Cariboo I was a member of the Cariboo Tourist association. At the annual meeting some clown got up and said "we will soon run out of trees that are economical to cut, so tourism will become the number one industry. We should start building motels and hotels right now to accommodate all the people who will flock here." So I said, "If we wait until we cut down all the trees, pray tell, who the hell will want to come here?"
Some guy on Vancouver Island thought he would start a business offering guided tours of clearcuts on the island - epic fail! Loggers like to piss and whine about ecotards screwing up the industry, but the fact is that the loggers over logged themselves out of a job. Now we ship what few jobs that would be left out of country for pennies. Whose fault is it really? We once had a pristine wilderness that people used to love to visit. Now we practically have to beg them to come to view the devastation.
When I lived in the Cariboo I was a member of the Cariboo Tourist association. At the annual meeting some clown got up and said "we will soon run out of trees that are economical to cut, so tourism will become the number one industry. We should start building motels and hotels right now to accommodate all the people who will flock here." So I said, "If we wait until we cut down all the trees, pray tell, who the hell will want to come here?"
Some guy on Vancouver Island thought he would start a business offering guided tours of clearcuts on the island - epic fail! Loggers like to piss and whine about ecotards screwing up the industry, but the fact is that the loggers over logged themselves out of a job. Now we ship what few jobs that would be left out of country for pennies. Whose fault is it really? We once had a pristine wilderness that people used to love to visit. Now we practically have to beg them to come to view the devastation.
Actually loggers did not out log themselves, the government is selling raw logs to foreign countries
and that should stop. Dave Barrett was in fact a good Premier, the problem for him was he believed
you could do everything at once and you can't. What happened was a first time government who did
try to change the landscape instead of concentrating on the real problems at hand and it did not
work out at all.
Bill Bennett practiced a government of mean spirit. he sold the boxcar plant and a number of other
companies that could have diversified the economy of BC much earlier than it happened.
Bill Vander Zalm was a figure who created a crisis of confidence, that brought the Province to its own
level of disintegration and his successor was probably the meanest person they could have found
and that backfired.
Harcourt was likely the most honorable man this Province ever had as a leader, I personally didn't
care for him but he was a Statesman even when he was in office. Bingo Gate which happened a
couple of decades earlier came back to haunt the party not Mike Harcourt. He was a victim of
circumstance.
Glen Clark wasn't a bad guy really and when all the shouting was done he proved to be right he didn't
do anything wrong. He hired a guy who lived on his block who wasn't working. He wrote a second
check because the cost of materials was higher than estimated by the time the projects started. At
that time lumber prices skyrocketed. he did not want is said he got special treatment or something for
nothing. The lumbermen's club different story. There were politicians who patronized that place over
nearly twenty years and they were from different parties as well.
The same can be said for Piggies Palace many will remember, it was located on the other end of the
Pickton Property and had no licence to operate but politicians and some say other officials patronized
it from time to time at least it was alleged so.
After Clark was the sellout artist Ujjal who was nothing more than a gutter snipe a liberal hiding in the
NDP Premiers office. Much of his leadership campaign was paid for by federal liberals I understand.
Gordon Campbell was the most divisive man the province had for a Premier. Policy decisions were
written on the backs of envelops on the way to announcement and sometimes cabinet ministers had
no idea of what was going to be announced.
Christi Crunch is an air head who's time will never come she will lose
Dix who knows he seems like a decent guy and has a well thought out program but will he have the
patients of leadership to stick to his own priorities only time will tell.
Meanwhile someone has to tackle the mountain of debt they have all created.
and that should stop. Dave Barrett was in fact a good Premier, the problem for him was he believed
you could do everything at once and you can't. What happened was a first time government who did
try to change the landscape instead of concentrating on the real problems at hand and it did not
work out at all.
Bill Bennett practiced a government of mean spirit. he sold the boxcar plant and a number of other
companies that could have diversified the economy of BC much earlier than it happened.
Bill Vander Zalm was a figure who created a crisis of confidence, that brought the Province to its own
level of disintegration and his successor was probably the meanest person they could have found
and that backfired.
Harcourt was likely the most honorable man this Province ever had as a leader, I personally didn't
care for him but he was a Statesman even when he was in office. Bingo Gate which happened a
couple of decades earlier came back to haunt the party not Mike Harcourt. He was a victim of
circumstance.
Glen Clark wasn't a bad guy really and when all the shouting was done he proved to be right he didn't
do anything wrong. He hired a guy who lived on his block who wasn't working. He wrote a second
check because the cost of materials was higher than estimated by the time the projects started. At
that time lumber prices skyrocketed. he did not want is said he got special treatment or something for
nothing. The lumbermen's club different story. There were politicians who patronized that place over
nearly twenty years and they were from different parties as well.
The same can be said for Piggies Palace many will remember, it was located on the other end of the
Pickton Property and had no licence to operate but politicians and some say other officials patronized
it from time to time at least it was alleged so.
After Clark was the sellout artist Ujjal who was nothing more than a gutter snipe a liberal hiding in the
NDP Premiers office. Much of his leadership campaign was paid for by federal liberals I understand.
Gordon Campbell was the most divisive man the province had for a Premier. Policy decisions were
written on the backs of envelops on the way to announcement and sometimes cabinet ministers had
no idea of what was going to be announced.
Christi Crunch is an air head who's time will never come she will lose
Dix who knows he seems like a decent guy and has a well thought out program but will he have the
patients of leadership to stick to his own priorities only time will tell.
Meanwhile someone has to tackle the mountain of debt they have all created.
I could agree with cutting subsidies to public transit too. This might encourage more people to move closer to work and use the cities' walking and cycling paths, far less expensive than highways and buses.
That might explain why they support socialized health care, so that we teetotallers can foot the bill for their alcohol-related illnesses. You want socialized medicine, then pay the tax on booze and cigs.
...and fast food, prepackaged food, athletic equipment, vehicles, TV, microwaves, dirt bikes, BBQs, books, computers, vacations and anything else that leads to an unhealthy or sedentary lifestyle.
Buses are good, you don't want to encourage people to move closer to the city core- ever check the price of real estate downtown? As the population ages there are fewer people able to do long distance walking or cycling.
No Golf. When you are lolly gagging around the golf course you are just putting yourself in a position of getting hit on the head with a golf ball. Also strolling along the golf course isn't real exercise- it's OK for 85 year old women.
I could agree with taxing cholesterol-laden basic ingredients.
Cigs and alcohol however are never necessary, whereas some prepackaged food, depending on the ingredients, might not be so bad now and then when you're busy, athletic equipment can make you fit if used properly, vehicles can be essential for some businesses (though I can support a gas tax and maybe tax on resources like metals), TV can sometimes be educational, dirt bikes use gas (refer to gas tax), BBQ can cook healthy food in some cases, computers are sometimes necessary for work (though I can agree to taxing non-renewable energy resources that might power my computer), and during vacations you'll probably still pay lots of gas tax for the flight there.
As for cigs and alcohol, they are never healthy, or in the rare cases where alcohol may be used for some medicinal purpose, we could exempt hospitals from paying taxes on alcohol. But otherwise when are they ever necessary. Big difference.