Huron Expositor, 2007-08-22, Page 4Page 4 August 22, 2007• The Huron Expositor
Opinion
Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Limited, 11 Main St., Sekorth, ON, NOK 1WO
Fixed election date
for everyone
The Ontario election campaign won't be formally
launched until Sept. 10, but the candidates and
their respective parties have been in election mode
for at least the past six weeks -le and there have
been election -related "events" held long before that.
The Liberal government of Premier Dalton
McGuinty introduced the idea of fixed elections in
2004, establishing the first Thursday of October as
voting day every fourth year.
That schedule would be forfeited should a govern-
ment receive a no -confidence vote, or should a con-
flict arise with a religious holiday.
And already there has been conflict. Rather than
the original Oct. 4 date, the provincial vote will be
held on the following Wednesday, Oct. 10, to better
accommodate the Jewish holiday of Shemini
Atzeret, which is to be held on Oct. 4.
met despite the conflicts, the fixed election sched-
ule has become a -bonus and advantage for both the
government side of the Ontario Legislature and the
Opposition side. Candidates with all political
stripes have had the time to become better
acquainted with local and provincial issues, and to
do the necessary homework in preparation for the
campaign in Septetmber.
As we see it, the only drawback to a fixed election
campaign is the dog -and -pony show American vot-
ers are now experiencing with their presidential
candidates. Although the next presidential election
won't be held until November 2008, the informal
election race started in January, about a year
ahead of schedule.
It's unlikely that should ever happen in Ontario.
Some provincial voters can barely tolerate a 30 -day
election, much less one that might last more than
30 weeks. •
By the way, this provincial campaign will be only
29 days in length, one day longer than the legislat-
ed minimum. Premier McGuinty is expected to for-
mally ask the Lieutenant -Governor on Sept. 10 to
dissolve the Legislature.
Before that happens, we should know more about
how the public feels about the election. Ipsos-Reid,
in their most recent poll on July 3, found that 39
per cent of respondents favoured the incumbent
Liberals, while 36 per cent favoured the
Conservatives, 17 per cent would vote for the NDP,
and seven per cent were leaning towards the Green
Party.
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I've learned to save, my
sister, alas, has not
I am not a big spender.
But I'm hardly a penny-
pincher either. I'm not a
George Costanza. I don't
worry about money.
I do save better than my
sister it seems. She and I
were talking money just
the other day and how I've
been slightly smarter with
more months and if she's
lucky, from bare necessity
expenses, she'll be able to
save 30 per cent of what
she earns.
That's just paying for
living quarters, food, trans-
portation in the city and
transportation back to
Huron County. And maybe
it. some will go to a weekend
I'm not an impulse -buyer and I am, for the social life. This fall she'll need to keep her
most part, pleased with my wardrobe until
I'm doing laundry every other day.
Now, she has been through university and
twice as much schooling as I have, at tuition
rates probably twice as much as I pay, so of
course she's one of the many young people
across the province in debt and about to start
paying it off.
But she doesn't know how I will go through
school debt free. She was, as she points out,
working three summer jobs at one time a cou-
ple of years ago. She's worked harder than I
have every summer and always collects more
weekly hours but at the end, with less to
show for it.
During our conversation .she switched from
directing her blame at me ("How do you save
so much money?") to turning it around on
herself, where it belongs, and asked what all
saving -impaired people should ask: "How do I
spend so much money?"
Halfway through our conversation a calcula-
tor materialized between us and she crunched
some numbers. She's living in 'Ibronto for four
wallet in her purse and her purse in a cabi-
net. A locked cabinet.
She needs to start paying her student loans
back in February, meanwhile she'll be buying
a car, looking for a new job and a place to
stay.
She'll need to keep her spending habits in
check just to scrape enough together to buy
her final train ticket back to Clinton when
she leaves Toronto just before -Christmas, a
trying time of year to save.
Then we got talking about her career
prospects and' how in two years or so she
could certainly be making $50,000 a year and
moving up, at which time she can spend,
spend, spend.
Maybe it's because I'm a guy and we just
don't spend as much, but even for a guy my
expenses are probably relatively meak. I'm
just very simple and don't need bright lights
and flashy new things to make me happy.
And good thing, because I am not making
See DON'T, Page 5
Ron & Dave,.
What are you doing inside
the house watching TV.?!
Yesterday in
Viet Nam
casualties
mounted....
Don't you know that we're supposed to
be mowing the lawn and washing dad's
car?! You're nothing but a
LAZY UNOERACHIEVIN6 SLOTHI
by bavid Lacey
Actually, I can.
No Lazy Under-
achieving Sloth
ever started a
war.
Can you imagine
what the world
would be like if
everyone were like
out
)'1
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