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Times -Advocate, August 30, 1989
Times Established 1871
Advocate Established 1881
Amalgamated 1924
Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0
Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386.
Phone 519-235-1331
Listen,
isten to and put into practice
the wishes of the taxpayers.
That's the role politicians are
expected to follow.
This isn't what ourfinance minister
Michael Wilson and most of his col-
leagues are doing.
It's time Wilson and his aides brush up
a bit on their listening skills and pay at-
tention to what the majority of Canadians
are saying about his proposed nine per-
cent goods and services tax.
The sales tax was designed to reduce
the country's deficit and improve our
economy. It looks as if taxpayers are not
buying that philosophy and rightly so.
Waves of objection are gaining mo-
mentum every day as we realize the new
tax if put into force will tax almost
everything we purchase.
A further tax of nine percent is sure to
- boost inflation in addition to causing ex-
treme confusion for all consumers.
The new tax will mean the average tax-
payer could have more than $1,400 less
in his pocket to spend each. year. This as-
sumption is based on an annual income of
$25,000. Income tax on this amount will
reduce it to about $16,250. If a person
spends the balance of his or her income
and most of us do, the new goods and
services tax would amount to $1,462.
Under current economic conditions,
most employees and those of this news-
paper are included, receive an increase
in salaries of five percent each year.
It doesn't take much of a mathematician
to tell us, things are bound to get worse
if the government is allowed to put such
a tax into legislation.
The taxation isn't missing very much.
One of our colleagues suggested it was
going to cover everything from baby
bottles to coffins which literally means
from the cradle to the grave.
Numerous commodities which are go-
ing to be taxed can be singled out as be-
ing ridiculous and absolutely harming to
the economy and to the welfare of Cana-
dian citizens.
Vtdeo,
ii was a tough job, going to the
CNE to interview and photo-
graph our local girls in the Queen
of the Fairs contest. After a split
second of consideration I made
the sacrifice and insisted on go-
ing myself.
. The report was in last week's
issue, but while at the Canadian
National Exhibition I had a few
spare hours to peruse the other
"a�""'g year's event.
..a,
IThere was •the Batmobile,
on iv T-mariT-"Tmt.i.T
al selection of hucksters selling _
. the latest miraculous way to slice
vegetables.
The farm buildings offered a
quiet escape from it all.
If you read our Back 'in Time a
few weeks ago, you might re-
member how the CNE 50 years
ago was introducing to the Cana-
dian public the marvel of televi-
sion. This year, a display by
RCA looks back on that half cen-
tury.
This sort of thing really fasci-
nates me. I love old gadgetry,
but found myself unprepared for
the sight of a brand new 40 inch
projection monitor standing be-
side a giant wooden cabinet with
a tiny screen front and centre.
ROSS HAUGH
Editor
HARRY DEVRIES
CCN*
BM BECKETT
Publisher & Adsertising Manager
DON SMITH
Composition Manager Business Manager
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Canada: $27.00 Per year; U.S.A. $68.00
Michael
The taxation on reading materials like
newspapers, magazines and books will
certainly reduce the public's access to ed-
ucation and information.
In the newspaper business, the tax will
apply to everything we touch including
subscriptions and advertising.
The tax on books will certainly cut
back on the buying power of libraries
and other services that provide this type
of material to the public.
The publishing industry has already
formed a Don't Tax Reading Coalition to
show their anger about the tax and the
implications it will have on reading hab-
its
abits of the Canadian public.
Right now it's hard to predict what ef-
fect this tax could have on our continous
fight against illiteracy.
The tax on lottery tickets is one that can
possibly be lived with, but here again,
the tax is in the wrong place. It should be
on winnings over a certain amount,
probably $1,000.
Right now in the United States, all big
winners in lotteries, at the gambling casi-
nos and at race tracks have a percentage
deducted for Uncle Sam right at the
source.
While talking about horse racing, the
nine percent tax will have a serious effect
on both standardbred and thoroughbred
sales. This time of the year is crucial for
the sale of yearling colts and fillies. Seel-
ster Farms, near Lucan are sending 41
yearlings to sales in the next two weeks.
Why would a prospective horse owner
let the federal government charge nine
percent when purchase of a similar ani-
mal can be transacted in the United States
tax-free.
If Wilson and his fellow Conservatives
are on the same wave length as most of
our population and keep their ears to the
ground, then we would hope public opin-
ion will be reflected when draft legisla-
tion of the new tax is introduced in the
fall.
By Ross Haugh
thin and now
Some ancient sets were still in
working order and were hooked
up to very modem VCRs, entic-
ing visitors into the display
room.
Thcy even had some of those
old that
hibit as worth a look.
in aiuilicr building not too far
away a similar technology is on
display. The public can avoid it
if they like, but the press unfortu-
nately can't.
In the Press Building, NEC,
the Japanese electronics manufac-
turer, has filled a room with vid-
eo games they are hoping will
make S lash in.lheecuy�,}ic ..
mer ma a urboGraphx 16 is
the name of the new machine that
�' by
} _ .:11 1... rsn:rtn_kond-tn 11~1 with
old Phiico TVs that had the elec-
tronics housed in the base and
the screen tube suspended in a
frame above - space age in a
1950s sort of way.
It's hard to grasp how televi-
sion managed to come so far in
only five decades - and it didn't
really go public until long after
the war.
But then again, after looking at
all those boxes of wood and
glass - the earliest ones used mir-
rors to reverse the image - I can't
fathom how it was ever possible
to build a television in 1939. •
if you get to the CNE this year,
i would recommend the RCA ex -
Lock up the teenagers is my ad-
vice.
Crowds of kids lined up to give
the free games a try, but the Japa-
nese executives still looked ner-
vous, although the NEC system
is already the top seller in Japan.
According to press releases,
TurboGraphx is aimed at families
who have yet to buy a game sys-
tem. An added trick is that the
deluxe version loads programs
from a compact disc unit which
can also be used for playing mu-
sic through a stereo system.
Remember when video games
used to come part and parcel with
an "educational" home computer?
Times have changed, it seems.
Serving South Huron, North Middlesex
& North Lambton Since 1873
Published by J.W. Eedy Publications limited
A mixedbag
has come down in price in the
last couple of years.
The bees of Ontario are proba-
bly busier than ever as the price
of honey has stayed where it was
or dropped a little the last two
years. He indicated he got his
This week's column will be a
mixed bag of a combination of
articles gleaned like Peter Gar-
land of Radio 980 says, " from
the newsroom floor".
First of all, former town coun-
cillor Peter Snell related aninter-
esting conversation he had re-
cently in a local coffee shop with
a couple in town for a couple of
hours from London.
Snell says the Londoners told
him they come to Exeter each
summer just before school starts
to outfit their youngsters with
clothes and their other needs in
order to be ready to go back to
classes the day after Labour Day.
They are able to make all their
purchases in town and indicated
they would be back again next
year.
It's nice to hear that our retail
shops can compete successfully
with their counterparts in the city.
* * * * * *
Another friend who wishes to
remain anonymous called to tell
us that he found one commodity;
"Of all the cants which are
canted' in this canting world,"
said Laurence Sterne, "the cant of
criticism is the most tormenting."
I disagree. I thrive on criticism.
. ACInpg as it is constructive. Ask
Elizabeth: And heaven knows. nu
one criticizes me as much as she
does. On average, she probably
finds fault with me about twenty
times a day. That's 7,300 critical
remarks a year. And I believe the
rate is increasing.
It begins in the early hours of
the moming. I am a very quiet
sleeper. But the moment my reg
one little note, Elizabeth wakes
up and claims that I snore.
Amendment of bad habits
From the
i4 editor's disk
by om
Ross Haugh ILU
four litre ice cream pail filled
with honey at an area outlet for
$11.80 while he paid $13.72 a
year caller.
This appears to be quite com-
mon as we see honey priced at
99 cents or $1 a pound at a.num-
ber of locations.
Our friend's comment was, "
The cost this year was a pleasant
surprise and gives us a ray of
hope when everything else is go-
ing up drastically."
Criticism
get dressed by herself. If I ne-
glect to pour tho milk for Dun-
can, I deserve criticism, because
I should know that he is having
difficulty with a full jug early in
the moming. Why is it that I still
make so man mistake ven
ou _ ow . f se things?
Bach and garbage
Constructive criticism is a real
L.t,. ....... .- T ....• .....M• ...t. a.. T nM
PETER'S
POINT
•
Peter Hessel
in t"fic living-ruanr 'tth-my car -
n off, she says that I am over---- ttriiitok:.-,�„ r
ig
sleeping. Do you see what I
mean? Constructive criticism
helps me to amend my habits. I
try very hard to be in the shower
even before the alarm stops. And
I have learned to sponge around
the edge of the bathtub after each
shower, so that mildew does not
have a chance to build up.
I provide just the right amount
of assistance to the children in the
morning, not too much (they
must learn to be independent) and
not too little (they need encour-
agement and supervision). If, for
example, I put on Stephanie's
shoes; I deserve criticism, be-
cause the girl will never learn to
whether I felt like emptying the
kitchen garbage. I ankwercd:
"No, it's Bach I'm listening to,
not Debussy". But she didn't
think it was funny. I thanked her
for this constructive remark and
took the garbage out.
When I came back, she asked,
"Did you check the mousetrap in
the cellar lately?" I said: "No, but
1'11 check it right away". She
added: "Since you have to go
down anyway, would you mind
taking these empty jars down
and bringing tipo jar of straw-
berry jam, a far, of apple jelly,
and a handful- of potatoes?"
There was no mouse. I stashed
We received a clipping recently
from the Calgary Herald which
features an article on a number of
artists in that Albertan city. Part
of it follows:
"They am having a Heatwave at
the New Gallery. This summer
group show, includes seven'art-
ists who are not well-known in
Calgary.
The most interesting debut is
made by John Northcott, an ecol-
ogy -conscious wizard who turns
sticks and bones into painted
animalistic sculptures whose bas-
es are chunks of concrete embed-
ded with electrical circuitry. His
work brims with energy."
John who is the son of Betty
(Reder) Northcott was born in
Exeter and still has a' number of
relatives here including a grand-
mother. He is an up and coming
sculptor and is on the staff at the
College of Art in Calgary.
* * * * * *
Thought of the Week: Don't
steal. The government hates com-
petition.
away the cmpty jars. I held the
jam and the jelly in one hand and
tried to balance six of seven pota-
toes in the other. Mission accom-
plished. Or so I thought.
Fifteen minutes later I was con-
stru(lively criticized: "When you
were in the cellar, didn't you see
that the dehumidifier needs emp-
tying?" I hadn't noticed because I
was too busy trying to act like a
juggler. I knew I should have
emptied the water container,.be-
causc the dehumidifier doesn't
function when the tray is full. I
could have argued that this task
this would have been destructive
counter -criticism on my part. I
know perfectly well that things
- - anti
_... lelrurni$ffi-aara—a-milr;. VC..
to be reminded constantly.
Criticism is necessary. It keeps
us on otlr toes. People who don't
like to be criticized should live
with dogs (who, according to
George Eliot, never pass criti-
cism).
My day ends with constructive
criticism, and I am glad that it
does. Where would I be if i nev-
er collected all those dailies and
weeklies and magazineslittering
the bedroom floor? Where would
I be if i never picked up my
shirts and pants and socks?
Where would I be if i would for-
get to set the alann? Why, rd be
indreamland forever.
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