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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-12-01, Page 6vett Tnmee-Advoaste, December 1,1993 1111.11111011,/ iasitatt iierte Don Smith Deb Lord PubM..Mor+sMee tames imi.)1 r' r to wee amortesereseeseasooses oao.orosi *2.10 o.s.T. seih ressalao-lesevetoo$S km.) a�ttt�urttwses ttiesses tir_S. ee0oo D)-+ .T. sassel. eastario X98:00 f I. ties 'mien rge) Fundraising for taxes he -news came out last week that Austria can claim the'title for tax- ing°its people morethan any other na- tion on earth. Second place went to Canada, who else? That means dltattnotmatter what you've heard:aboutihow:bad•the.taxes taretin Germany,:Italy;England, Spain, `or anywhere else, ttheirtesidents. are all :better off than we. Aihighly debatable question is whether€or.not we Canadi- ans actually get morervraess for our money than they do. Highly debatable indeed. Our governments and related.agencies _collectively_get more_out oftheirtax- payersthan. those:in.any country: on:the :planet. Yeteachand every one ofithem is complaining.about having to work with Iess.and less:money, how=the-out- backstaeercramping.the.delivery of ser- vice,tand.howithey:.need::moreif they areseiggitoseannythinwdonetnext y ar..'lomathingtdoesn't.addtup. -The:debtloads.of Ottawa:and:the -provinces_all-conspire to spend asiza- :ble:chunk:ofourlaxes.oninterest. ,We won't:pay:backttthatrmoney; wtre'reSjust goipgito-borrovtrimore,to:buy':our way ‘outiofahe recfsidni ifourleaders can be believed. Whenttimesare:good again, we still won't pay:thaanoney c A back, we'll:be borrowing more;beaause we'll be. convinced we're rich. We can't afford more taxes. The lead- ers. agree on.that, at least. So we're go- .ingao be subjected to hidden taxes to take:more out of our pockets.to shore .up.those:interest payments and.ineffi- ciently run:programs. , Lottery tickets are taxes. They: are willingly paid, but you can'tignore:the fact that they take more out of the pockets of players than.they pay in. The rest goes.to fund things that used to be paid -for out of -taxes. We're going.to get photo radar: a road tax,disguised as a safety measure. There's going to be -toll booths.in Onta- rio. There are going to be user fees on all manner of government services that were once free. Government agencies are going to go begging as well. Local conservation au- ithorities, increasingly cut off from min - ...Eery funds,,now•relyon local fundrais- -ersto complete worthwhile capital -projects. Local hospitals rely on dona- xions to•.purchase .new equipment that health.care=taxes used to support. Those monies, freely given or raised, 'do-notigo recorded as taxes, but in many •waysttheeytare. Those dollars are bang kenbauuofthe regular -economy to 'up- -port whatwas•government funded. Why -dozwe :never- see our taxes lowered an equals amount? Another more recent example is The Huron Children's Aid Society's new building -in Goderich. Short by some $312,000,:they,are:seeking donations to completeilhe?building debt -free, and ap- ply the saved funds to :their programs. Theirmathematics are sound, and their cause worthy; -but the fact remains:this govatnttagency is going to the:pub- licrito indmoneyithey cannot get ihraughttaxes-from the county or prov- ince. `-Wetn©t:m1311y:associate huge capital ;£undraisingrp ojects with "luxury" items (rfor-communities: youth halls, communi- tozetmtre.extenaipns,.theatres„and the Tike.ill 44064,4 a What: happens - ihel ivtd* a di- recting -more of those funds to ,build fios- pitals,.government agency buildings, li- btaries,.atnd other things our high taxes .used to take care of? When are we, as Troutadians,.going to demand a good re- Itnniomour tax dollar. When are we go- ingito..insist good government is about spending our money-efficiently,:andtnot finding more creative ways to filch it out of our own pockets. If we don't put our foot down and de- mand a wholesale restructuring of gov- ernment, perhaps even the: elimination of entire levels of government, Austria may not -be able.to claim the title for long. A.nJI. Have an opinon? Letters to tine edit(' The Times Advocate continues to welcome letters to the editor as a forum for open discussion of local issues, concerns, complaints, and kudos. The Times Advocate reserves the right to edit letters for brevity. Please send your letters to P.Q. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6. Sign your letter with both name and address. Anonymous letters will not be published. Oki Only extremely observant reals will have noticed that in one of my November columns I used the word "shehe” I hereby wish to register my proprietorship in this extremely imporkqu new Canadian English word. Please, remember where you read it first: in the Peter's Point column in your very own corn munity newspaper. I believe that shehe (pronounced "sheehee") is a betterand far more attractive solution that "he/she" or the even clumsier "he or she". as a personal pronoun (nominative of the 3rd per- son, singular), when the gender of the person is unknown or initc. Please, do me a favour. Use this term yourself and give me credit whenever you're saying, writing or promoting it. it's my very own inven- tion, my brain child, my bsby,.,And 1 love it. • It was bom in my November 1993 column about handy remote -control electramagical dc - vices, when 1 wrote "... an audio signal point- ing out at which take shehe is wanted," refer- ring to a server in a restaurant, who could, of course, be male or female. Thereare several reasons why I prefer "shehe" to the commonly found "he/she" and "he or she". First of all, 1 have eliminated the nasty and unsightly slash (/) and replaced it with a gender -neutral pronoun that canteasily be extended to include the forms ileitis ("Shehe found hefts behaviour obnoxious"), and herhim ("Stolle told herhim to get lost"). Do you see the enormous. advantages? 1 cer- tainly hope so. Secondly,lprefergtehe over he/she because 1 feel that the demi:farm should conte first. 11 bas~thine laiikewith my perageal pre fer- 4 "Men are never so likely to -Settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." .'Thomas illlacauley Pubeeh.d Faob Wednesday Mtlhtlugrit42 Main Rt., Futter, °Matto, MOM ISO by T.W.T4idy lloettost Ltd. Telephone 18133.1331 e.s.r. 1 11052 1081 5 '"Y SAY YOUR AIR SICKNESS WILL HAVE TO WA1T7IL'THE'NEW YEAR. - SOMETHING ABOUT `SOCIAL CONTRACT CUTBACKS'..." What about my rights? "Ho! Ho! Ho! five hundred and eight -seven times a da,V too much" Dear Editor. Several years ago when the Charter of Rights was pasaedinto law, I was very critical of it, and com- mented that there was provision for employment, and unlimited financial profit for the entire Legal Industry for all time. Also, as a convenient tool for the "divide and conquer" mentalities, it came at a very opportune moment. However, after viewing the successful results obtained by numerous minori- ties, I feel that I too should join this "bandwagon". The problem from which I suffer is very severe and has an extremely debilitating effect during the Christmas festive season. Wherever I go, be it downtown to the supermarket, friends' houses, etc., my ears are constantly assailed by the audible repe- tition of my acme. It comes from people wearing red suits, raditelevision and all manner of elec- tronic devices; ven in downtown parades. The decibel g is always extremely high. No matter how I try to prepare for this audible on- slaught, the effect is always devastating. If my name were Smith, Rae, Mulroney, etc., there would be no problem, but after three quarters of a century of answering to the name HOE, to change it now would not solve the.problem. In order to get away from the incessant Ho! Ho! Ho!, I would have to become a hermit in the north- ern forests, or emigrate to some atheistic country, but, as 1 am a senior citizen on a fixed income, these options are not financially realistic. Some legal and "do gooder" authorities have as- sured me that the difference in the spelling negates .my complaint. That answer is just plain stupid. I hoar the sound. I don't see it. When people are young, they are more resilient. Old people cannot absorb the coarse cacophony of sound so readily or comfortably. Having been both young and old, I am fully aware of this. If our name is Smith, then please try to imagine Smith! Smith! Smith! being shouted out loud in your presence five hundred and eighty-seven times in one day. Then you might understand. I see and hear of so many complaints, ridiculous and otherwise, being successfully addressed under the protection of the "Charter of Rights" that 1 am convinced that, this is the perfect "bandwagon" for me. I do no ask anyone to change Santa Claus or the holiday season. I merely ask for equal protection un- der the Charter as is being ac carded to the many, many other minorities. Andrew W.H. Hue Zurich shebe (pronounced: sheehee) mince for the feminine over,the ivale form. And as the creator of this particular neonym (new word), 1 am ensued to make that decision. I am the kind of man, who -- in spite of his liberal and enlightened outlook where the place of females in our society is concerned -- still enjoys holding doors open for women, helping them into their overcoats, and treating them Wit)) other special courtesies and favours. 11 is simply an expression of my personal respect and regard for them. While I believe in the equality of women in terms of rights and opportunities, it pleases me that I can still recognize certain delightful ine- palities as well (vivre la petite difference!). My new words - sheik, herhis, and herhitn - -pay tribute tot;quality (by joining the femi- nine and masculine pronouns) and to the ine- qualities (by placing,the feminine form first in All cases). I am hereby presenting thisgift to the Canadi- an English langua c, Americans, the.brits, and. other. English-spt4ers may borrow or adopt it as well, but they should always remember that it came from Canada. All I ask from my faithful readers, is. that gioy credit me with this invention. Cone the other hand, if anyone should Msist in ma4i tg me money for it, 1 can't stop herhin). 1»Ii1 donate all f:ash to one of my favourite dud*. Should a persons be willing to suggest so a ggv- eminent official that an award be presented to mc, you may whisper "Order pf Canada" into herhis car. Thank you. 444 if some bureaucrat should be absolutely determined to erect a Monument in my ionour,;please; ek berltim not to set it.up in a place where pigeons may rest on its head. I can't stand pigeons.