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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1969-03-20, Page 12DERICK ! i+ `T, ;`;, ,HORS •AY, MARC1'12U, 1969 . tN� RLUE THUMB BY G. MacLEOD ROSS by G. MacLeod Ross. One of the more unusual aspeets of Mr. McNaughton's budget is the contribution it makes to our knowledge of the workings of the Robartsian mind. ,As you scan it, transitory g 1 pses of the MasterPlan shine thro gh. The skeleton has been removefifrbm the cupboard and it is ime to apply some of the flesh. But the sequence from cntralisation, through dictatorship to the finale . of complete socialisation of the province comes through with the utmost clarity: Centralisation The first clear step is to centralisation and the regional system. What Chairman Mao would call: "The Great Leap Forward." It is easy to see how this system will buffalo the electorate in the more sparsely populated areas, well removed from those . who are.a now to become its masters. Distance will quench the enchantrnent of their - petitions, because the only man to hold the answer to their beef will have t e added alibi that he is "on tray I." Once power has been concentrated in a few regional headquarters, the power at the centre, Queen's Park that is, will be increased immeasurably. Dictatorship ,In Roman times the motto was "Divide and Rule," but now itbecomes "Centralise and Dictate." There are already too many examples of dictatorial action. Take_ the Municipal Board for example. It not only proposes; it disposes as well._ Here is_ Section '14 of . the Municipal Act: "Upon the application of any municipality or upon the application of the Minister of Municipal. Affairs ,.the Municipal Board may, by order.... amalgamate the municipality with any other municipality or municipalities." If you ,have tears, prepare to shed them now, for the poor naive 'burghers of the Lakehead. They were so behind the times in their thinking as- to believe that they could call a plebiscite to decide whether or not to amalgamate Fort William with Port Arthur. But Mr. McKeough did not choose a plebiscite. There is .a brand new assessment office in Goderich which your member asks may be earmarked for use' as the Regional Assessment, Office. 'Mr. McKeough does not choose to give him an undertaking to that effect! The •building in question .has been built; as is customary, too large; the top floor is vacant. Why not let the new Regioartl Education Officers go in there? Because there is a further example of over -building at a Clinton school. The greater void` at Goderich, so the Regional .Educators wilt go into the Clinton school. Parkinson's Law . Unemployment in Ontario is down to 3.5 per cent: a very low figure by any standards and Father Christmas in Queen's Park intends *to' keep it low, or know the reason why. The new_ budget, which outlines the reassessment of'every building iii the province (at a cost of a paltry $20 million) needs NOW 1,900 assessors. There are only 1,250 licensed, so overnight, 650 "instant" assessors have to materialise. They will all become civil servants, complete . with all the special privileges and' escalating salaries- which that 'entails. In the course Of his white paper, the ' Treasurer urges municipalities to follow the T:. PRYDE and SON MEMORIALS -- MARKERS & CEMETERY LETTERING CLINTON -- EXETER — SEAFORTH Goderich District Representatives FRANK McILWAIN 524-7861 or 200 Gibbons St. - 524-9465 REG, J. BELL 45 Cambria Road S. -- 524-7464 How tokeep the traffic moving when rush hour hits the hot water: udget or policy statemen same "hold -the -line" strictures as does the Province. As Malcolm Muggeridge might have corn men ted here: "Such theatrical urgings are the despair -of professional. comedians." But here comes the steel! If the municipalities (such as remain) do not "hold -the -line," a review board- may have to be set up to study their budgets. This means more dictatorship; more civil servants; more buildings to which they can repair at lunch time, rather than being loorced, like the mailmen, to eat their luncheons tucked into their pail boxes. Thus we are threatened. with the recruitment of a second battalion of civil servants. As a matter of fact, "civil service" is the panacea for every provincial trouble ,which recalcitrant underlings make,, ' It requires no crystal ball to see the next step; Barracks for the Regional regimenters; Inns for the income tax inspectors; arbours for the assessors; salons for the sales tax suspehtors. The question: Will they be uniformed in Sherwood green or. come in plain vans? 'remains for --debate. In this connection: watch the county gaol! jt has recently come under the displeased eye of the treasurer, so you may be sure it will be razed to give place to a high-rise rookery, the name being selected since that iethe sole purpose of government. It is a good thing that Westminster Abbey is 3,000 miles away and therefore inviolate, or it too would have Been razed long ago. As a result of all this it is appropriate to recall the words of Virgil, circa BC 17: "There is -only one safe hope for the conquered; not to hope for escape. The "Crisis" You cannot put over a budget, still less a statement of government policy containing a time -bomb, however veiled, without some pleasantries! Something „to - distract the audience. Thus it is that we are treated once more to the "crisis in education" which, like every other"form of provincial expenditure is "uncontrollable" and therefore will cnntini,A ac a "crisis" into 1969: ,maintained in. that condition by the same or more 'funds than before. The press hag raised a paen of praise on the. frosty air. calling this budget "_A Balanced Budget," yet a�ne, w•hioh inspite of Va 'desperate, measures" to cut imbalance has resulted in a further increase in taxation of 5181,000. As stated "education" will continue its rake's progress uncontrolled. But the' province will relieve the municipalities by paying 60 pet' ,cunt of the cost; up from 45 per cent in 1968. CORRECTION. It is not the province which will find the 60 per cent but the taxpayer, for contrary to well established myth, the treasurer has yet to add to his many other accomplishments the ancient art of alchemy. What is represented as a crisis for the treasurer is an infinitely greater crisis for the taxpayer, because.provincial expenditure is not and never was "u'ncontrollabte"; it is uncontrolled, and so long as the sole object of government is to devise methods of raising money, so long will a crisis continue in the grass roots area. All the taxpayer asks is . a breathing space guring which expenditure is • once again controlled. A cessation of the extravagant specification for educational buildings; a cessation of over -building of offices, of schools and of provincial hospitals. A, cessation of such poor estimating of what the future will require; a cessation of useless building such as the weigh -stations which were peppered over the province and - which now stand out as monuments to some thoughtless thinking by a former highways minister. The Leopard Changes his Spots. 'The one thing which this budget and its accompanying while paper proclaims loud. and clear is that the leopard has changed his spots. This so-called "conservative" government is more socialist, than either the liberal or NDP opposition rolled• into one. A provincial income tax; a capital gains tax and finally a guaranteed minimum income. • There it is; out in the open at last. The first fully socialist province. And we' are provided with the latest gobbledegook, for the outrageous word. The white. paper call socialism: "Greater equity between taxpayers with equal incomes and among taxpayers at different income levels," i.e. share the poverty. The guaranteed 'income will fail 'because it does nothing to remove the difficulty that money, in itself,' will do little to remove the disadvantages: lack of education, training, background or personality - ,which keep ,people poor. -It would however, as the treasurer however, as the undue accumulation of wealth. If therefore, you are constrained to ask: Where is dat Baty now?, that is to say, the Conservative Party, witness the fact that both opposition parties were le t "almost speechless" by the ,budget presentation, their thunder plucked from their very bosoms. The Coat of Sugar In an act of extreme generosity the treasurer will 'forego any provincial estate tax. How is this amazing, renunciation possible? For the simple reason that the combination of capital gains tax,' sharply progressive income taxes and massive redistributions of income awayfrom those 'who have earned them, means there will be no estates to tax. 5 ,§eeession, There is one last question thrown up by what the press has termed this "Revolution in Taxation." itOntario seeking to secede? The government is certainly making all the familiar noises which have been wafted our way from Quebec for, too long. If they are, of one thing you may be sure, it will be done in Order in Council. You won't be bothered by a plebiscite. 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Price 2 tins 49c — SAVE 9c 3719 -FL - OZ TINS 5 -Ib cello bag 411.111111114114•1111111111111/77 • Ontario Gi•own,'Hothoiiii, Large -King Size Slicers, No. 1 Grade CUCUMBERS2r39i Ontario Grown, Waxed,• Sweet arld„Mild TURNIPS' No1Grade Ib"14\. 6� n a Rush hour. Every family has one., When there are dishes tobe washed, kids to be gibbed, Dad scrub.bing...u.p. Then Si.s decides she has to have a shower. It takes a lot of hot water to keep the traffic moving. That's why you need the Cascade electric water heater—the big producerr. It's got the capacity a - busy family needs, and it's economical, too. Cascade keeps you in hot water for only pennies a day. Ask your Hydro about the quiet, clean., electric Cascade water heater. A&P DEPENDABLEMEA TS PPORKL01n 9 TO 11 CCHOQSEkS IN A P•KG Ib 79ce PORKSHOULDER -ROAST FRESH, SHANKLgSS 111.4U PORK- COIN RIB PORTION 7 RIBS —COUNT THEM Ib .9ce PORKUTT ROAST'IFLEA; 1e 5951 FRESH .MINCED PORK -b69,i -poRK. .. LOIN -. TEN3 D T003� PO'BSfON °° Ib6 9r COD SUCEDPORKtIVER RA & P 16 OZ. PK. 'BATTER FRIED SAVING • PER POUND, . CHECK THE SA VINGS - . FEATURE 20? PORK CHOPS CENTRE CUT, LOIN 20si 3,051 2051 20:? 30? 20( SPARE RIBS PORK . LOIN 2 ROASTS &TIO OPS Ib 9¢ PORK LEG Shank drTIROASNBuG AM ` ttHPortiQn ' Ib 69? Burns;"Sweet Pickled Ib, COTTAGE . ROLLS Vacuum Pack 6 9 PORKIO1t;A; b1.09 PORK CHOPS FROZEN SIDE 8951 PORK 166 9 .SHOULDER OR BUTT Ib69 0 Ib 250' 1 Pk Butt Roast Fresh, Sod Meat Boneless Ib 79? I ACON ALCODEBSMOKED, SLICED�OD, ItINDLE55 . 1 -LB PKG 0' SAVING POUND PER POUND 30# 10si 201 10� 1051 3()� 206 10si ALL PRICES SHOWN IN THIS AD GUARANTEED THROUGH SATURDAY MARCH ,22nd .1969 fit 1 • p M