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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-03-31, Page 4(� PAGE 4 —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 1982 DAV E SYKES Government agencies are frightening and its as if their raison d'etre is simply to scare the beejeepers out of average citizens and keep them in line. I, personally, wouldn't contemplate trying to put the screws to Revenue Canada and attempt to claim expensive lunches, that never materialized, on my income tax returns. I have a certain reverence for the intangible. Nobody can see Revenue Canada and as far as I know, nobody has ever seen Revenue Canada. It's just a government agency that exists somewhere , everywhere with a predilection for instilling fear and loathing in law abiding citizens. For years, I have faithfully prepared my own income tax return`s, honestly; ever mindful of the watchful eye of Revenue Canada. Each year I carefully scrutinize the tax guide that has made income tax i-- calculations so simple, the government claims,that any bozo but myself could prepare a decent and honest return. Subsequent to the preparation and sub- mission of said tax return, I nervously await word and direction. from Revenue Canada. While 'my returns are, for the most .part, honest, accurate, and prepared in an ef- ficacious manner, some overpriced .num- bers man at Revenue Canada takes the time' to write a little note. Dear Mr. Sykes -enjoyed your 1982 ren- dition of the income tax return (giggle, giggle) but we have reworked your figures and instead of a return of $200 you now owe us $350. I get those personal notes regularly and while my errors have been trite, I know- Revenue Canada believes my returns are prepared in a surreptitious manner. It scares me. I know nothing of this agency or if the employees 'who take the tiiiie"to write personal notes to me are actually hu`trsan. But, every year they carefully survey my meagre income and deductions and make arbitrary changes. I have a terrible feeling my name is on a hit list. One day, I suspect, three burly, truculent sorts will jump out of ,a Revenue Canada economy car in front of my house, handcuff this wretched writer and explain to the missus as they drag me away, "Sorry mam. He screwed up on his pension plan con- tribution deductions. We've got orders to take him away." People whose returns are obviously fraudulent don't have such fears and I'an sure they sleep at nights. Perhaps I should feel honored that Revenue Canada and I are on a first name basis and the boys take the time to drop a line.. Another organization of the clandestine variety is Statistics Canada, an agency that is a veritable wealth of information on every subJect from the average family size, in- cofme, the number of unemployed Canadians and the number of hockey pucks, per household. If ever there was an offigial record keeper of insignificantstatistics, it's StatsCan. Again, •StatsCan is a phantom organization, and the emoplyees are mercenaries as far as I'm concerned. There was a concise promulgation in the daily press this week from StatsCan which outlined the poverty level in Canada. Apparently it has risen by 25 per cent the last two years. So if your family's salary was below the poverty line two years and raises did not equal 25 per cent in that time, guess what? You're still poor. How can some educated jerk, earning at least $35,000 spends his day figuring out what the poor need to earn annually to remain poor. We don't need poor guidelines. Millions of dollars are spent so some slovenly sluggard can check these figures to determine if he's poor. - So listen up gang. If a family- of four earned less than $16,000 annually and lived in a city of 500,000 yes, they are poor. And thank you for letting them in on the secret StatsCan. BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1979 Second class mail registration number -0716 SINCE 1848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT founded in 11145 and published every Wednesday of Ooderlch, Ontarllb. Member of the CCNA and OWNA. *dyer. thing rotes on request. Subscriptions payable In advance '111.1111 In Canada, 94.M to U.S.A.,,'MAI to all other coun- tries, single copies S4'. Display adverrIsing rates available on request. please ask for Rete Card No. 11 effective Oc- tober 1. 111111. Second class mall Registration Number 1714. Advertising 1s accepted on the condition that In the event of typograpihlcal error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for but that balance of the advertisement will be pold for at the ap- plicable rote. In the event of a. typographical error advertising gods or nor -Wane, a wrong price. goods or services may not be sold. Advertising Is merely an offer to sell. and may be withdrawn et any time. The Signal -Star is not responsible for the 'osier damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducingpur- pmts. PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER-President and Publisher DONALD M. HUBICK-Advertising Manager DAVID SYKES-Editor P.O. BOX 220, HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH N7A 486 FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (51.9) 524-8331 e bullet It is the Wig ironies that often make life more difficult to comprehend• and, atttimes, frustrating. The Canadian government has created one of those little ironies in the form; of Gerald,Boueyi, governor of the Bank o£ ada4$'o ear ita`toting withthe economr vtionsi,. weeldj!'intereat charges to®the major Canadian ding institutions . The interest rates have held steady for a three-month periodand eventhough this week's rate is not the highest during that period, the banks raised the prime rate to 17 per cent. ' That caused" spine problems on Parliament Hill where- Bovey was a target of criticism for opposition members who are seeking relief from high interest rates to ease the financial burden on all Canadians. - ,But Bouey is taking a tough stand and the Bank of Canada governor is Sticking to his high -interest -rate. policy until inflation eases. That could mean that ,Bouey will inflict high interest rates on Canadians for quite a while, . He is insisting that lowering of, interest rates will only serve to.devalue -the Canadian, dollar On the world market ' "and that would subsequently lead to at ins of funds from the Canadiadeconomy,1oss of jobs a, .. deepening recession. . So Bouey will continue to fight the inflationary process with inflated interest.rate charges. Maybe there is a hint of merit in the methodology but it's tough to swallow when • the man .makes in Te cess of $100,000 to make. 'this.. decision on behalf of the people who -are suffering. That is a crime in itself. - - Anyone who makesthat kind of money is out of touch with: the problems facing the average Canadian. Life is. full of little ironies but it's a pity we have to be raped by some of them.D.S. - Royalty hasit. tough The economy has become as important a topic of con- versation these days as the weather. It's a natural ice breaker and like the weather, it's there day after day and everyone. has a comment or two to pass along. One of the maim reasons people like to talk about weather and, more recently, an ailing economy, 'is that °there seems to be,an inherent need for complaining. While there isn't much sympathy to go around these days people tend to Teel better- •and ":somewhat :relieved' having Conn; plained about they cold temperatures or high .interest rates. Inflation and high interest rates are affecting everyone and penny pinching and strict budgets are common factors in most families,. And while the effects of a sagging economy have far reaching implications, it is interesting to note that even Buckingham Palace is finding it hard to make ends meet these days. Things are getting tough when the monarchy has to take, a serious look at the budget, but it has finally reached that point. Queen Elizabeth, in' order to reduce costs, has cut staff severely at the palace and there is fear that further reductions are imminent. Times are so tough. the Palace has reduced 'staff by 20 people to 346 which is a skeleton crew to handle the chores. The wage bill for that meagre cleanup gang is $4.2 million o the Queen's budget plight is obvious, The palace is going the way of modern technology to'cut the $90,000 in mailing costs required to reply to the whims • of the Subjects. r Nobody said life was easy and despite an eight per cent increase to $8.5 million inthegonc rnment's-payments.,to ,... run the monarchy, the queen is co'itfimitted to -a new life of restraint. The $8.5 million is used to cover costs of the queen's official duties but there are no figures�available on the total cost of running the royal family. Some estimates go as high as'$27 million but the family does have added expenses of a royal yacht, royal train and royal - aircraft. The darn things are costly to maintain these days. But the dear queen is helping out tdo and last year she dipped .into royal savings to contribute $150,000 towards the cost of running royal affairs. for the year. Times are tough when royalty is forced into a situation where knick-knack dusters are removed from the payroll. And you thought you had it bad. D.S. Openhfrnkbo�k Canada's bankers are under the gun, and it's perhaps important that the House of Commons Finance Com-. mittee hold an inquiry intobank prrfits, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) The problem, of course, is that in recent years the banks have been chalking up staggering profit increases, while the rest of the nation has been biting the bullet during a difficult economic period: To the public, it appears that everyone is hurting, except the banks. The banks say this isn't so, but it's•perhaps suggestive.that the bankers are running a million dollar advertising compel -girl to explain their position to the public. „ • ' Like the oil industry before them, the banks seem to believe that advertising can win converts to their side. Bili it s gdifig to be tdt'igh sledding. , Convincing .people of the worthiness of such a cause when the same institution is forced to deal with foreclosures on businesses, homes, farms, and even cars, is difficult, says the CFIB. Nevertheless, the banks would be forced to lay the statistics on the line during such an inquiry and there 'would undoubtedly be tough questions on the reason for interest rate spreads that are higher than average. And the reason for an increase to 24 percent in credit cards rates - when the cost of money is markedly lower than it was even six months ago - would probably be on the agendas , There's no question, the banks are vulnerable, and easy marks for their opponents. Yet it should be remembered that Canada's banking system is indeed more solid than that in the United States, and that has been one stable factor in our unstable economy. If the -government ever got too rough, the repercussions on international money Markets°'inortld'be.felt "i eedifitely :7 yam blitbadt6n.:ft.. An honest inquiry could be good for everyone, assuming that open-minded politicians are prepared to be fair and objective, says,the CFIB. Enticement By Dave Sykes DEAR READERS ELLER HIIRLEY K .... At the outset, let me say I'm in a rotten mood. I've had a miserable cold that keeps me up all , night coughing; and now to add insult to injury, 1 must make an emergency trip to the dentist to. get repairs for a broken tooth. • It's been a fine week so far - and it has put me in a•rare and reflective frame of mind. It could be the lack of sleep that's done it, but I'm so totally led up with the people who live in this great nation, I could stand up and scream (if that would help). Unfortunately,. all I can do is pound out my two cents worth in this column - and hope that someone out there agrees with me. Just for openers, I understand that university professors in Ontario are asking for free university tuition for their sons and daughters. Over my dead body unless of course, benevolent Bill Davis and the boys agree it is politically advantageous for them to grant such a ridiculous request. Then there is the heartwrenching story about the Edmonton transit workers who have suc- cessfully strongarmed the city. into a 46 per cent wage increase. An Edmonton driver now gets $12 an hour, retroactive to January 10 this year, up from $9.85 - and another $1 per hour on January 9,1983 plus another $1.40 per hour on July 10, 1983: That's $14.40 an hour for 1,500 drivers who motor up and down Edmonton street stopping at °corners and opening and closing the bus door. And I know seasoned newspaper reporters working all kind's of crazy hours who get paid $250 a week to write about turkies like that. The Edmonton drivers are getting decently paid too in relation to skilled tradesmen at Morthe n `"i`e ec i ' ' `iii t®iidori, "Ittagrialea; Belleville, Kingston and St. John, New Brun- swick. Their new three-year contract which ended a week-long strike pays $14.36 an hour. Telecom . production workers will be earning $11.14 to $12.42 an hour - but that's here in Canada, not oil -rich Alberta. And what about the incarceration leave clause in the Telecofn contract? It insures that an employee who violates the Highway Traffic Act and receives a jail term of up to 30 days "won't lose his job". Talk about protecting people from themselves. Some Canadians - not Albertons - are getting a - kick out of the news that the demand is down for oil from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). It's down to levels lower than any since the 1960s, as a result of economic recession and the unloading of oil company surplus stocks. There's a world oil glut - not a briiht outlook for Alberta's dream to hold the rest of Canada up for ransom and demand world price. Demand a way,' Alberta. Speaking of oil as we were, 1 see Petro Canada is buying a 49 per cent share of the Gulf Canada Products Co. refinery at Port Moody, British Columbia for $95 million. That makes each one of us a bit of an oil barren doesn't it? Nice to know when you're fighting to keep your head above water. But there does seem to be some sanity sur- facing here and there. Reports are some workers have agreed to make concessions as the price for economic survival. Some major companies have already reduced salaries and benefits to employees. Some have instituted wage freezes. In most cases of course, it is non=union- workers who ..are setting the example. . The Montreal-based National Bank, which reported a net loss of $28.1 million for its fiscal quarter ending January 31, 1982, trimmed salaries for 390 head office managers and will eliminate 200 of 1,800 head office jobs. Dow Chemical, which repotted a 30 per cent drop in world-wide profits in 1981, has deferred annual merit increases for its 3,000 non-union.,,, salaried Canadian workers. (But Dow's 1,000 unionized workers will get a 12 percent increase because it's in their contract. MacMillan Bloedel, the British Columbia forest -products giant, reduced the salaries of 5,500 non-union workers between 10 and 15 percent on March 1 - and lengthened their work day by 30 minutes. It seems to be catching on. After all, pay cuts are better than no job at all. That's the way unio'h workers in the United States see it too - but here in Canada, the majority of unionized employees are resisting the idea of accepting a share of the horrendous loses facing the nation's business community. Seems Canada's unionized workers - and some others I suppose - are just too dull to understand how bad things really are becoming, and the part their unreasonable, selfish greed is playing in Canada's looming demise. It's not unusual for a company to pay out 50, 60, 70 percent of its total earnings in salaries and fringe benefits to workers who are consistently less efficient. In the case of some government services (teachers, health care workers etc.) it's more like 80-85 percent of the total budget for workers. . The people of this country definitely do have the power to help put thins right sooner than mogt economists ace nota'predicting, But will they volunteer? Will they tighten their belts and dig in for the good of the nation? What do you think? Would -you?