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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-05-19, Page 4PAGE 4 —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 1982 DAVE SYKES My fourteen month-old son isn't cognizant of the fact yet, but gardening is hazardous to his health. It's not that he's getting his grubby little hands on toxic substances in the wilderness of the Sykes' yard, rather, he's getting his little'nose into the business of gardening and landscaping which mom and dad have been dutifully laboring over the past couple weekends. To be blunt, the little guy's presence and antics are not conducive to outdoor work. This ordeal of beautifying the landscape while the resident hellion explores a whole new world has required a good measure of patience and an inexhaustable sense of humor on the part of the parents. Son Bradley simply wants to be a part of our outdoor efforts. Which complicates the structure of the workload. Last summer, just months into life, Bradley refused to touch anything outdoors and wailed when his tiny hands came in contact with grass. This summer, the dynamo insists on touching everything in sight and )las a predilection for eating it as well. While mom and dad directed their labors to preparing the garden site and planting seeds, the little guy insisted on lending a hand by walking on newly planted rows and dragging the shovel around. It was tough to work around him. The missus indulged the youngster, allowing" him to assist with the planting of onions, which occupied his mind for half a minute or so. After that he ran off with the bag, and onions spilled out in his wake all over the lawn. I cherish the day when Bradley's old enough to handle these chores on his own, but for now his good intentions are a hin- derence. This gardening game is enough of a challenge w& without having to add my son to the list of disadvantages. He takes great delight in stepping in muddy soil, he has watered his pants, crawled in the garden, soiling his body from head to toe, after dad has removed weeds and grassy bits from flower beds and placed them in the wheelbarrow he promptly returns them to the flower beds and insists on touching every tree in the yard. I will never understand the attraction between kids and dirt. A major portion of the topsoil in the flower beds either ends up on his clothes or in his mouth. He will in- variably refuse to eat good food but a handful of topsoil istoo tempting to refuse. His outdoor diet has also included a few smaller stones from the driveway, simply for variety sake, I presume. The seeds are planted and watered and within a few weeks, hopefully, the yard will be sprouting with flowers and veggies in spite of the intrepid efforts of the wee one to disrupt our labors. But, I sadly suspect, that given 30 seconds of unsupervised time, he will attempt to eat said flowers and veggies, carefully nurtured through unpredictable spring weather. At the very least, in his inimitable, truculent style, Bradley will squish tender plants with his most prized possession, size five blue running shoes. The shoes, he maintains, give him licence to walk on everything in sight, including tables, chairs, food, parents, little kids in the neighbourhood and anything else that gets in the way of his miniaturized version of running shoes. I have experienced tremendous difficulty in urging leafy, green things to sprout from the soil at the Sykes' place in recent years. Add a soil munching, plant crushing little boy to the scene and I suspect the yard will be void'of vegetation. rr io ry c s,` BLUE RIBBON AWARD Second class mail registration number -0716 SINCE 1848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT Founded In UM and published every Wednesday et Goderlch. Ontario. Member of the CCNA and OWNA. Adver- tising rates on request. Subscriptions payable in advance °19.00 In Canada. '311.00 to U.S.A., 'SIM to all other coun- tries, single copies 51'. Oisplay advertising rotes inimitable on request. Please ask for Rate Card No. 11 effective Oc- tober 1, 1001. Second class mall Registration Number STN. Advertising 1s accepted on the condition that in t event of typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Mem, together with reasonable allowance for signature. will not be charged for but that balance of the advertisement will be paid far at the ap- plicable rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price. pools or services may not be sold. Advertising 1s merely an offer to sell. and may be withdrawn of any time. The Signal -Star 1s not responsible for the lou or damage of unsolicited manuscripts. photos or other materials used for reproducing pur- 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 4B6 A FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 ii -d then more tax If the residents of Ontario were looking to the budget to provide a glimmer of relief from economic strife, then treasurer Frank Miller failed you. Miller's budget was fairly conventionalduring un- conventional economic times. He took a pretty safe path in plying 'the taxpayer with some funds for first-time homebuyers, a . four -point job creation program and limiting mcreases.in civil servants' .pay but siphoned from the majority `of- pockets with retail sales tax applications on items that were previously exempt. : The result is that the deficit will grow by 43 per cent to $2.2 billion. There were a few surprises in the budget and moves that could almost be labelled as innovative. The housing construction industry must be delighted with the gover- nment's.offer of a $5,000 loan to new home buyers but what about the people who will lose homes to escalating interest rates. No relief. Businessmen got a break too with the removal of the 10 per cent corporate tax for a two-year period. It will surely assist more than 60,000 small businesses in the province. Other than that -the budget was a staid document. There was no relief from high interest rates or mortgage rates and the farmer got little in the way of support from the government. Miller and the government continue to blame federal policy for much of the economic woe in the province. Anyone who doesn't fall into the categories of small businessman or first-time homebuyer will only be shelling out more to the government in the form of retail sales tax and increases in OHIP premiums Miller simply attacked the same old things by in- creasing taxes on tobacco, liquor and beer and raising OHIP premiums. Hardlyinnovative measures. Add to that, the application of retail sales tax on a number of items that -were previously exempt, and it means the average taxpayer will shell out more in taxes.', That additional revenue of millions of dollars will be needed to fund the first-time homebuyer loan (interest free) and the four --point job -creation program that will cost $171 million and provide 31,000 temporary jobs in the province. The budget needed to provide the stimulus to . create confidence and provide permanent job prospects rather than employment of a temporary nature. People can work around the imposition of retail sales tax simply by avoiding purchasing certain items. There is no way around increases in OHIP fees and the new standard licence fee. Miller played the budget conservatively, offering a few plums to businessmen and home buyers and paying part of the way with the imposition of retail sales tax on a host of items. Paying tax on magazines, pets, chocolate bars and car repairs may be preferable to increasesin income tax. . There was. some leadership shown with the an- nouncement that top level civil servants and MPPs will have raises limited to six per cent, far below the inflation rate. But, the people , in question all earn in excess of $35,000. It was foolish to expect Miller to eliminate part of the deficit or even to hold it at the previous level. There had to be some give. - However, while times are tougher economically, the budget doesn't offer much promise for the future of the province. D.S. Liberals protest.Miller budget We've heard the bells before andnow they're ringing at Queen's Park as the Liberals refuse to vote on the ex- pansion of the retail tax system. The Legislature was technically in session all weekend as Conservative MPPs occupied the speaker's chair but the division bells rang as the Liberals refused to show for the vote. The Liberals were' to meet with leader David Peterson Monday morning • to decide whether to lift . the boycott. The move by the Liberals was .a blatant protest over treasurer Frank Miller's budget unveiled Thursday. Peterson called the budget punitive and insists the treasurer should repeal and redraft the budget. The party's finance critic Pat Reid said the Liberals are just trying to bring attention to the inequities in the budget, which he says does nothing to improve the economy in the long-term and falls short in the job- creation area. Reid went so far as to say the budget pick - pocketed the taxpayers of Ontario and turned residents into tax collectors'for Miller. The delay tactic by the Liberals is a carbon copy of the action employed by Joe Clark's federal Conservatives, ,Who tied up the House of Commons for 15 days in March over the Liberal's energy bill. It is unlikely they will tie up the Legislature for a long period and the move must be seen as the party's protest over the budget and nothing more. It is not likely the protest will lead to any compromise on the part of the Tories since the Liberals have offered no alternatives, other than a new budget. Peterson and his Liberals must have taken a hard look at Clark's move and the impact it had on the popularity of the federal party. But the conservatives at least spelled out what they were looking for, a split of the energy bill, before walking out of the House of Commons. The provincial Liberals have offered no alternatives. Peterson might be taking a bit of a gamble but, com- pared to Clark's stand, the issue is a little safer and people would be much more inclined to support the protest of the imposition of additional retail sales tax. However, there's no chance the Conservatives will sway from the measures in Miller's budget. D.S. Interest rates unite opposition Seldom have labor and small business been united, says The Glengarry News. But when it comes to interest rates the two are in unison. Jobs and businesses are in peril. According gb Roger Worth of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, it's time for the House of Commons Finance Committee to hold an inquiry into bank profits. . The problem, Worth notes, 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 ap- pears 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 campaign 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. But it's going to be tough sledding. Convincing people of the worthiness of such a cause when the same institution is forced to deal with foreclosures on business, homes, farms, and even cars, is difficult. 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 spreads that are higher than average. And the reason for an increase to 24er cent in credit card rates - when' the cost of mo eris''markedly lower than it was even six months ago` ouId probably be on the agenda. There's no question, the banks ate 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 would be felt immediately - you can bank on it. An honest inquiry could be good for everyone, assuming that open-minded politicians are prepared to be fair and objective. Spring cleaning By Dave Sykes DEAR READERS SHIRLEY. KELLER I did so want to produce a fun column this week. I've had so many "heavy" subjects in the past few weeks, I thought I'd lighten up this time and offer to my readers some pure enjoyment. But to tell you the truth, I'm finding it really difficult to get relaxed with life. Everything around me is so terribly serious and tense, it's hard to achieve an easy-going, entertaining frame of mind. Trudeau has really gone and done it this time hasn't he? Promised a plum to a British Colum- bia architect and now the prime minister's in a jam? . Pierre's been sent to the mat, and although he's rallied with some sharp jabs about govern- ment privileges and international prestige, it's a cinch that it will be scored as a technical knockout in the minds of by far the greatest number of Canadian voters. Scratch one PET. • Sunday's award-winning television show 60 ' Minutes, though, made Trudeau's political favour of a $3,000,000 commission to build the new Canadian Embassy in Washington, look like a minor indiscretion. That show made my weekend. It reported that the United States state department has smuggl- ed in and trade respectable citizens of as many as 300 Nazi collaborators and killers in exchange for information about the Soviet Union. That's right. The _ alleged barbarians who buried babies alive and piled people one on top of each other before shooting them to save bullets, have been allowed to live in the United States, enjoy hard-won freedoms and be protected from identification despite the orders of President :Timmy Carter to root them out and destroy them. And poor old Richard Nixon sot it in the ear again. And what about Ontario Liberal leader David Peterson. I know that Dave's new on the job but really, didn't you expect more of him? I thought he'd come up with something more imaginative than The Clark Clang toprotest the latest provin- cial budget. It. appears Dave has been exposed to so much Progressive Conservative hype that he is insisting with Joe Clark that the Canadian peo- ple approve 'bell ringing as an effective demonstration of disfavour for government . budgets. Speaking of that, what .did you think of the pro- vincial budget? Bill Davis and the boys thought of everything except to cut government spen- ding, and to control theirimpetuous desires to own jet planes, hunting lodges and ,oil com- panies. We're getting . taxed for everything from goldfish to Mini -pads now. What? You didn't know these things weren't taxed before? That's exactly what Frank Miller was hoping. What you don't. know can't possibly hurt you, can it? In all fairness to David Peterson; he isn't the only one who can't come up with an original idea on his' own. Just this week we learned that Quebec doctors are copying the Ontario physi- cians, and walking out of their offices to get what they want - a 47 percent increase in earnings. Ap- parently the average doctor in Quebec earns about $50,000 a year now and thinks something like $77,000 would be more appropriate for per- sons of their skills. , How can doctors in Quebec live on so much less than Ontario doctors? There's no sales tax on goldfish and mini -pads in Quebec. Where the economy is concerned though, at least one economist is saying now that if Cana- dians will be patient a little while longer, economic recovery is just around the corner. Of course, it took some strong hinting on the part of Pierre Elliott Trudeau that the govern- ment might intervene with some forced measures to impose restraint, to elicit this testimony of trust. , Now this economist is saying the government's anti-inflation program is not only correct, it would be an indication of "bankruptcy of economic common sense" to do anything else. Economists are the only people I know who are professionally trained to believe their own views and none other. Those who agree With you are -also economists; those who do not are merely economic analysts without credentials. Things are getting worse in the Falkland Islands where the British and the Argentinians are risking all out global war over a tiny piece of frigid real estate and a few sheep. I'll just tell you how serious it is. Ann Landers talked about what would happen if such a military skirmish grew into what she called "a limited nuclear war". In her all new, no recycled material, Ann • claims the subject of nuclear war is so terrifying to most people, they refuse to admit the possibili- ty exists. Ann says that if the button is ever push- ed to start a limited or unlimited nuclear war, the living would envy the dead. Erma Bombeck has the right idea. She recom- mends getting back at everyone by setting your clock to get up in the morning, and then not pull- ing the alarm. It doesn't accomplish much on a world-wide scale, but it makes you feel better in- side yourself. I'm going to try it. Government budget takes candy from kids Dear Editor, For years people have been saying that next they'll be taxing us for paying a visit to the relief station; well its finally come about, with the new tax on toilet tissue. The government has even lowered themselves to tak- ing candy from kids by rais- ing the price through taxa- tion. For those . children choosing not to eat candy in order to preserve their teeth, the treasurer decided to wipe the "close up" smile'sNs from their faces by imposing a tax on toothpaste. Frank Miller tells us we can blame the federal government for it all; this is a game called "passing the buck". The problem is the game has gone on so long L Job saved? TTERS that more and more people are running out of bucks to pass. It will soon be that the only way to keep a buck from the governments will be to bury it in a tin can in the backyard. Anyway, as long as they keep buying oil companies, and luxury aircraft to travel in, I suppose we can expect them to keep taking candy from kids etc. One question that keeps coming to mind when I gas up at one of these service stations is: how come it costs me so much, when I'm sup- posed to own the company? 1 guess it could be worse. They could tax us for the air we breathe; maybe they are keeping that one for the next budget. Of course, politi- cians would be exempted from such a tax, due to their contribution to the air, as the air they inhale usually comes out as hot air, which helps keep us from sliding in- to another ice age. Mervyn Hoy, Goderich. Dear Editor, I thought it was policy of the media to report the truth and facts of information. Regarding the article in last week's paper on the Work Share Program, let me explain that an application had been made through the Canada Manpower Branch approximately February 12 of 1982, and by the time it was processed and passed, a period of five weeks had lapsed. By this time, our work load had gained considerably and our staff was back to full work schedule. There is no retroactive pay under this scheme so it was actually no benefit to our staff. As far as saving a job ( layoff ), this was a matter of formality and not reality as we were already working only four days per week. Evidence of our govern- ment efficiency. Yours truly, Bill Melick, South End Body (Goderich r Limited Editor's , Note: Signal -Star simply printed a press release sent by the Depart- ment of Employment and Immigration and apologizes for any misunderstanding caused. Thank you, Mr. Melick, for setting the record straight.