Loading...
The Huron Expositor, 1984-10-10, Page 2SINCE 1850, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST see Incorporating Brussels Post 10 Main Street 527-0240 Publlehed in SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning JOCELYN A, SHRIER, Publisher RON WASSINK, Editor JANET L. MacDONALD, Advertising Manager Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Aesoclatlon Ontario Preaa•Councll Commonwealth Press Union International Press institute Subscription rates: Canada $18.75 a year (In advance) Outside Canada $55,00 a year (In advance) Single Coples-50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTAR8O; WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1984 Second class mall registration Number 0898 Do we need change? There won't be a fall provincial election after all. Premier William Davis suprised Ontarians on Thanksgiving day when he announced his resignation. That announcement scuttled all rumors that there would be a Nov. election. Having served as premier for almost 14 years, Mr. Davis will be turning over his post at the next leadership convention, probably next January. It will not be until after a new premier Is chosen that an election will be called. Mr. Davis has been part of a political success story --a success story that lasted more than 40 years. It's been that long since the Conservatives were first voted to power in Ontario. And It's a position they've never given up. We hope Mr, Davis' decision was a follow-up of what he said when the federal election was held in Sept. He echoed Brian Mulroney's sentiments of the Liberal party which had governed Canada for 16 years. Both men said it was time for a change. It appears that Mr. Davis has acted on those words --It's time for a change in Ontario, as far as his Job goes anyway. But now the provincial Liberals and NDP are telling us that it's time for a complete change. They, and others say that a 40 year reign Is too long. Undoubtedly, we'll be hearing more along those lines when an election is called. Perhaps now is the time to look at change. Do we want 'a change In government and do we need such a change? We'll probably be asked that question next spring --at the polls. - R.W. Must pay the bilis On Monday the federal sales tax was Increased by one per cent. For those voters who actually believed that the new government could reduce the deficit and provide full employment without increasing taxes the -increase may seem a betrayal. But neither Brian Mulroney nor his finanoe minister, Michael Wilson, can walk on water. They are humans faced with a gigantic task, When a nation has been allowed to pile up such a horrendous debt (the Interest charges soak up a full third of our annual revenue) the choices are limited: chop government services to the people or persuade them to • pay higher taxes. Higher sales tax levels are the least costly for the politicians. Added to ' most items we purchase, the extra tax burden Is not one we see on paper like a payroll deduction. We will all learn to accept It without grumbling. lIt Is, however, spread over the entire population and will be felt very little by the well-to-do. It will bear most heavily on larger families In the (ower Income brackets where purchase of Ilte's necessities Is not a matter of choice. Increases in personal Income tax would be much the fairer way of raising the funds needed tp meet the deficit crunch — although the squeal from those affected would be much louder, We do not envy Mr. Mulroney and his cabinet the task which likes i before them, Canada's problems cannot be solved painlessly. The . financial problems which they have inherited are even bigger than they guessed before they were'elected. Their government has been voted into E power by an unprecedented wave of public support — evidence that the t Canadian public may really be expecting miracles. Miracles we will not get.' Let us be satisfied If there is steady progress to a more stable economy and as nearly as possible, full employment for • Canadians, (Wingham Advance -Times) COUNTRY Cr 'NER by Larry Dillon "Higher taxes," i shouted, "That's ridiculous. We can't afford the ones we have," The guys in the coffee shop just shrugged. They couldn't get upset over an insignificant increase in the federal sales tax. It was only a one per cent Increase. 1 tried to explain that the one per cent increase in federal sales tax will cost the average Canadian household about S60 more each year in taxes. Those fellows didn't seem interested. Our new Conservative government was taking more of their hard earned money and they act as tf they had expected Mr. Mulroney to do so all along. I started to talk about income tax, property tax, federal sales tax, provincial sales tax, luxury tax. Now i had their attention. Someone mentioned gasoline tax. Another said "How about the taxes on tobacco and alcohol?" We discussed import duties, inspection fees, license fees and business tax. It got to be sort of a game. As soon as we had decided we bad listed all the ways the different levels ofovernment take our money, someone would mention a new tax or fee that had been left out, We learned that a duck hunter had to buy three licenses to shoot one duck. One permit simply to buy the gun. (The gun itself was taxed by both the feels and the province.) .Another hunting , ri t to carry the gun and yet a third permit it could be pointed at the duck the overtaxed hunter was after. Children are required to buy a permit to catch bullfrogs on the river bank or face punishment by the province. And local unidpalities demand that you buy a endors permit to sell magazines door to door. heck they should know that you are simply trying to . earn enough to pay your come on. The facts are that the various levels of government now take 52 per cent of the 'average taxpayers income. That's what i was lso mad about. It seems to me that we should lee allowed to keep at least half of what we Own. It mates a Mow feel stupid to keep on 1 working when the extra income simply goes to various tevets of government. We need protection from the governments who claim -to represent us. They are taking most of what we earn and they are still going into debt because it is not enough. The danger of their debts or deficit is that we will eventually have to pay that too. This financial burden is having it's effects on people. Farmers need full time jobs to support their farms. Urban families must have both husband and wife working full time if they hope to ever own a hone, Children grumble because, yes someone does take candy from a baby. The province makes them pay a portion of their candy money as sales tax. It is time to limit the powers of the various levels of government. 1f they need half of what we earn, fine. Just let us keep the other half. it burns me to see some federal cabinet ministers being paid over $100,000 a year while the rest of us are trying to earn enough to feed our families and pay his wages at the same time. They could at least share our money with us. Better yet, maybe someone in Ottawa will remember that income tax is a temporary measure introduced to help with the war effort. if they look up from their government pay cheque long enough, they may notice that the war ended 40 years ago. 1 was going full stearn In my anti-govern- ment speech now. Raising my voice, banging my fist on the table, even spilling a bit of coffee. ' In the middle of my verbal crusade someone came into the coffee shop and interrupted. "Hey fellows they just made me pay 24 cents more for a case of beer. It's because of this federal sales tax thing." Now everyone was upset. ,This was an unreasonable and unwarranted drain on their salaries. "It's not fair!" another fellow cried out. That's what 1 was trying to say in the first place. Give me some cold, hard cash I SENSE AND NONSENSE by Ron Wassink Some time ago, 1 was arguing with a friend about cash and credit cards. And it was during that conversation that I was told it had been prophecied that people would even- tually be walking around with numbers tattooed on their hands. Such tattoos are supposed tq replace credit cards and cash, Up until now, I codld never fathom the idea of walking into a store and paying for it with a tattoo. Besides, how do you run your hand through a credit card machine. And what happens when you walk up to a girl and ask for her number? Does she flash her tattoo? I used to scoff at the idea of a tattoo credit "hand". But, not auynipre. I think the prophecy may tie icomiagt�rue. I was reading where "debit" catds.,will replace "credit' cards and that such cards will turn us into a cashless society!, — ' That's right we're getting rid of cash and switching to debit cards. And a pilot project using debit cards is planned to start next year in Saskatchewan. With it, payments for purchases will be transferred electronically from a consumer's account directly to the retailer's account. Not one cent will change hands. There's no cash and there's no need for a chequebook. One of the reasons given for the switch from credit to debit cards is an effort to reduce credit card fraud. Soon the need for a store clerk to phone a bank or search through a list of stolen credit card numbers will be gone. The new debit card will either be passed through a terminal that will approve the sale, or The cash register wilt be hooked lo a computer. The whole approval process will take only six seconds, say the experts. But such a debit card and its use is one step away from a network that could take money directly from a bank account to pay for the sameurchase. In fact, the debit card would be taking money from an account. And according to some, widespread use of such a card is only three to five years away. First of all, 1 can't imagine never using cash, ever again. Will there be the day when we'll all remember when a dollar bill was green and a penny bought a bubble gum. And what if somebody is paying me? I'm just a private citizen, I won't have a debit card machine. I don't even have a computer to hook one up to. I'm sure there will still be frauds. It's just as easy to steal a debit card as a credit card. But will there be such a thing as a bouncing cheque? Not likely. Afterreading the article. I checked my wallet, pinched myself, and threw out all my credit cards. If credit cards lead to debit cards, then I'm not sure if 1 want any part of it. Beck,,, debit cards sound more confusing than the metric system. This is plant Earth....isn't it? If it isn't, then i want off and give me some cold, hard cash. Prime Minister can't solve all problems BEHIND THE SCENES -- by Keith Roulston While there is plenty of room for dispute over individual policies of the new Brian Mulroney government, there's little doubt that Canadians can't help but gain from the change. Canadians could gain wonderfully if some of the commentators are right about Mr. Mulroney, Some punsters, even before the votes were cast, predicted that Mr. Mulroney would be one of the greatest prime ministers in history. He would turn the economy around, he would trim government waste, he would pull the pieces of Canada back together that Mr. Trudeau had tried to drive apart. he would bring Canada back to the warm bosom of our friends like the U.S. In short, a bright new world dawned the day Brian Mulroney became prime minister, it could happen. Economics being cyclical, we should see an upturn soon. And by the end of the firs Mulroney term, we could look back on the bad days of the early '80's as a piece of history best forgotten. But 1 think Brian Mulrogey is wise enough to know that no matter how smart he is, he can't turn the Canadian economy around without things improving in the rest of the world. Binding ourselves closer to the U.S. for instance, only makes it more sure that our economics will be dictated in Washington and New York. If things are going well down there, we'll do all right. if things sour, we're sunk. The frightening thing about abbut the early days of the Mulroney government is the sense of having seen tt all before. The impossible expectations that are now being built up for the new government are so much like the feeling that was abroad in the land when Pierre Trudeau swept across the country in a wave of adulation. Mr, Mulroney, like Mr. Trudeau, may find out that it's easier to inspire people todream than it is to deliver what they ve dreamed for. Mr. Trudeau paid the price for not being able to deliver impossible dreams. And eventually so may Brian Mulroney. But even if it comes to that. Canada can gain. We can gain by bringing a sense of reality back to the country, a realization that the prime minister can't solve all our problems. Sixteen years with one man at the head of the country tends to make Qeople think that everything that's wrong to the country is the fault of that one man. If the economy is bad, it's his fault. If the price of food goes up, the prime minister's to blame. if the weather is bad, damn the government. It's Ironic that Canadians who spend so much time saying that government is too big, spends too much and has too much control, think politicians should be able to solve all the problems of the country. We both want government to give us the security our parents once gave us, and yet want the freedom of moving out to set up an apartment and run our own lives. Politicians, of course, promote this attitude by carping at the amount of government when they're in opposition and then promis- ing the world to get elected so they can sit on the government side, it's funny. and disturbing at the same time, to see how qquickly the Conservatives and Liberals have changed their clothes, the Conservatives now sounding like the Liberals used to and vice versa. Hopefully, even if the new prime minister becomes the greatest in history, Canadians will learn a little more sense of reality through this whole change of government. Let's find a way to bottle hot air SUGAR AND SPICE by Dill Smiley Because 1 write a syndicated column. I've been put on the hit list of some public relations outfit in New York. As a result. receive a stream of garbage mail containing fascinating material about some product or ether that is being pushed by the PR firm. 1:stfally, 1 spot it right away and toss it in the round filing cabinet without even opening it, Today came one of these missives and, distracted by something else, I had opened the thing and read a paragraph or two before I realized it was lust another piece of puffery. It was headed NEWS FROM: The Hamburg Group. For release: Immediately. All press releases say the latter. Anyway, I thought it would be a pitch for MacDonald's ora string quartet, it wasn't. It was a series of little articles about Hamburg and Germany, touting that city's great variety of attractions. Such junk has about as much place in this column as an account of the origins of bee -keeping in Basutoland. And I'm sup- posed to punt it free, What dummies these PR people are. However, I'd already read enough to hook me on the first article, entitled: Brewery's Waste Energy To Heat Hospital. it didn't make sense at first. Why shbuld breweries waste energy to heat a hospital, unless they're trying to make amends to all the people who wind up in hospital with cirrhosis of the fiver from drinking their poison? I took another look at the heading. spoiled the apnstrophe. and now it made sense. A brewery will deliver heat and hot water to a hospital. As part of its brewing process. the brewery used to end up with a lot of excess heat that must he cooled before it is released into the air. Now, instead of being wasted. that > t will be channeled into the hospital e here it. will he put to good use. Cost of the deal, equipment and stuff. is about 400,000 marks. to be assumed by the city. The dept will be liquidated through the savings nn ehergy that would otherwise have to he purchased. Are you listening, Labatts, Molsons et al? Instead of pouring money into sports and all these phoney ads, about as subtle as a kick in the ribs. indicating that beer -drinking will make your life macho. full of fun and beautiful girls in skimpy swim suits, why don't you channel your heat into hospitals? Think of the free publicity. Ain't them Germans something. though? If they didn't start a war every so often and get clobbered, they'd own half the world, with their resourcefulness and hard work. Last time i saw Hamburg was in 1944, and it was titteralty hamburg. The RAF had firebombed it by night and the USAAF had pounded it by day until it was a heap of rubble. 1 was a prisoner of war and saw•it from a train window on my way to an interrogation centre in Frankfurt. Forty -odd years later, it has risen from the ruins like a phoenix, and is a booming city. visited by over a million travellers in 1981. Aside from the breweries in Canada. this country has another industry that could produce enough heat so that, if it were properly channeled, we could thumb our collective noses at the Arabs. I'm talking' about politics. Town and city councils produce enough hot air to heat at teasi one hospital within their limits. Provincial legislatives produce enough hot air to replace half the oil used in their pmvinces. And from that vast deposit of natural gas known as Ottawa issues daily enough hot air to heat Montreal's Olympic Stadium, even though it has ne roof. And that's only touching the bases. without going to the outfield or the infield. Think of all the hot air produced by teachers and preachers. union leaders, abortionists and anti -abortionists, public relations people. medical associations. school boards. And there's lots more where that conies from. The squeals of those caught with as mortgage to be renewed, the moans of farmers who are losing their shirts. the bellows of angry small -businessmen: all these are wasting energy by blowing hot air into our rather frigid climate. there to be dispersed into nothing. Add to this all the hot air that is poured into our telephone lines. that is batted bac,. and forth over business luncheons and at parties and. over the breakfast table. It's perfectly simple. All we need is a means of bottling the stuff somehow, and distributing it to the right places. if our scientists can send a missile to Mars, surely they can find a method of storing and channeling the incredible quantities of hot air that rise in clouds over our country.