I was there. It was what they call "an exercise in futility". It is to laugh.

Great we should tax the hell out the last few people still working in BC so we can fund every group with there hand out.

The work that non-profits do in the community provide results that the government wish they could obtain. Yet they are expected to serve more and more people with less and less funding.

The association is not asking for the government to "tax the hell of out the last few people still working in BC". they are asking that the government give them the money they were promised based total gaming revenue. [url]http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/pgfreepress/news/84155187.html[url]

I thought the unemployment rate was about 10%. Even if that is doubled because of the wood industry and those running out of benefitsd, it is still about 80% employment. Not full employment by any means and not anything to be happy about, but also nowhere even remotely approaching "the last few people still working in BC". Lets keep it in perspective. They are difficult times, not Armageddon.

The gaming revenue was spent buying VANOC tickets for the politicians... they won't have money this year for the charities... they will have a story about the recession to 'get away with it'.

I have sent numerous emails and letters to Shirley Bond regarding problems I am having with a government office in Prince George. She has totally ignored all of my communications. I don't believe she has any interest in her constituents. She should be voted out during the next election.

The Government is going to continue to tax the hell out of you for as long as you sit on your butts and take it.

Huge waste in practically every area of Government. Managers,and Civil servants being paid high wages, and benefits and giving very little in return. Government entities like BC Hydro, BC Ferries, ICBC, etc; etc; etc; screwing us to death.

The local Charities etc; were taken for a ride when they got in bed with the Government so that they could get their hands on the **Free** gambling proceeds.
This allowed them to get more money with less work, and allowed the Government to take over the Bingo Business and give it to their friends, along with getting slot machines into the bingo halls.

The Charities are just as much at fault as the Government. They are both living off the losses of the gamblers.

Take away the gambling money and they will have to go back to volunteers, and personal contributions.

These left wing loonies would have more impact picketing outside Mayor Dan Rogers office.

The City is proposing significant tax increases. The federal government is trying to cut costs, the provincial government is holding the line on taxes, individual households are tightening their belts, and THE CITY OF PRINCE GEORGE ARE RAISING TAXES.

When will Mayor Rogers and his crew realize that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

I figured that since everyone was whining about being "taxed to death" and the fact that "taxes were increasing", blah, blah, blah, I'd actually run some numbers through a spreadsheet.

All things being equal, a person making $55K in 2009 would pay $1,500 LESS in income taxes, CPP and EI combined, than they would've on that same $55K earned in 2002. Truth be told, there likely isn't a person or corporation in Canada who is paying more tax now than they were 10 years ago (assuming the same level of income of course). In many cases, they are paying substantially less. Why then is it a surprise that there is less money to cover services?

We live in a country where when you get up, you flick a switch on a wall and your house lights up. You go into your washroom and turn a lever and you get as much safe drinking water as you want. You hop into your car and drive down a relatively well maintained road, only to be inconvenienced by traffic lights who's purpose it is to keep you safe. If you do happen to get into an accident though, an ambulance will show up, take you to the hospital and people will tend to you until you get well. RCMP will investigate the accident and if there is fault, government lawyers will prosecute the careless driver and they may even end up in a taxpayer funded prison. Maybe when you get out of the hospital you'll celebrate by hopping on a plane (which is virtually assured to be safe because of those pesky government regulations) and heading to Mexico. Granted, you will be inconvenienced on your way home by those government workers who are keeping your borders secure and you'll have to take the kids to an indoor heated pool down the Multiplex, instead of the warm ocean, but what the heck. Eventually the kiddies will be back in school to finish their 12 years of fully funded schooling, at the end of which they will be fully literate if they paid attention and have opportunities available to them that millions of people in the world would literally die for. All so that they can grow up and bitch about how bad they have it in Canada, just like their parents did.

No offense folks, but some of you are completely out of touch. Are there things that could be improved? Of course. Is there waste in government? Of course. Are you getting the "hell taxed out of you"? No. Especially not in comparison to how you were taxed 10 years ago or what the tax loads are for people living in countries similar to Canada around the world. Are you getting "very little in return" in regards to the taxes you pay? If you look at EVERYTHING you get SOLELY because of taxes, I honestly think you'd have to be missing a brain to think that is true. Truth be told, that sort of commentary strikes me as coming from people who are completely spoiled and don't realize how good they really have it in Canada.

Oh and if you think you have it bad now, just give it 15-20 years when we REALLY have a problem because taxes have been lowered to the point that everything we take for granted in the country has become completely unsustainable given the demographic shifts that we'll be experiencing. Hope you saved enough money to pay for your health care bills when the country won't be able to pick up the tab for you.

I only have two points -
1 - whoever the spokesperson for this is, the interview on the radio was rediculous. She didnt really know what she was organizing this protest for. It was a blanket "cuts bad,unless needed then cuts good,taxes bad blah blah" with no direction. Federal points were made as well as Municipal so a Provincial office was middle ground?
2 - My parents are involved with the Hart Pioneers center and they knew nothing about this protest, so Ginny Parsons obviously does not "represent 475 seniors"

MrPG...

In 2002 we didn't have a carbon tax, the same gas taxes, the same user fees, MSP premiums, the same levys, etc... Property assessments were lower, too. At least we had a housing bubble to keep it going until now. If a property's assessment increases 20% each year but the city's mil rate stays the same year over year, it means you will be paying higher property taxes from one year to the next.

People are not against taxes going up because they don't want to pay their fair share. People are against taxes going up because people can't afford it. BC's homeless and poverty problem is out of control. Tent cities don't crop up because people don't want to work! You can be sure the number of people earning $55K a year in BC in 2002 is much greater than those earning %55K a year in 2010!

When the March budget comes down during the Olympic hangover, it will be full of bad news. The "economic climate" will be blamed, and we will all suffer while the olympic flame keeps burning and we will all be looking at Alberta and beyond for jobs! Here's hoping they can handle the mass exodus from BC.

nmg - well reasoned. tis the tip of the iceberg.

I know Ginny from the Hart Pioneer Centre and she has done a lot of good things for that place and the membership, including attending the protest when others members didn't.

Hey Pojeb_sa, the post you responded to was actually mine. Mr. PG may have a heart attack if he thought it was being attributable to him and I'd hate to see that given the funding problems facing health care (ironically linked to taxes no doubt), LOL :)

You are correct we didn't have carbon tax in 2002, but GST was also 2% highr than what it is now. I think 2% on all GST taxable items would cost you more than the carbon tax on fuel alone.

Not sure why you think we didn't have MSP premiums back then, but we did. I looked at my property taxes from 2003 and they've gone up $400 to where they sit in 2009. Mind you, I'd say that the value of my home has conservatively gone up at least $80K in that time as well. I'll take that tradeoff in a minute given that I'll most likely get that extra money back in the future (tax free I might add).

Levy's and user fees. Interesting point. Are you in the "users should pay" camp, or the "government should pay for those services" camp? You can't have it both ways. If you don't want user fees, then taxes need to increase to cover the costs of those things off. Besides, I'm not even sure I consider many of those a "tax". The cost of my fishing licence for example has certainly gone up since 2002, but I choose to fish. I'm sure green fees and movie tickets have gone up since 2002 as well.

As for problems with the homeless, I think allot of that comes down directly to less funding for those services from the government because there is no money to fund them! Guess where the governemnet gets their money from? Taxes but of course.

I agree that the BC Budget will likely be full of bad news. Alberta is in no better shape than BC. In fact, they are forecasting a deficit twice as large as we are. How can that be if BC and Alberta are two of the lowest taxed jurisdictions in Canada? I thought lower taxes were supposed to CREATE opportunity and jobs, thereby increasing overall tax revenues?

It's a great theory, but unfortunately, the amount of growth the economy can sustain is finite. It will get to a point where it can't grow anymore, because there aren't any additional customers to buy our products (softwood lumber anyone?). When the economy has hit that point, what happens to government revenues when overall tax rates are lower than historical rates? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that it means less dough coming in to pay for services that aren't decreasing in cost.

We haven't even begun to touch on the various changes that have been made to corporate tax rates and policy over the years, in attempts to make us "more competitive". Competitive for what, I'm not sure. Maybe it's a race to see who can shift the entire tax burden from big business to the average guy or gal first. Maybe it's a race to see who can give complete control of their economy to corporate interests first. Campbell is looking at given some corporations voting rights in municipal elections isn't he?

I guess I take the position that taxes need to be fair (I realize that "fair" is open for debate) and that they need to be spread out amongst everyone who can afford to pay them. I also think we need political leaders who can be balanced in their policy and not cater to the extreme right or left, like what we seem to have now. We're also getting into really tough future times when you look at the demographics of our tax base and I'm not sure that our politcal leaders have clued into that. Maybe they are just choosing to ignore it, I don't know.

Thanks NMG

My heart is much better.

However, I still blame Rogers. What has he done in 16 months except RAISE TAXES!

Oh let's not even get into local politics, MY heart might not hold up, LOL :)

Well, I was a supporter of the Liberal Party, but what they did was a bit dirty on the non profit organization. They started the charity bingo and casinos, the government agreed to look after them if they gave it all to BCLC, now BCLC has completely forgotten how they got to where they are. Shame on you Gordo.