Kudo's to the city for cutting big chunks out of the road on Ospika, and leaving it for a few days for drivers to weave around. My hat's off to the drivers as well. Rather than slow down and go through them, many maintained full speed and just weaved back and forth and into the bike lane. Thankfully no one rides their bikes on Ospika.

There has been a lot in the news lately about inflation.

I would like to let anyone who is interested know how the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (website) defines the word inflation.

"a continuing rise in the general price level usually attributed to an increase in the volume of money and credit relative to available goods and services"

What kind of country allows out of province complainants to attack out of country columnists, for hate effects? Canada. I have been attending the Inquisition of Mark Steyn by the Human Rights Commission, and that process is a farce. Are Muslims inherently aggressive? Yes, Islamic "sunna" (emulation of their self-proclaimed "prophet"), is an absolute obligation that falls on EVERY Muslim. According to my copy of the first bio of Muhammad, ibn Ishaq records 59 separate military operations in which Mohammad participated personally. All but one (Battle of the Trench) was aggressive. Hence the bloody borders between every Islamic and non-Muslim state.


Some believe that there is a defence of "truth" in Canadian HR cases. That is false. I sat in at the Steyn Inquisition on Tuesday, when Madame Mao found that testimony as to Steyn's intent is not relevant. Reason: HR law rests on "effects." Any pathological liar can claim some speech caused enmity against same, and an HR tribune will serve as their player piano. And truth is a rare defence in these cases, because the Inquisitors need only find that comments made in good faith, were executed with "willful blindness." The process is: judgment without defence. Ergo: Inquisition.
http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2001/december/hardingC35767.htm
(Supreme Court of Canada denied appeal to Harding, indicating acceptance of the reasons of the court below)

HR processes are pre-determined; Inquisitors expect only abject mitigation. They don't have the power to demand same, but that day is coming. A section from the Vyshinsky examination of Bukharin in the Stalin Show Trials, illustrates what the Inquisitors want from Steyn:

"BUKHARIN: This is not my defence, it is my self-accusation. I have not said a single word in my defence. If my program-stand were to be formulated practically, it would be, in the economic sphere: state capitalism. the prosperous muzhik individual, the curtailment of the collective farms, foreign concessions, surrender of the monopoly of foreign trade, and, as a result: the restoration of capitalism in the country." (March 5, 1938; Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR)

STEYN: This is not my defence, it is my self-accusation. I have not said a single word in my defence. If my exercise of free speech were to be exported ideologically, it would be in the social sphere: legitimation of Islamophobia; re-creation of the "OTHER" in a fictitious and dangerous form, emulation of the irrational enmity of the scribe, a weakening of the human rights regimes, surrender of rights abridgement paramountcy as owed by benevolent bureaucrats to the hurt, and, as a result: the restoration of the unleashed liberty enjoyed by the hate-monger majority of the pre-bureaucracy period." (2008; BC Human Rights Commission)
http://www.freemarksteyn.com/

I blame cops for this crap. As soon as we unleashed those slugs by allowing them to unionize, they took the first steps to rights derogation, and now the jack boots are upon us.

I think it is a shame for CBC not to keep the 'Hockey Night In Canada' theme. Everyone has grown up with that song. What would they replace it with I wonder.

Finnaly some truth to the Citys out of Control spending. Kinsley and this Councils legacy will be a huge debt that will have to be paid, which will result in less money being available for basic services. This total debt that the City has, and what effect it will have on taxpayers over the next few years must be exposed and become an election issue, along with a number of other spending issues like projects that get matching grants from other levels of Government and then build unneccesary structures.

I know red2b why mess with a good thing??? That is a silly shame.

I say, save Hockey for radio and bring some good south of the boarder programing.
CBC is a waste of airtime IMO.

I watched the city close one lane of pacific only to fill 6 or 7 potholes and leave without fixing all the other ones around them. I watched them fill holes at the corner of Sintich and Boundary but only in one lane and left the big holes in the other lane for everyone to drive around. Why bring out the equipment all the way out to the back of the BCR and not utilize it. Now thats a a waste. I even asked a city employee why they didnt repair the holes 20 feet away and was told they were not on the work order. The whole street should have been a work order. The amount of traffic weaving into the other lane to avoid whats there will no doubt result in an accident. Not to mention that I'm sure everyone is tired of beating the crap out of there vehicles.

"a continuing rise in the general price level usually attributed to an increase in the volume of money and credit relative to available goods and services"

So, if we want to stop inlfation, we need to produce more "stuff" and provide more "services".

Anyone want a paid guide for a trip to South America? Call Owl, the inflation stopper ... my rates are the lowest going guranteed to fight inflation.

psssst ... someone should tell OBAC....

;-)

Where did all this city spending go? Certainly not into anything involving parks, streets, or public spaces.
Can I expect another tax increase. My buddies in Kamloops, Kelowna, and on the Island already pay much less city taxes than I do. We're getting fleeced!
Oh and great planning to rip up Ospika during the foret expo. Awesome timing once again.

Between 2000 and 2006, inflation and population growth added up to 13.8 per cent,

Can someone tell me how one can add apples and oranges???? how can one add inflation to population increase?

Inflation is up by 15% over the 6 years and population is down by 1.2% for a total increase of 13.8% ....

and this means what????
----------------------------------
"Prince Rupert, Terrace and Powell River actually cut spending between 2000 and 2006."

And how many people left those cities over that same time period. What is the actual change in the burden per person? That is the meaningful number. The rest really is of no importance.

More important than that, what services were stopped or reduced and what effect, if any, did that have on the ability of those communities to retain people in the community and recruit new people to the community .......

"Inflation" is more properly "a continuing rise in the volume of money and credit available to the general public ACCOMPANIED by a continuing rise in consumer goods and services prices."

In other words, in general, over time, the purchasing power of your money is constantly declining relative to what it will buy.

You may receive more dollars, as you do when gaining a wage increase, say, but EACH one of those dollars now buys you LESS in terms of overall goods and services.

Since ALL COSTS must be included in and recovered from PRICES, including the cost of any wage increase, any overall benefit from such an increase is likely to be very short-lived.

In 1966 the wages for a green chain puller in an IWA mill were $ 2.25 per hour. Now they're probably about ten times that, (if there are any green chains left). For all those increases, over all those years, is the worker today ten times better off than he was then? All we're doing is working with bigger figures.

It's interesting that Unions NEVER go on strike for LOWER prices. Always for HIGHER wages. Yet if you realize that nowadays direct 'Labour Costs, even if they continue to rise through periodic wage increases, are continuously becoming a smaller and smaller component of overall Prices relative to the 'Capital Costs'included in them, then a reduction in Prices with wages either staying the same, (or even being reduced, providing that Prices were always reduced more), would be of much greater benefit.

If your pay, which is only a PART of PRICE, came down, say 5%, but Prices across the board came down a similar 5%, you're getting a discount on the WHOLE of ALL the cost components of that PRICE.

People will say, of course, that this couldn't happen because then the business would be selling BELOW cost, and be unable to continue.

Well, to use Gordo's favourite sentence opener, "Let me tell you...", it IS completely possible to do, and CAN be done without the slightest difficulty to business or anyone else, simply through the use of a technique of credit.

Fundamentally, it is no different than hosting an Olympic Games, or building a Site C, or any other capital project. Things which will be built through an expansion of credit, but which will SELL NOTHING to the general public for a period of years.

When we do this, building mega-projects, the credit created, comes into the hands of the general public, as those projects are being built. And RAISE consumer prices, followed by an increase in wages, giving an ILLUSION of 'prosperity'.

That credit has been 'costed' into the price of the project, however, and in addition to the rise in consumer prices it's engendered in the present, the public will be faced with a bill for those costs in future that it will be unable to ever pay. (Short of building another Site C, or a bigger Olympics, or continuously more mega-projects, ad infinitum.)

The same thing can be done, only to much greater benefit, by using a creation of credit to LOWER consumer prices instead. This credit does NOT have to be "costed" into anything, since it is simply augmenting consumer incomes which are already collectively insufficient, (and increasingly insufficient, too) to fully liquidate EXISTING consumer Prices collectively.

Just want to wish everyone a wonderful day and a fanfreakintastic weekend!!!

lots of things going on in our city this weekend!! hope you get out to enjoy some of them!!

have a great one!!

the Citizens article on spending was a complete joke. a few of the findings cannot possibly be correct.

i do agree with all of you that our property taxes are out of line (why so high in comparison to other areas??) but i do not think that article can be described as accurate.

What does the homeowner of a 1,700SF finished floor area house with 2 car garage on about a 6,000 to 8,000sf property in a standard city subdivision with full services pay for tax in

PG
Kamloops
Nanaimo
Kelowna
Chilliwack
Abbotsford
Langley

I do not care about the cost of the home or the mill rate of the tax ... I want to know the actual city tax .... and whether it includes or excludes services such as garbage, water, sewer, etc. which are collected spearately in PG but not in some other communities.

I think a true apples ot apples comparison is difficult to find, but maybe someone out there has access to tht info.

BC’s 15 Largest Cities: From Most quitable to Least Equitable Ranking

How much business pays versus residential ... from the business point of view ... PG is the best ...

So, if our residential taxes are actually higher .... guess what one of the reasons is. And everyone is saying how business unfriendly we are.

1 Prince George 1.65
2 Kamloops 2.18
3 Chilliwack 2.25
4 Kelowna 2.26
5 Nanaimo 2.27
6 Abbotsford 2.49
7 Victoria 2.78
8 Surrey 2.94
9 Port Coquitlam 3.10
10 Richmond 3.11
11 New Westminster 3.17
12 North Vancouver 3.35
13 Burnaby 3.49
14 Coquitlam 3.90
15 Vancouver 4.35

Too many potholes, traffic lights, and otherwise poorly designed intersections. BUT: On balance, I still like P.G.
Best part: access to the back country for recreation.
metalman.

Definition of Tribunal from http://www.chrt-tcdp.gc.ca/index_e.asp

he purpose of the Canadian Human Rights Act is to protect individuals from discrimination. It states that all Canadians have the right to equality, equal opportunity, fair treatment, and an environment free of discrimination. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) applies these principles to cases that are referred to it by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC). The Tribunal is similar to a court of law, but is less formal and only hears cases relating to discrimination. For further information about the different roles of the Tribunal and the Commission, please see About the CHRT and Jurisdiction.

So, in an environment that is supposed to protect and enforce an individuals' human rights, it is more like a judicial proceeding to find guilt which has usually been predetermined and with that to incarcerate dissidents.

anyone else hear the news?

cozzetto resigns at UNBC...i figured opinion250 would be one of the first to report on this.

what gives?

Well there is the official response and then there is the truth of what was going on at UNBC. Put it this way, lots of people happy today at the U !
I don't mean that in a negative way but sorry he just didn't fit with UNBC.

His severance pay might find a niche in his wallet.

The city's finances are a mess. Too much spending and debt? I guess that knocks a plank outa the Performing Arts Centre platform. Mr. Trudeau left us with a half a billion dollar debt. And that white elephant of an airport called Mirabel. They then named an airport and a mountain after Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Maybe after Kinsley retires we can re-name Connaught Hill after him and on the same scale as Pierre maybe name the Fort George Park Railroad after him too. Too many taxes and a lot of debt can be related to railroading.IMO

Colin wants the new bridge to be named after him. That was the point of the whole exercise.

When I stated Trendy left us with a half billion dollar debt I meant 500 billion dollar debt. Half a billion dollars is peanuts to some governments these days. More zeros on the end , please.

I think we have more serious things to be concerned about than Hockey Night in Canada losing its theme song.

The following is from an article on the Calgary Herald website. This article is written by two economists from the Fraser Institute. The article is titled "Unfunded liabilities dwarf public debt and are growing."

"How would you feel if the Canadian government sent you a letter suggesting you owe an extra $150,000?

No doubt few, if any, Canadians would welcome that news. But that's the situation facing Canadian taxpayers as each of us is on the hook for another $150,211 in liabilities that our governments have racked up in debt and unfunded program obligations.

Unless immediate action is taken to reduce Canada's liabilities, young Canadians will be hit with a significantly larger tax bill in the future."

"Across all Canadian governments -- the sum of federal, provincial and local -- net direct debt declined from $800 billion to $791 billion between 2000-01 and 2004-05. While $791 billion ($48,922 per taxpayer) is not exactly insignificant, it is not the greatest liability concern for Canadians.

In addition to the national debt, Canadian governments have committed themselves to providing programs that are not fully funded. That is, we've collectively promised to provide a host of programs which current tax rates leave unfunded.

Consider the Old Age Security (OAS) program, the "cornerstone" of Canada's retirement income system. Old Age Security pensions are available to all Canadian citizens and legal residents 65 years and older, providing they have lived in Canada for a minimum of 10 years of their adult lives.

The problem with Old Age Security benefits is they are paid for out of current federal tax revenue.

At their inception, programs like OAS were based on the assumption that the demographics prevailing in the 1960s would persist. It was considered favourable social and economic policy to transfer a small amount of money from a large group of younger workers to benefit a small group of relatively poor retirees.

Unfortunately, demographic assumptions have proven false.

In 1956, only 7.7 per cent of Canadians were over 65 years old. That proportion increased to 13.3 per cent in 2006 and is expected to rise to 26.5 per cent by 2040.

This change in Canada's demographic makeup has and will continue to increase the portion of federal revenues needed to fund OAS benefits. We estimate that the difference between the stream of promised benefits and the expected future stream of revenues -- the unfunded liability of the OAS program -- currently stands at $356 billion.

Canada's Medicare obligations suffer the same ills.

In 2006-07, Medicare consumed 19.1 per cent of total federal, provincial and local government revenue. Given that those over 65 years old account for approximately 44 per cent of all health spending, and the fact that the percentage of the population over 65 years old will increase dramatically, the portion of revenue currently used to fund Medicare will not be sufficient to deliver future medical expenses. As such, Medicare's unfunded liability stands at $364 billion."

"Adding the unfunded liabilities of the Old Age Security program and Medicare to that of the Canada Pension Plan ($538 billion) puts total Canadian unfunded liabilities at $1.3 trillion.

Further, these unfunded liabilities have increased by more than 20 per cent over the most recent five years for which data are available (2000-2004).

Unfunded liabilities, coupled with the national debt, put Canadians on the hook for liabilities totalling $2.4 trillion or approximately $150,000 per taxpayer."

If anyone wishes to read the entire article, the following is the link to it.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/theeditorialpage/story.html?id=d254af34-6191-4989-8d36-54a3b23be2ce&p=2

In addition to the above, housing prices in Canada are soon going to begin the downward spiral that the United States is currently experiencing (I think) because the number of homes selling is decreasing while the number of homes listed for sale is increasing, the savings rate in Canada is virtually zero, and the cost of living is soaring.

I hope people realize that we are entering a new era, one that realizes the fact that as a nation we cannot go through life piling on more and more debt.

"I hope people realize that we are entering a new era, one that realizes the fact that as a nation we cannot go through life piling on more and more debt."

Oil sands??? ... What oil sands????

Charles, I wouldn't place much concern on ANYTHING written by "economists", and especially ones funded by the "Fraser Institute". (Or, for that matter, their 'socialistic' counterparts at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.)

"Economists" are in about the same league as the 'Weatherman'. They both make predictions, in other words. And more than a few of those economist's predictions turn out to be as far off base as ones made by their TV and radio counterparts on our weather.

The world of finance really functions under the conventions of double-entry cost accountancy. The purview of the "accountant", and, in his more glorified form, the "banker". Since about 95%, or more, of all banking is simply bookkeeping.

The "accountants" and the "economists", unfortunately, don't exactly speak the same language.

Charles:-"Unfunded liabilities, coupled with the national debt, put Canadians on the hook for liabilities totalling $2.4 trillion or approximately $150,000 per taxpayer."

Charles, ask yourself this:- "What are the ASSETS of Canada, in total, and are they or are they not, VASTLY in excess of "unfunded liabilities", AND the National Debt, AND ALL PRIVATE DEBT, combined?"

Where can we, if we are going to equate the 'financial' operation of a Nation with that of a private business, find a NATIONAL BALANCE SHEET?

If the accounting equation for any balance sheet is Assets=Liabilities + Capital, then where is the Nation's "Capital Account" ~ i. e., it's 'shareholder's, (citizen's, in this case) equity'? And what is that figure?

In any private business, increases to the Capital Account are periodically paid out to the shareholders in the form of dividends.

If the Capital Account of the Nation were increasing, year by year, shouldn't citizens also be getting dividends?