2018 Ontario Provincial Election Discussion

[TrickyRicky]

When I was talking about inflation in my previous post I wasn't speaking about CPI inflation but a kind of street real world inflation. CPI is largely BS except to the extent it informs some suits in their rate-making decisions, a number to hide behind to pretend such decisions are rational and not political.

The street real world inflationary measures Wynne is in favour of don't raise costs at CPI levels, they raise costs at double digit levels per year at best, at worst they create massive 25% and greater shocks.

When the middle-class restaurant owner in my previous example can no longer operate or no middle-class individual can start a new business we have a problem. It's not that business won't exist, it's that the only people who can participate must be already well capitalized. In other words inequality increases.

It's not that these issues aren't universal it's that Wynne is insensitive to the rate of change. The rate of change matters as much as the change itself. Conservatism is a resistance to change. The critique of Wynne I see is a complaint about the rate of change, by doubling down on the change rate I feel she is driving many people towards Conservatism at least in terms of this election.

 

[jje1000]

Ontario to roll out details of $533M autism program

Long-awaited plan has no age cap, promises kids intensity and duration of treatment they need when they need it, the Star has learned.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/06/08/ontario-to-roll-out-details-of-533m-autism-program.html

An intesting look at some of the macro-level changes going on into the 2018 election:

How Ontario's 2018 election campaign will be different from 2014
Kathleen Wynne's Liberals will try to hold on to power in race against PCs, New Democrats and Greens

Basically:

1. Big money out of Ontario politics
2. Taxpayer funding for political parties
3. 15 new seats, all in cities
4. New leader for the PCs
5. Time for a change?
6. Spending limits will hit union-funded attack ads
7. Fixed election date of June 7

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-election-2018-june-7-countdown-1.4128011

 

[Jasmine18]

Imo NDP should try for Public Option Car Insurance if they want an issue to take votes from Liberals.

I like the liberal ideas but I have a feeling we will be paying a ton of new taxes if the liberals get re elected

 

[jje1000]

Ontario offers public servants 7.5% raises, union links ‘unprecedented’ move to 2018 election

Ontario is offering public servants a four-year contract extension with 7.5-per-cent raises, which, if ratified, would avoid possibly contentious bargaining before the next provincial election.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union workers would get 1.5 per cent on July 1, then one per cent on Jan. 1, 2019, and another one per cent every six months for the life of the deal. The approximately 35,500 workers and correctional staff represented by OPSEU are employed across the public sector, from administration and enforcement to social work, IT and laboratory staff.

The possible deal follows the Liberal government’s successful offering to teachers and education workers of two-year extensions that came with four-per-cent raises and more than $275 million in additional funding.

OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas called the scope of the latest contract extension offer “unprecedented” and said he suspects it is related to the June 2018 election.

“I’m kind of shocked the government actually made us any kind of an offer,” Thomas said. “It’s no secret that my union and myself, my executive board, we’re always in a battle with the government … We’re at odds with them on a lot of fronts.”

[...]

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/c...vants-contract-extensions-7-5-per-cent-raises

 

[Northern Light]

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/c...vants-contract-extensions-7-5-per-cent-raises

I have to say, I don't see this as overly ostentatious.

The headline number appears to be misleading.

Unless I am misunderstanding this, there is no COLA clause increase (cost of living).

So, they're getting just 8% over years, which is just under 2% per year .

That's roughly in line with, if not a hair under inflation.

Since that number is below current and projected economic growth, the gov't comes out ahead on the deal.

Seems fairly reasonable.

The optics will be fine, if the numbers are fairly represented in the media.

 

[CANAUS]

New mainstreet poll showing the PCs ahead by 14 points. PCs are at 43%, Liberals at 29% and NDP at 24%. Interestingly, most people can't identify Brown or Horwath.

http://www.mainstreetresearch.ca/half-cant-identify-brown-horwath/

 

[MetroMan]

These ads are really good. They do a great job of humanizing Wynne and showing that side of her that makes her so god darn likeable in person.

 

[narduch]

I read the twitter comments below her ad.

They are savage.

Not many people defending her.

I don't think people are going to be fooled by these ads. Or by the Liberals sudden turn to the Left. Feels like too little too late. They had 14 years to be this progressive.

 

[Bob Burnhamthorpe]

I read the twitter comments below her ad.

They are savage.

Not many people defending her.

I don't think people are going to be fooled by these ads. Or by the Liberals sudden turn to the Left. Feels like too little too late. They had 14 years to be this progressive.

Oh, they've fooled Ontarians before.

Sublimely clever group.

 

[MetroMan]

I read the twitter comments below her ad.

They are savage.

Not many people defending her.

I don't think people are going to be fooled by these ads. Or by the Liberals sudden turn to the Left. Feels like too little too late. They had 14 years to be this progressive.

I've long learned that the kind of comments you find on political posts aren't representative of the general electorate. Not by a long shot.

As for being progressive, I've been happy to see the enormous strides we've made towards prioritizing transit and funding it in this province. That goes back to McGuinty and Wynne redoubled those efforts. The Liberals have been increasing the minimum wage all this time, not just now. When McGuinty took office, the minimum wage was $6.85! It came down to nickels and dimes. We've made a lot of progress. That's not recent.

Besides, if you're a progressive, are you going to let the Conservatives take power? Horwath hasn't got a chance. She should have stepped down or been forced out when she called an unecessary election and cost the NDP their power in Wynne's minority govt.

 

[narduch]

I've long learned that the kind of comments you find on political posts aren't representative of the general electorate. Not by a long shot.

As for being progressive, I've been happy to see the enormous strides we've made towards prioritizing transit and funding it in this province. That goes back to McGuinty and Wynne redoubled those efforts.

Besides, if you're a progressive, are you going to let the Conservatives take power? Horwath hasn't got a chance. She should have stepped down or been forced out when she called an unecessary election and cost the NDP their power in Wynne's minority govt.

But in the past at least the comments would be 50/50 for an against. She really is unliked. All the nice 'ads' in the world aren't going to change that.

I'm just tired of all the corruption and money wasting. To me she comes across as arrogant and smarmy.

Plus I am underwhelmed by what they have done for transit during Wynne's time. All they do is over-promise and under-deliver, whether its transit or many other areas.

Its a shame that the NDP seems directionless.

 

[Hopkins123]

I've long learned that the kind of comments you find on political posts aren't representative of the general electorate. Not by a long shot.

As for being progressive, I've been happy to see the enormous strides we've made towards prioritizing transit and funding it in this province. That goes back to McGuinty and Wynne redoubled those efforts. The Liberals have been increasing the minimum wage all this time, not just now. When McGuinty took office, the minimum wage was $6.85! It came down to nickels and dimes. We've made a lot of progress. That's not recent.

Besides, if you're a progressive, are you going to let the Conservatives take power? Horwath hasn't got a chance. She should have stepped down or been forced out when she called an unecessary election and cost the NDP their power in Wynne's minority govt.

You can be a progressive and a conservative at the same time though. It's in the PCs name. No sense blindly following the Liberals into oblivion with their myriad of scandals and malfeasance out of sheer hysteria of the ghost of Mike Harris.

I'm starting to think even Harris wasn't so bad in hindsight, at least he did what he said he'd do. Still waiting for Wynne to cut the $300 billion+ debt.

 

[Jasmine18]

The reality is if you say as a progressive you must support the liberals. You are saying I put Ideology over everything and that no matter how corrupt and how fiscally incompetent a party is, I must support them regardless. Personally I am not a slave to ideology ..

The issue is took the liberals far to long to enact such policies and they have enacted such policies with no care for the long term costs.

It is 100% certain after the next election Ontario will be far in debt, much higher hydro rates and far increased taxes to pay for Liberals Election bribing.

I am not against the ideas but wtf has been doing since 2011 lol

 

[picard102]

I'm just tired of all the corruption and money wasting. To me she comes across as arrogant and smarmy.

Can you actually name corruption charges they've been found guilty of?

 

[narduch]

Can you actually name corruption charges they've been found guilty of?

They may have weaseled their way out of any charges, or threw lower level employees under the bus on occasion.

But quite a few of their actions stink to high heaven.

Wynne was supposed to be an improvement on this front but it still feels like more of the same and they haven't learned their lesson.