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Rob Ford's Toronto

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I think the true literal 'fiscal conservative' position would be that publicly owned infrastructure should be generating the maximum amount of economic benefit at any given time. Anything else is an unfair subsidy shouldered by the taxpayer.

So, yeah, marathons, festivals, parades, whatever should be encouraged every weekend. To do anything else would be SOCIALIST.
 
You want to move a marathon to a park? I don't of any park that can handle 20,000 runners and 42 kilometres of running space. Llet's close the gardener and dvp!

There was ample time to prepare for the traffic. I think most that complained about the traffic yesterday don't even live in the municipality of Toronto so you won't have a say in this election anyways.
 
Coltaine79 said:
Canceling a marathon means a major cause (cancer research; heart health research) which benefits ALL Canadians (due to universal health care AND the high prevalence of those ailments) would lose a $2-3 million boost.

Those who are opposed to marathons should be forced to pay a tax to compensate for the lack of marathon-related financial assistance to said charities.

Don't want to pay the tax? Then shut the f*ck up and do something different for that one day.
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Remove people's choice for a "common good" was what caused the downfall of the communists. Now they are championed by the liberals who are suppose to protect people's freedom.
 
adma said:
What about when the streets around St George's Golf Course were closed off for the Canadian Open? Practically in Ford's backyard, that...
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that explains alot (golf balls to the head).
 
archanfel said:
Remove people's choice for a "common good" was what caused the downfall of the communists. Now they are championed by the liberals who are suppose to protect people's freedom.
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you know, it's the very communists you dislike that sometimes don't allow large numbers of people to take to the streets for a cause. i guess the roads are for tanks.


archanfel, just a question, are you going to hang around this forum once the election is over? i ask that because all your posts are within a few threads on this board that deal with rob ford, the next mayor & taxes.
 
archanfel said:
Remove people's choice for a "common good" was what caused the downfall of the communists. Now they are championed by the liberals who are suppose to protect people's freedom.
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You're gasping at straws. Demonstrate how your statement has any relevance to what I said without re-posting platitudes you found on some cool right-wing blog. ;)
 
archanfel said:
Remove people's choice for a "common good" was what caused the downfall of the communists. Now they are championed by the liberals who are suppose to protect people's freedom.
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By 'the communists', I assume you're referring to the USSR. That's not why they fell apart.
 
Back on topic...

MetroMan said:
As it's becoming increasingly inevitable that Rob Ford's opponents will fight amongst themselves and propel Ford into the Mayor's chair, what do you think Toronto will look like in 4 years at the end of his term?

Will development stall? Will the province give up on Transit City? What services do you think will be cut? Will festivals like LuminaTO and NuitBlanche collapse from lack of support from City Hall?

Let's make some realistic predictions. Please discuss.
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We'll see a city more devoted to the basics and more hands off with non-essentials. You could argue that we'll have better garbage pickup, more reliable snow removal, better roads and I'll dare to say a better functioning TTC (though no new expansions). Probably less funding for culture, less subsidies and tax breaks which encourage "green," "smart," or "progressive" behaviour, and fewer initiatives aimed at massaging Toronto's ego and sense of pride.

He'll probably be driven more by the mantra, "A city that works" than "A city that inspires"
 
^ That's a very reasonable picture of this city under Rob Ford.

The problem is that's not what we need. If Ford just wants to pick up garbage, ensure roads are well kept and traffic light bulbs are replaced, he can't handle the complexity of a major city and needs to run for Mayor of Keswick.

The Culture & the Arts create jobs and attract and encourage people to spend money in the city, which stimulates the economy and allows the city to grow. The same can be said for a city that leads in the environmental field, in medicine, in the creative industry and so on. A city that inspires is a city that remains alive.

Nothing stands still. It's the direction that we need to need to get right.
 
cfloryan said:
Back on topic...



We'll see a city more devoted to the basics and more hands off with non-essentials. You could argue that we'll have better garbage pickup, more reliable snow removal, better roads and I'll dare to say a better functioning TTC (though no new expansions). Probably less funding for culture, less subsidies and tax breaks which encourage "green," "smart," or "progressive" behaviour, and fewer initiatives aimed at massaging Toronto's ego and sense of pride.

He'll probably be driven more by the mantra, "A city that works" than "A city that inspires"
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He'll cancel all sidewalk plowing (and by the recent news, laneway plowing as well). Roads need asphalt, and as the price of oil goes up, so will the price of asphalt, so less road repair. Less subsidy to the TTC from the city, so the TTC will get dirtier and less reliable, with the fares skyrocketing. Brown fields in parks due to less upkeep. And strikes.
 
cfloryan said:
You could argue that we'll have better garbage pickup, more reliable snow removal, better roads and I'll dare to say a better functioning TTC (though no new expansions).
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Except that this doesn't jive with what is currently being written in many media publications about his proposed reduction of city staff through attrition.

If ~50% of city staff are on provincially mandated operations (police, fire, public health, etc) and have legally defined minimum levels of staffing, he's going to have to get his staffing reductions from the remaining 50%, which would presumably include things like garbage collection, snow removal and road repair.

How, exactly, do you think we'll have better operations for any of those aspects if their workforce is being cut by 6% a year? (6% because they have to compensate for the 50% of the workforce that isn't contributing his proposed 3% annual reduction.)

Even if he keeps TTC staffing constant, the continued increase in ridership will only exacerbate problems with poor service and over crowding.
 
W. K. Lis said:
He'll cancel all sidewalk plowing (and by the recent news, laneway plowing as well). Roads need asphalt, and as the price of oil goes up, so will the price of asphalt, so less road repair. Less subsidy to the TTC from the city, so the TTC will get dirtier and less reliable, with the fares skyrocketing. Brown fields in parks due to less upkeep. And strikes.
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ok so you're basically saying that he'll cut everything? Does that really sound reasonable to you?
 
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