Rob Ford's Toronto

[typezed]

That article may be accurate in the incidents it relates, but the tone is off. It makes Ford appear fun, freewheeling and flamboyant, one of those colourful folksy conservatives. The reality is that he's not much fun at all, but a thoughtless ideologue trying to defend the dullest notion of a city. He relates to citizens by handing out business cards. It is only because he is so divisive that he receives such attention.

 

[canmark]

Toronto Life is previewing its May cover story, The Incredible Shrinking Mayor

... Ever since the new year, a small band of independent councillors had been leading an open revolt, dealing him a series of humiliating defeats, first on his budget, then on his cherished subway-building agenda. No matter how he tried to spin it, one conclusion was unavoidable: the mayor was increasingly isolated on his own council.

In Conservative backrooms across the city, there was undisguised consternation. Ford’s predecessors, David Miller and Mel Lastman, would never have allowed themselves to lose such key power struggles, especially so early in their first terms. Ford was becoming an embarrassment—one who could do lasting damage to the party as a whole. “There are only so many votes you can lose,†says a prominent Tory advisor who asked for anonymity, “and then you end up becoming sort of neutered.â€

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Article from the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303812904577296313988673568.html#articleTabs=article

The Matlow Crybabies are hilarious. What does his Dad have to do with anything.

 

[hawc]

I don't really care if we get subways or streetcars to be honest, but I can't wait for him to scrap Miller's ridiculous land transfer tax. Or as I like to call it 'the moving tax' pay $10,000 just to move a few miles in your own city. If he can scrap that before the next election I'll be impressed. Of course I know all the lefties on here would rather pay MORE taxes if possible.

 

[ShonTron]

I don't really care if we get subways or streetcars to be honest, but I can't wait for him to scrap Miller's ridiculous land transfer tax. Or as I like to call it 'the moving tax' pay $10,000 just to move a few miles in your own city. If he can scrap that before the next election I'll be impressed. Of course I know all the lefties on here would rather pay MORE taxes if possible.

If you don't like it, rent!

 

[hawc]

There's some sound financial advice.

 

[DSC]

I don't really care if we get subways or streetcars to be honest, but I can't wait for him to scrap Miller's ridiculous land transfer tax. Or as I like to call it 'the moving tax' pay $10,000 just to move a few miles in your own city. If he can scrap that before the next election I'll be impressed. Of course I know all the lefties on here would rather pay MORE taxes if possible.

The reason the City asked for the ability to impose taxes like the land transfer tax and the vehicle registration tax was to try to get away from being totally dependent on property taxes - which are really a very poor kind of taxation. If you don't have taxes of one sort or another you will have neither streeetcars nor subways (nor much else). Scrapping the vehicle registration tax was particularly stupid (and done in a very silly way) and $60 is only about one tank of gas so if you have a car is virtually painless. (Yes, it would have been better if it were a province-wide tax reserved for transit or ?? but that wasn't on offer.) As ShonTron says; if you don't like the land transfer tax (which is also paid to the Province) just rent.

If I were in charge we would actually have a City HST (though I still wish the Province had just taken over the 2% reduction from the Feds and used it for transit or finishing off the up-loading to the Province of things that Harris downloaded to Cities or health care or ??

 

[freshcutgrass]

Of course I know all the lefties on here would rather pay MORE taxes if possible.

Nobody wants to pay more taxes...we have to pay more taxes. Many people just don't want services cut. In fact, many think they need to be improved. And the only way you can do that, is to raise revenue. And the best way to do that, is to have progressive revenue generation. That's why there is a new City of Toronto Act. And that's why Miller created it, and used it. It's one of the more brilliant moves by any Toronto mayor.

The VRF & LTT were the smartest use of this, as you can't raise revenue where there isn't any. You start charging car drivers, cause they are the ones that are have been subsidized for far too long, and the party is OVER And when you are in a city that is bitching about choking on congestion and trying to promote less driving and more transit use, then you don't achieve that by cutting transit service and raising fares, while at the same time cutting fees to drivers....that's just plain STUPID (kinda like your mayor).

The LTT is the smart place to raise revenue (and lots of it), as that's where all the money is. Remember...we don't have capital gains taxes here, and people are making a killing in real estate. That's where the money is, so that's where you go after it.

So you can go ahead and cancel revenue sources like the VRF & LTT, but that what...$400 million in revenue will just have to be made up somewhere else. And we have looked pretty stupid up until now by being one of the only cities on the globe to still have as it's main source of revenue as just straight up "property tax".

It's quite hilarious to here people bitch about taxes. Toronto has always enjoyed high services on low taxes. Other cities have way more taxes (including VRF, LTT, hotel taxes, sales taxes and even municipal income taxes) and have far less services than Toronto does.

What Toronto needs are citizens that have a clue, so we don't end up making giant fools of ourselves by voting in mondo-beyondo brainless idiots like Ford & Co.

 

[hawc]

Nobody wants to pay more taxes...we have to pay more taxes.

So where does it end?

Do you just slowly creep up everyone's taxes, more and more and more? 20 years from now what percentage of our income goes to taxes? How much tax is enough? What percentage of your income are you prepared to kiss goodbye to taxes? 50%? 60%? 70%? 80%? 90%? How much is enough. Just let me know.

Increasing taxes is lazy governing. Anybody who's ever had to make a budget knows the easiest way out is to not make the hard decisions but to just ask for more money.

Try governing within means.

Say no to programs. Say no to unions.

Don't just keep asking for more and more and more money.

How much tax is too much?

 

[hawc]

What Toronto needs are citizens that have a clue.

The thing I love most about lefties is that anyone who disagrees with them is automatically less intelligent than them. How convenient.

"If only you were as smart as me you'd understand!"

Lefties apparently have the monopoly on education and intelligence.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

hawc:

Try governing within means.

Who determines what that "means" translate into? Governing within one's means also meant that one wouldn't reduce taxes first when there is a deficit.

AoD

 

[freshcutgrass]

Do you just slowly creep up everyone's taxes, more and more and more?

As long as the cost of delivering services keeps going up, and you want to maintain or improve those services...yes.

All your comments show a basic lack of understanding of how things work. They really aren't worth debating.

The thing I love most about lefties is that anyone who disagrees with them is automatically less intelligent than them. How convenient.

There's no such thing as a "lefty". There is the conservative-thinking mind (the self-centred/narcissists)...and then there's "normal" thinking people. People who waste their time fighting imaginary boogymen are silly if you ask me.

 

[SunriseChampion]

Dear hawc,

I think you completely miss the point of there being two kinds of taxation: income taxation and consumption taxation. The two should NEVER be confused as they are quite different forms of taxation. I guess we could add property taxation as a third, but I would include it with income taxation.

I personally think that income taxation (I, personally, include property taxation in this) is evil and anachronistically feudal BUT am all for raising consumption taxation especially on things that are currently subsidised (ie driving) or harmful (ie driving...ok, fine, cigarettes and plastic bags). Am I a "lefty" according to your interpretation of ideology based on taxation policy?

I suppose, given that I would never advocate reduction in taxation as an overall revenue stream because I cherish and understand what taxes pay for, but rather a shift from income taxation to consumption taxation you might consider me a "lefty" (whatever the %^&* that means). Though, might you not now start getting confused? I mean, what other types of people advocate for lower income taxes....nay, in my case, abolishing income taxes?

Stop generalising and pony up that land transfer tax money you're complaining about...if we're lucky, we'll see a shift from income taxation to things like the LTT and VRT and you can then decide what to do with your hard-earned money a little more freely. Would that make you feel better about the LTT and VRT and HST?

PS:The federal Conservative cut of the GST by 2% is my personal favourite thing I hate most about what they've done economically. (A classic case of those morons ignoring expert opinion)....I guess I use the term 'moron' here in a quasi-loving fashion as my own father is a member of that ass-backward political abortion....thank God I turned out alright.

 

[freshcutgrass]

I personally think that income taxation (I, personally, include property taxation in this) is evil and anachronistically feudal BUT am all for raising consumption taxation especially on things that are currently subsidised (ie driving) or harmful (ie driving...ok, fine, cigarettes and plastic bags).

Well, income tax could be considered a form of consumption tax, because the obsession with "making money" in our overly capitalist system is something that needs to be reined in to a certain degree.

Those that are for consumption tax and against income tax are really just conservative-thinkers....not the "lefty" thinking at all (using most people's wonky idea that that is the "opposite" of conservative-thinking). The reason this is true, is because it gives the conservative-thinker the idea that you can control how you are taxed individually. And that's exactly the kind of self-centred notions that the conservative-thinking mind dwells on. They are ok with paying taxes for the things they personally approve...but not anything else.

 

[gristle]

Property tax isn't an income tax, it's a tax on property for which a range of services are provided. Anyone who thinks the concept is evil and anachronistic clearly does not understand how the city is funded - nor does that person want to understand.