- Reaction score
- 8,001
- Points
- 1,160
You know, I can't help but seeing the fly in the ointment here as that dammed equalization programme and by extension the entire federal tax structure.
The equalization plan allows the Feds to play favourites and curry favour. It is the ultimate in socialism and social engineering. If the tax structure conformed to the founding principles of Confederation citizens would pay taxes to their Province and the Province would dispense funds to the Feds for National Defence, Foreign Affairs and Arbitration (civil and commercial). Full stop.
Coming from good Presbyterian stock (the people that said that they - not the Pope, not the King, - would appoint their Ministers and if they didn't do a good enough job they would chuck'em out and hire somebody who could preach a good sermon) in my view my mioney is mine first, my town's second, my province's third, my country's last and the UN isn't on the list.
The problem with this is that with this scenario folks in cities would quickly find that they can only sell what they buy, having nothing of their own to sell but themselves, and that wealth is generated from having things and selling them (things like oil, water, nickel, iron, hydro, lumber, fish, grain what have you). All else is sophistry. You can't build a car, or run it without hydro, water, iron, nickel or oil).
Canada's provinces have resources in abundance. The only reason we are all not as rich as the ruddy Saudi royal family is that we allow our governments to place silly restrictions on us in the name of cafe environmentalists.
As individual share holders in this Enterprise Canada we have more ruddy underutilized assets than any other country in the world. Bar None. We have something of just about everything that the rest of the world wants to buy.
And here is the real pity of the situation - we have so much that we could afford to screw up so royally and completely environmentally devastate an area the size of Switzerland and not even notice it - Nobody wants to do that and we know how to do it better and do it without doing the damage - but we have so much we can afford to take chances and yet we refuse to take the risk and act.
Rant ends....'pologies sent.
Here, by the way of nothing, a study of the data that I gleaned from Jean's Liberal Party Testimonial published by StatsCan, otherwise known as the 2001 year book.
56 Hectares - Area of Earth's surface owned by each Canadian
14 Hectares - Area of Coastal Waters
- 8 Hectares - Ice covered Coastal Waters
12.6 Hectares - Area of Undifferentiated Lands (exists but no assigned used - rock, 'skeg and tundra)
7.8 Hectares - Area of Productive Forest
6.3 Hectares - Area of Scrub Forest
2.5 Hectares - Area of Fresh Water
2.1 Hectares - Area of Arable Land
1.3 Hectares - Area of Parks
0.09 Hectares - Area of Urban Settlement
0.033 Hectares - Area of Annual Forest Cut (representing 0.42% of the Productive forest and allows for a 250 regrowth cycle or 0.2% or the total forest and allows for a 500 year harvest cycle
0.019 Hectares - Area of lands mined or quarried (less than the per capita share of land covered by Metro Toronto)
By comparison the average citizen of the world's GREEDIEST nation, the USA, is entitled to an area of about 4 Hectares and Israelis and Palestinians are squabbling over 0.3 Hectares of ruddy desert.
If we don't spend some of this wealth we hold, rather than hording it, we do the world no service. We are the world's Scrooge.
OK, now the rant really ends. Let fly the slings and arrows.....
Cheers you lot.
The equalization plan allows the Feds to play favourites and curry favour. It is the ultimate in socialism and social engineering. If the tax structure conformed to the founding principles of Confederation citizens would pay taxes to their Province and the Province would dispense funds to the Feds for National Defence, Foreign Affairs and Arbitration (civil and commercial). Full stop.
Coming from good Presbyterian stock (the people that said that they - not the Pope, not the King, - would appoint their Ministers and if they didn't do a good enough job they would chuck'em out and hire somebody who could preach a good sermon) in my view my mioney is mine first, my town's second, my province's third, my country's last and the UN isn't on the list.
The problem with this is that with this scenario folks in cities would quickly find that they can only sell what they buy, having nothing of their own to sell but themselves, and that wealth is generated from having things and selling them (things like oil, water, nickel, iron, hydro, lumber, fish, grain what have you). All else is sophistry. You can't build a car, or run it without hydro, water, iron, nickel or oil).
Canada's provinces have resources in abundance. The only reason we are all not as rich as the ruddy Saudi royal family is that we allow our governments to place silly restrictions on us in the name of cafe environmentalists.
As individual share holders in this Enterprise Canada we have more ruddy underutilized assets than any other country in the world. Bar None. We have something of just about everything that the rest of the world wants to buy.
And here is the real pity of the situation - we have so much that we could afford to screw up so royally and completely environmentally devastate an area the size of Switzerland and not even notice it - Nobody wants to do that and we know how to do it better and do it without doing the damage - but we have so much we can afford to take chances and yet we refuse to take the risk and act.
Rant ends....'pologies sent.
Here, by the way of nothing, a study of the data that I gleaned from Jean's Liberal Party Testimonial published by StatsCan, otherwise known as the 2001 year book.
56 Hectares - Area of Earth's surface owned by each Canadian
14 Hectares - Area of Coastal Waters
- 8 Hectares - Ice covered Coastal Waters
12.6 Hectares - Area of Undifferentiated Lands (exists but no assigned used - rock, 'skeg and tundra)
7.8 Hectares - Area of Productive Forest
6.3 Hectares - Area of Scrub Forest
2.5 Hectares - Area of Fresh Water
2.1 Hectares - Area of Arable Land
1.3 Hectares - Area of Parks
0.09 Hectares - Area of Urban Settlement
0.033 Hectares - Area of Annual Forest Cut (representing 0.42% of the Productive forest and allows for a 250 regrowth cycle or 0.2% or the total forest and allows for a 500 year harvest cycle
0.019 Hectares - Area of lands mined or quarried (less than the per capita share of land covered by Metro Toronto)
By comparison the average citizen of the world's GREEDIEST nation, the USA, is entitled to an area of about 4 Hectares and Israelis and Palestinians are squabbling over 0.3 Hectares of ruddy desert.
If we don't spend some of this wealth we hold, rather than hording it, we do the world no service. We are the world's Scrooge.
OK, now the rant really ends. Let fly the slings and arrows.....
Cheers you lot.