First we had the
Federal budget which veered decidedly towards centre if not slightly left. Then
Greg Sorbara brought down the
Ontario 'tax and spend' budget that moved even further left.
Terence Corcoran of the
National Post now looks towards the
Toronto budget set to be announced on Monday as the
'taxathon' continues. Unfortunately this front page
Comment piece is under subscriber lock, but here are a few tidbits:
"... and a rockin' event it (the budget announcement) will be as Mayor David Miller tries to hold himself in check before he hits the dance floor with the new "fiscal tools" he just got from the province. Let's see: New tax on drinking, maybe, or a tax on roads or parking lots...
Three levels of government rolling in cash and not a meaningful tax cut in sight, and not one spending program cut that anybody's announced or noticed...
...The only thing Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara could say about taxes is that there would be no increases. Even that's not quite true.
The budget's call for a $10.25 Ontario minimum wage by 2010 is essentially a plan for a tax increase on low-wage incomes. The new wage will get distributed to people who get the $10.25- an-hour jobs at the expense of people who don't get jobs at $9 an hour. And that will mean more welfare programs.
"...Much is made of a balanced Ontario budget, as if that were an achievement that took effort in the face of rising tax revenue gains of almost 8% per year. The real effort came in finding the spending opportunities tomatch the ballooning revenues...."
So many more pithy comments. You really need to run out & buy a
Post this morning.
Meanwhile, the
Sun's Sue-Ann Levy tells us that
His Blondeness almost threw a temper tantrum when he realized that the provincial government was not going to upload more of his social spending programs. Levy states:
He even had the audacity to imply that this might impact on the 3% tax hike (in other words, increase it) built into the 2007 operating budget. "Our budget next week will be extremely difficult," he said.
...Meanwhile, the mayor arrogantly refuses to put the city's house in order, to contract out services, to look at creative ways of doing business or to rein in his overpriced union pals. Quite the contrary. The Millerites keep spending as if money is pouring from the heavens...
Back on the provincial front,
Lorrie Goldstein asks,
why should we believe Dalton anyway?
Even the
Red Star does not seem totally enthralled with the Ontario budget.
My guess is that if you are a single, middle class or higher Toronto resident with no kids, you are
not a happy camper today.
* * * *
Update: More at
the Politic -
The McGuinty Budget: Almost enough to make John Tory actually look decent...almost! (Boy, there's a rousing endorsement if ever I heard one.)
Saturday Update:
Woody -
No Soup for you, Big Salad for me.
Sunday Update:
Toronto's Pain is 905's Gain -
Sun.
And in the category of
Damned if you do; damned if you don't, we have this:
Burn Out 
