XPost: can.politics, ont.politics, bc.politics
Ed Carpenter wrote:
>>And you're the clown who lives in a rural area of Canada, all while
>>complaining about taxes. While 90% of Canadians live in major
>>metropolitan areas and pay for your infrastructure out of our taxes!
>>
>>That's precious. Pave your own roads and clear them of snow Bubba.
>>And since you're only 10%, you deserve as much weight in Ottawa.
>>When we're not subsidizing the farmers and building new hockey rinks,
>>courtesy of Harpers big tax payer funded stimulus plan.
>>
>>You voted for Harper, didn't you?
"E. Barry Bruyea" wrote in message
news:f6oo26ljiafhq783a6u2iq9aukteb8bsr5@4ax.com...
> I don't give a damn about your 'debate' with Canuck, but your attitude in
regards rural
> areas is bogus as well as being based on
> ignorance.
> Don't forget, rural taxes help pay for urban subsidized transportation,
which is ironic,
> given that most rural areas are
> devoid of any kind of public transit. Medical services are widely spaced
and not as
> readily available as they are in urban areas.
> Policing is a joke and most pay more for insurance, given the distance fire
& ambulance
> services usually have to travel. Water
> services, sewer services (if available) are expensive as hell if you're
building a home
> or if water and sewer service become available
< you are forced to pay excessive amount to receive this 'largess'. So, you
carry on with
your discussion with Canuck, but don't bring
> into the discussion a subject for which you are totally ignorant.
Any and all cuts to services for rural areas was coutesy of the rightwing
governments in
both BC and Ottawa. They cater only to 'high voter support' areas and care
nothing about
cutting schools, hospitals, transportation services and exporting their jobs
to lower-wage
countries. And quite the contrary to your assertion that "rural taxes help
pay for urban
transportation". Rural taxes aren't even enough to pay for their own area
services. It's
urban areas that fill the coffers that subsidize rural areas.
And yeah - let's invite even more immigrants into the country to populate our
already
population-logged urban areas. Bloody Gordon Campbell and his cronies touted
that the
'increased exposure of Vancouver to foreign countries through the Olympic
Games would
bring huge monetary rewards to BC'. Seems all that it's brought in the past is
unstainable growth that keeps putting more financial strain on those already
in BC:
__________________________________
The Province - July 18, 2010
Utility taxes in Metro Vancouver to increase 54 per cent by 2015
Metro Vancouver finance chair Malcolm Brodie, pictured at Richhmond's Lulu
Island
wastewater plant in June, says there is 'no way of getting around' the need to
upgrade
water, solid waste and liquid waste facilities.
Hard-pressed Metro Vancouver taxpayers are bracing for a projected 54-per-cent
increase to
their regional utility bills over a five-year period - a cool $233.
Metro finance chair Malcolm Brodie said Sunday the large hikes are required to
pay for a
host of "necessary" projects such as sewage treatment facilities, garbage
disposal plants
and water pipelines.
Brodie said he "doesn't blame" taxpayers for feeling frustrated, but the
regional body is
doing everything it can to minimize costs.
"These are not frills. The projects are very important," he said. "We're
hopeful senior
governments will provide funds.
"We've got some rapidly escalating infrastructure costs to upgrade old
facilities as well
as build new ones. There is no way of getting around it. It cuts across all
the utilities:
water, solid waste and liquid waste," he said.
Metro's long-term debt, which was $788 million last Dec. 31, is projected to
increase to
$2.5 billion by 2020.
The projects until 2020 include secondary sewage treatment plants at Iona ($1
billion) and
Lions Gate ($400 million); a new Port Mann water pipe ($239 million); and a
solid waste
material and energy recovery facility ($470 million).
One large overrun occurred on the North Shore water tunnels between the
Capilano and
Seymour Reservoirs. The project is $200 million over budget and five years
behind schedule
due to unexpected problems while digging deep underground.
Brodie said the responsibility for that overrun while be determined in B.C.
Supreme Court
during a lawsuit with contractor Bilfinger Berger for "hundreds of millions of
dollars."
"We feel they walked off the job without any rationale to do so," he said.
Bilfinger
maintains digging in the tunnels was unsafe.
Maureen Bader, B.C. director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said the
jumps in fees
are due to bad planning.
"Metro Vancouver has been neglecting its infrastructure while taking on
non-core functions
such as recreation. We can't expect taxpayers to get hit with massive
increases. It's not
sustainable," she said.
The rate hikes break down this way:
In 2010, utilities cost $432 for an average household assessed at $600,000:
Water ($190);
sewer and drainage ($162); and garbage ($80).
Metro's finance committee reported last week those same utilities are
projected to cost
$665 in 2015: water ($301); sewer and drainage ($212); and garbage ($152).
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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