EyeBrock EyeBrock:
You don't know me at all Derby.
I'm open to new ideas. I'd even consider the provincial NDP if they had a decent platform. Hudak doesn't seem to want to strip me of cash like Dalton has. Even the Greens might be an option.
As I've mentioned on other threads, people like Rob Ford in TO have recognised that the public are pissed off with the same old shite from our provincial and municipal leaders. Smitherman is just more of the same and so are Dalton's Libs.
I will consider options and vote accordingly. I doubt Dalton's platform will change enough for me to vote Liberal in 2011 but if it does, he'll get my vote.
I don't sense the same poiltical open mind in your posts.
Funny, I don't see that at all in you. Saying "the least shite guy in a bunch of shite guys" doesn't scream open minded.
I have voted PC and NDP provincially and so far Dalton has been better then they have. Dalton isn't stripping you of cash, he is paying for your services, much of which you get for free.
My lab did 50 million in unbilled lab work this year for Ontarians as did the other big labs. We have been doing that for many years now and that number is scheduled to rise. That health care premium quite frankly prevented that number from being much higher and quite possibly causing labs to leave the province (as MDS was close to doing a few years ago) thus creating a dire hole in lab testing services. Capped billing means that most health services end up doing free work for Ontarians one way or another. The premium helped alleviate that.
I support that premium because I have professional knowledge that it did a great deal to help improve health care in Ontario in many places and preventing a deterioration of services in others. That your town specifically did not get a new hospital (mine did) is not the point because you still receive more health care then your personal taxes pay for.
I support the HST for much the same reason in that we are running a deficit, a deficit the PCs foisted on us. This will help and quite frankly we are not taxed badly in Ontario and I pay a higher % of my wage to taxes then you on account that I don't receive baby bonus checks nor child tax credits or any of the other family friendly tax cuts. I don't begrudge people those family tax cuts but frankly I think you make a good enough wage to support you and your family as it is unless you are hiding a gambling problem.
Your kids are about the same age I was when my dad was in the military and working weekends on a potato farm to make ends meet so unless you are being forced to moonlight working the door at a night club I don't think you have any reason to complain about taxes. If things are that tough then perhaps you should relocate to a different province. I know I would if I felt I was being overtaxed.
Now you can claim my support of Dalton is just plain old bias because I like the Libs but I'll say the same thing I've said before. Virtually all of my political postings have been federal and I can back my vote up based entirely on the issues. I don't donate to the Liberal party because they don't support my views and unlike some of my fellow Libs on this very forum I don't oppose cooperation/coalition with the NDP and Greens. In other words my vote can easily end up in all but 1 party and I can give you the exact issue based reasons why I won't vote for them.
I voted for Dalton because he ran a great campaign and his stances fit with mine. The Prov Libs haven't always been liberal though which is why I haven't always voted for them but so far I see no reason (beyond the ehealth waste) to support another party.
I see myself every bit as open minded as you see yourself, I'm just not as jaded about politicians as you seem to be.