How much more evidence do we need to prove that the HST in British Columbia is a complete and total bust, the food industry, tourism, entertainment industry all reeling and what about retail sales......
Stats Canada has come out with its latest report on consumer spending in retail and guess what.....
"B.C. has the largest decline in retail sales year over year"
B.C. retail sales have declined year over year, not the lowest increase but a net loss, BC is down over 1% year over year in retail sales by contrast the Province of Alberta had a year over year 5.5% increase in retail sales, how many of those sales went to BCers crossing over the border, in the Northeast part of the Province, our border towns all saw a major flood of shoppers heading east and heading south to spend their Canadian dollars....
BCs employment numbers are down, year over year BC has lost 40,000 jobs, no prices have fallen, companies are not hiring new employees, big industry has not lowered prices by one dime in fact prices are up and BC leads Canada in inflation on energy, food, fuels, goods and services, here in BC we have the highest unemployment rate in Canada next to the Maritimes who have had the HST since 1996!!!!....How come Atlantic Canada isn`t the corporate headquarters of Canada, how come the Maritimes hasn`t got the lowest unemployment rate....
The truth is the HST is a fraud, unproven right wing stink tank ideology, no facts, no proof just spin and lies about wait 10 years to see positive HST results...HA...Can you imagine any corporation doing anything that they wouldn`t see results for at least a decade, it wouldn`t happen.....
Can someone with connected brain cells tell me why Alberta retail sales year over year are up 5.5% and British Columbia had a 1% drop?
The highest food prices in Canada in BC...The highest energy prices...The highest housing costs...The lowest minimum wage in Canada even after the May/1/2011 increase....The highest tuition in Canada....
And we BCers are not just heading east to Alberta, with the at par dollar, cheaper fuel, cheaper food and services and retail goods just across the line has driven Canadians in droves to Bellingham, in fact Canadian traffic is up nearly 40%...I have met many people in the last week who live in Surrey and the Fraser Valley who are traveling once a week to fill up their cars and trucks with US gasoline, my one brother in law saves 70$ dollars on one fill up of his truck, his wife, my sister saves 35$ on her car, once a week for their family to save $100 dollars, that will almost pay for a week`s grocery bill....
So what we have is BCs big industry not hiring but laying off employees, any investment by big industry in BC in technology doesn`t create jobs but eliminate them, that`s the one item that ticks me off, stooge Governments and greedy corporations pad each other`s seat, industry asks for a tax cut with the promise of reinvesting and more jobs but in most cases big upgrades in new plants result in modernization, robotics and job losses, corporations and Government have a word for that, it`s called productivity, to produce a set amount of goods with X amount of labour, here in Canada we rank almost last, to jump to first we need to produce more goods with less labour, so when I hear these buzz words like the need to increase productivity, quantitative easing, austerity measures.....The real meaning of those words and phrases are....Layoff employees....Print money and devalue the currency...Renege on every promise Government made, .....In other words we give tax breaks to corporations to slash their workforce through "increased productivity"
I was watching Charlie Rose on PBS the other night and he had on as a guest Charlie Wrangle(A Democratic Senator in the USA)....The interview was boring but Charlie Wrangle said something that rang true to me....He said and I quote....
"We are at high risk of being the first generation of lawmakers and Government to create an underclass"
Charlie was responding to a question from Charlie Rose about..."Where are the jobs"
What Charlie wrangle was referring to.....Tens of millions of Americans are jobless, successive Governments have allowed the corporation to flee to slave labour lands, the race to the bottom, with natural increased productivity, with slave labour available by the billions, with tax loopholes, robotics, there are no jobs to give these people, a jobless recovery, the first one in history, the corporate warlords of greed have learned to thrive and prosper while millions and millions go without, Harper`s undisclosed corporate tax cuts in this latest budget, 10`s of billions of dollars per year, who knows how much the real number is, Harper has refused to come clean, big business is flush with cash and we give them more, the lowest corporate tax rate in the G20...Meanwhile most Canadians are drowning in debt...
Teachers, police, unions, all unions, I hope the masses awaken soon, we are in the midst of the last final assault by the Robber barons, the Bilderbergs, corporate takeover, capitalism like the game of monopoly has but one outcome, someone devours all...Meanwhile the sheeple just blindly wander dazed and confused clueless to their surroundings.
Where was I.....Tourism is reeling, the food industry is on the ropes with 700 food joints to be shuttered by July, families, parents even seniors are going without, buying on line, buying in Alberta and heading south, big industry despite record commodity prices refuse to pass on a red cent of savings to any consumer.....
CKNW Sam the scam is an old tired fool who is clueless, Jack Mintz is a lying sack of shit, the Fraser institute are a right wing spin machine with zero data to prove the HST does a damn thing for the people, CD Howe, every study was flawed, Atlantic Canada`s HST.....The lying sacks of garbage love to cite numbers from Atlantic Canada, I am one more time going to explain to our useless lying politicians and pieces of garbage named Sam and Jack Mintz about Atlantic Canada`s HST...
In 1996 Atlantic Canada had two taxes...They had the 7% GST as did the rest of Canada....They also had a 12% PST(Provincial sales tax)....Combined it totaled 19%.....To lure Atlantic Canada into accepting a HST combined tax they lowered the Provincial tax(PST) by 4 percentage points....After they accepted the HST their combined tax rate was lowered to 15%....A 4 point drop....Here in BC nothing of the sort is or has happened, here in BC taxes went up on everything, on labour, new housing, all services, vitamins, school supplies etc etc etc...
And even when one studies the Atlantic Canada HST...Housing prices rose in price after they harmonized, energy prices rose, services and labour costs all rose for the public and retail......Drum roll please.....
Even after the combined tax rate was lowered by a staggering 4 percentage points retail prices fell a mere 0.8 percent on SOME items while a whole range of other costs rose....Where did the other 3.2% in savings go...
British Columbia is a resource exporting Province, our main customers are the USA and Asia, in other words the $2 billion dollar yearly tax shift benefits exporting companies, forget the one time $1.6 billion dollar bribe, forget about paying Ottawa back, both the Federal Government and big industry have soaked up the largesse courtesy of the beleaguered taxpayer...
The talk from big industry about raising wages for workers because of the HST...Another sick joke, Teck Cominco has record profits, billions and billions in profits yet they refuse to give disposable workers a fair shake, Sparwood coal mine is now on strike, the workers requests have been all but rejected
What will it take, how many more people will leave BC for greener pastures, how many more workers to be laid off, how low do retail sales have to fall before a stubborn brain dead Government reacts, job losses, the highest price increases in Canada, the biggest year over year drop in retail sales numbers....With fuel spiking just in time for the driving season, food inflation going through the roof, companies not hiring, tolls, user fees, property taxes, hydro rates, tuition rates, prepare my friends, British Columbia is falling into a full blown home made BC Liberal recession..
Gordon Campbell and the mindless, spineless trough sucking BC Liberal stooges have destroyed BC`s economy and if Christy Cluck Cluck Clark has any connected brain cells she would cancel the HST referendum, call the Legislature and remove the HST pronto....And if she doesn`t she will be Governing a dead last in Canada Province!
UPDATED HERE...More proof the HST is a bust...Despite Shaw TV being able to claim all those HST credits they announced 500 layoffs today, including hundreds from BC, where are those jobs Christy Clark, Well Gordon Liar Campbell, what do you say Ferret face Colin Hansen....Can you explain these layoffs Jack Mintz!......According to the Shaw executives, the layoffs have come about after a recent review on how to become more efficient and increase "productivity"....Maybe one day the masses will wake up....Increased productivity, code word for layoffs.
The Straight Goods
Cheers Eyes Wide Open
15 comments:
Grant, the BC Liberals can see the writing on the wall and any responsible government would take drastic action to reverse this downward spiral (or should I say black hole)that BC is being sucked into thanks to the BC liberals. Therein lies the catch, the BC Liberals aren't responsible government, they are corporate controlled scum that instead of using the resources of the Province to benefit the citizens, are instead increasing the give away of the resources for virtually nothing to their corporate masters and saying to the citizens of BC, "at the current pace Healthcare, Education, Hydro and everything else is unsustainable, we have to privatize everything" and at the same time doing it on the back of the same citizens while the Corporations pay nothing and record record profits year over year. Hey Christy,newsflash, the resouces of the province should be for the benefit of the citizens not the Corporation's astronomical profits. If you really believe the bullshit you're saying about how much you care about BC families, tell these parasites that if they can't create jobs and contribute to the welfare of the citizens of the province instead of sucking it dry, then F*** O**! We don't need them here! I won't hold my breath on that one. It's enough to make me puke.
But, but, but, Grant G, the HST is GOOD for you and me - King Gordo the Thug, Huggies Hansen, Bill Boring, et al SAY SO, and SAY SO, and SAY SO; )but never give any examples of lower prices.)
We must trust our political masters, who truly do know what is best for us ignorant peasants.
Wonderfull!JonH. And to you Grant G.Best wishes to you .
It is too late to do anything about the HST, sad to say. The cost to try to bring back the PST would further erode merchants profitability.
I don't give a damn about the costco's or Wallmarts, they can absorb a change, but the mom & pop businesses out their can't.
But this was the scam all along, Campbell knew this, Falcon knew this, and cluck-cluck knows this.
To prevent the BC Liberal party from splitting in two, Campbell was forced to commit political Harri-Kari and now BC has Cluck-cluck Clark as premier. One think the Clucklehead Clark knows how to do is lie as lying is a prerequisite of all Federal Liberals. Clark is lying about the HST referendum because her government will ignore it, the HST has been in too long and it will be kept in place; "FOR THE GOOD OF THE PROVINCE".
Wait for it, the federal election will diminish any appetite for a HST referendum and the large time span between the HST implementation and referendum will erode public support.
Sadly the public have other fish to fry, like making money to pay the bills.
Tonight, the line up to go to Point Roberts from Tsawwassen, extends to 6th Ave. or just over 1 km. long, and this to save $30 on gas and perhaps another $30 on groceries.
That's the real story about the BC economy.
crusty clac was booed and people were chanting liar at the white caps season opener,yet no reference was made of this on any news program,don't you think we should have the right to know about this, how silly of me, we don't even have a right to know what happened to our railway.
It saddens me to say it Dr. Evil.....
Perhaps you are right, the media have slunk, sunk so low it`s beyond pathetic, Clark has been getting booed everywhere and no media will report it, sadly even the last pollster I had any respect for just vanished too...
Mario Canseco is now spinning for the BC Liberals through phony polling...
His latest poll(today)..Canseco states that the ....
"BC Liberals have a 5% lead on the NDP ..The Liberals lead in METRO Vancouver, Vancouver Island and the North, the NDP lead in the interior"
Gimmee an effing break Mario Canseco, there is no way in hell the BC Liberals lead on Vancouver island, there is not one NDP Vancouver island held riding in jeopardy of turning red and most of the 4 Liberal held ridings will most likely turn orange...
I don`t care what Canseco`s overall numbers are but I ain`t drinking that Kool Aid...
In fact something happened in the last few months from Angus Reid polls, Mario Canseco turned into more of a BC Liberal pundit than a honest pollster...
Someone got to Canseco...Mario is playing the {Repeat a lie often enough and eventually it becomes truth}game...
Canseco has turned into a con man, period!
I would say the same thing if a pollster said the NDP were leading abbotsford or Quilchena..
I don`t know who the pollsters are calling...
IF IT DOESN`T MAKE SENSE IT ISN`T TRUE...
The BC Liberals leading on Vancouver island...Now that`s rich!
The BC Liberals are not representing our Canadian values. Where is our identity? Why do we allow politicians like Christy Clark into the halls of power? She has no integrity or intentions to work for the people of BC. This province cannot be a leader in Canada with ideas that do nothing but assault the environment and the working people.
The sooner we get rid of an unelected premier, the better. She does not represent 99% of this province.
The very simple fact of the HST is two billion more of "our" dollars go to pay corporate taxes.
None of it goes to anything else!
We are then in essence suckers!
Don
Grant, me thinks the Liberals are peeing their pants right now. After 5 years on the radio and a rah-rah (MSM hype) Liberal convention and the Liberals can manage only a 5% lead over a leaderless NDP, does not speak well for the Clucklehead.
Wait till the NDP grill her over BC Rail and the Liberal right-wing abandon the BC Liberals for the Conservatives, Clucklehead will start to fade.
All the Bill Goods and all the Palmer/Baldrys types will not be able help the Clucklehead to win the next election.
Clucklehead has too many Liberal ghosts advising her and the public will vote accordingly.
I know I'm pretty much preaching to the converted, but I think that it bears repeating the facts about the scam known as the HST. It has transferred $1.9 billion of taxation from business to citizens per year. No matter how anyone tries to spin the bull, that works out to an average tax increase of $475 per person, per year, based on our current population of about 4 million people.
Next we are told by our BC Liberal government that 1.1 million people are getting HST rebates to ease the negative effects of the HST on their finances. First of all, that is a disgraceful admission by our government that roughly one-quarter of the people in BC are surviving on next to poverty levels. The real story here is that the pain of the HST is really being spread over three-quarters of BC's population. That increases the tax bite in the range of $630 for each person that does not qualify for any relief.
Logic dictates that if one's purchasing power is reduced by $630 per year on a tax, one will eventually not be able spend this amount on goods and services in the local economy. What makes matters worse is that many don't realize the erosion on their purchasing power until it's too late. The HST is like a stealth tax, a nickel here, a dime there on most day to day purchases. Barely noticeable until the credit card statements come rolling in. All of a sudden the person has to make a choice of paying the statement off in full, leaving less money to spend next month, or pay only part of the balance and delay the inevitable, which is a cash-flow problem. Eventually one must make a decision, go deeper in debt and make the banking sector richer, or curtail spending and try to keep one's head above water.
No matter how you slice it, the HST may be a boon to those businesses that export goods, but will be the death knell of the small businesses that depend on local people purchasing their goods and services. And this doesn't even broach the effects of the inflation we are now seeing in the prices of food, clothing and petroleum products due to events that have transpired in other parts of the world.
If BC was compared to the game of Snakes and Ladders, the board would be adorned with many snakes and a few ladders devoid of rungs.
Cam
The BC Liberals work for Harper's Global Governance plot. Google: Harper delivers plan of, Global Governance. Everyone present, were deeply shocked by his speech. The Global Government will be, the wealthy corporations.
On the House of Commons TV channel. I saw a motion pass, by the ENTIRE House. The motion was to give, banks, mines, huge corporations, gas and oil company's, billions of our tax dollars. Big business have huge tax reductions. Harper just gave the wealthiest outfits in the world, another tax reduction. This reduction is coming off Canadians paychecks.
Is everyone now seeing this? People don't matter to wealthy corporations, they want the assets and natural resources money, and, they want the power. What assets and resources Campbell thieved, benefited the BC people? None, only big business did.
You would have to be a gormless idiot, not to see the HST has killed this province. The HST was designed for big business, and for them only. Harper has control of, all of the other provinces HST too. Campbell, Hansen and Harper, colluded on the HST, before the BC election. The HST was FORCED onto the people. We knew the HST would kill us, and so did Campbell, Hansen and Harper.
Harper said, the Global Governance plan, has been worked on, since 1945. This was right after, Hitler's plan for a thousand year Reich, which would also govern the world. The everyday German people, didn't wake up either, until it was far too late.
Are people not seeing? Our Constitution is ignored. Our Civil Rights and Liberties, have been taken away from us. Democracy and Freedom, what in the hell is that? I certainly haven't seen that around, for quite some time. We are being thieved from, our tax dollars are being given to the big boys. In BC, pretty much everything is taxed. If you think this country is broke? The hell it is. Is it not strange, because of an election? I'll be dammed, if Canada isn't that much in debt. Harper found some money. Anyone voting for Harper, has rocks in their heads.
Christy Clark, has a Conservative strategist working for her. Campbell and the BC Liberals, work for Harper. Hmmm? Do we have two Conservative parties in BC?
As a senior living on my own. I just received a call. My house insurance, just went up another $100. I have already sold my car, the insurance went up, and BC has the highest gasoline prices. When the hydro goes up to 50%, and heat has already gone up. Food costs are going up 7% and probably more they said. I have no idea what to do. Rent has gone way up too, it would be more than my mortgage. I guess Campbell meant, BC is the best place to live, if you are wealthy. If you are poor, you lose everything you have.
@3:33 pm...I feel for you sir/madame...
Call your friends, the silver tsunami still has the power of the vote...It`s for you and millions like you that I fight the good fight..
Yea sometimes I express myself in radical terms...
But believe me, it`s the seniors and baby boomers in the civilized world that are under assault..
World war III is here..
Hmmm, Civilized world...I`m worried that phrase will never be used again on my blog..
Civilized world....Gone!
Cheers Eyes Wide Open
what is the answer? vote for this guy vote for that guy they are all the same. Time for a revolution? and then what? the same old tune of liars with a personal agenda leading us to another doomsday scenario. what we are witnessing here via the mass media with instant communication is how the world of humans has always operated. The rich take all until it breaks and then the revolution comes and a new rich appear to do the same thing all over again! again and again and again...decade after decade; century after century; millenium after millenium...ad nauseaum...it is the human way and cannot be changed. accept it. we are all slaves to something or someone or both. It simply will not change no matter how much we scream "I have had enuf and I am not going to take it anymore". Call it simply "life" which as we all know is a bitch and then you die.
I feel sorry for you William...
You are one of those people who say...
"If rape is inevitable you might as well lay down and enjoy it"
I have a different thing to say..
"The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few"...From Spock in the Wrath of Khan..
Good Day
Post a Comment