Following is my response to a LTE in the 100 Mile Free Press ( which by the way is not monetarily free)
Mr. xxx appears to be making statements without checking some facts.
First, the biggest thing we gained was not monetary, but the right for British Columbia to set their own provincial taxes. If this were left to the Federal government there would be little we could to to hold back any government that wants to tax and spend.
Second, the "enormous amount of money to defeat the tax" is a misstatement at best. The enormous amount of money used was not done by the the "yes " side. It was the government and their big business biddies that spent well over $50 Million to try and save their tax. A tax by the way which has been described as the biggest money shift in BC history.
Switching back using an enormous amount of money, I allege, is a government/business scare tactic. Put more succinctly it is a lie. People need to get the fact through their heads that removing this draconian tax will remove the burden from the middle and lower income people and make business pay closer to their fair share. And taxing the air we breath is not far off. Look at what is happening with our water.
8/26/2011
WE WON!!!!!!!! The HST IS Toast
After two long years listening to a government lie to our faces, an initiative petition, recall (which I maintain no politician wanted to succeed) and a referendum in which a new Premier also lied to us saying she wanted to give us a level playing field and all the spending would be equal, we won. Handily.
Many volunteers gave up personal time and suffered domestic problems yet they forged ahead. Seniors who had been die hard liberals all there lives reactivated themselves in opposition to the BC Liberals robbing them of there meager income.
The people were "mad as hell and weren't going to take it anymore." In spite of a huge infusion of cash by the only ones to benefit from this robbery, big business. In spite of threats by politicians and in particular the bird man of the legislature, in spite of out and out lies to us, we won.
And weeks before the count was official, the government started their spin on the results. Falcon claiming that he wouldn't take the PST off restaurant food. Christ, he's got to be stupid to say that,. Why? Because the question was, are you in favor of eliminating the HST and returning to the system that was used prior to July 1 2009?
Lies like his no doubt affected the outcome. And the big bribe by the premier after saying "it might look like we were trying to bribe the people" She offered to reduce the tax to 10% from 12%. People not following the situation too close may have been appeased by this but it is a total lie. If this robbery were to pass, the Feds would have control over all our taxes and if the feds did not want to reduce them we would be shit out of luck.
So my friends as I see it our next step is to pressure the liberals as hard as we can to turn this tax around. If that means another round of recall, so be it.
After getting this done once and for all, I will be turning to pressuring the governments to step in on the gas prices. I've about had it with those guys as well. We need to have a national organization that will keep the pressure up, not just make noises once in a while. We need to target the oil companies with boycotts.
We have all witnessed what has happened in the middle east and Egypt. And I am convinced that social media was the turning point for the average person fighting the dictators.
I wish to thank all the people of my crew for the valiant effort they put into everything we worked for prior to the referendum. (after the referendum I took a smaller role) I would also like to thank all those who sacrificed time and money to make this day possible. that would be 54.7 % of the voters who voted to get rid of this Tax. It's significant and in spite of BALDREY's ranting this Tax better be gone ASAP or else.
Many volunteers gave up personal time and suffered domestic problems yet they forged ahead. Seniors who had been die hard liberals all there lives reactivated themselves in opposition to the BC Liberals robbing them of there meager income.
The people were "mad as hell and weren't going to take it anymore." In spite of a huge infusion of cash by the only ones to benefit from this robbery, big business. In spite of threats by politicians and in particular the bird man of the legislature, in spite of out and out lies to us, we won.
And weeks before the count was official, the government started their spin on the results. Falcon claiming that he wouldn't take the PST off restaurant food. Christ, he's got to be stupid to say that,. Why? Because the question was, are you in favor of eliminating the HST and returning to the system that was used prior to July 1 2009?
Lies like his no doubt affected the outcome. And the big bribe by the premier after saying "it might look like we were trying to bribe the people" She offered to reduce the tax to 10% from 12%. People not following the situation too close may have been appeased by this but it is a total lie. If this robbery were to pass, the Feds would have control over all our taxes and if the feds did not want to reduce them we would be shit out of luck.
So my friends as I see it our next step is to pressure the liberals as hard as we can to turn this tax around. If that means another round of recall, so be it.
After getting this done once and for all, I will be turning to pressuring the governments to step in on the gas prices. I've about had it with those guys as well. We need to have a national organization that will keep the pressure up, not just make noises once in a while. We need to target the oil companies with boycotts.
We have all witnessed what has happened in the middle east and Egypt. And I am convinced that social media was the turning point for the average person fighting the dictators.
I wish to thank all the people of my crew for the valiant effort they put into everything we worked for prior to the referendum. (after the referendum I took a smaller role) I would also like to thank all those who sacrificed time and money to make this day possible. that would be 54.7 % of the voters who voted to get rid of this Tax. It's significant and in spite of BALDREY's ranting this Tax better be gone ASAP or else.
Let's Get a Few Things Straight Here
I'm listening to Baldrey (chief lapdog for the Libs)
He seems to think that to get rid of the HST and put things back the way they were will take 1-1/2 to 2 years. So lets have a look at that. Just days before the may 2009 Election Campbell and Hansen swore that the HST was not on their horizon. In spite of the fact that they were warned by everyone that the economy was about to tank.
Then just days after the election they announced that they were going to change the tax system (without any consultation with the people) to the HST system. Not only that, they were going to further decrease taxes (which were already near zero) for big business, and dump that burden on the people who elected them and told them pretty much that they could love it or shove it. Now they want to know how they will pay the bills without the HST. For christs sakes just start making business pay their fair share of the burden. Is that so god damn hard to fathom? Take the burden off the backs of the poor and middle income folks. It's so simple. Recall the Legislature and pass legislation to fix the Liberal screwup. It didn't take them long to fuck it up. Why should it take any longer to fix it?
If CC thinks her plan B is to raise the people taxes to cover the loss instead of putting things back the way they were then she is committing political suicide. We still have the option of recall.
If she calls an election before fixing things she will lose.
They were so arrogant they didn't even fight or register to fight the more than 700,000 people of BC who signed a petition to get rid of the money grab. After the unprecedented success of that petition in which a newly appointed TEMPORARY Chief Electoral Officer manged to cancel almost 200,000 signatures they further brought out their big guns (and big money suits) to have the results overturned. Even in the face of a probable defeat in a referendum they forged ahead. Still not listening.
Then came the recall campaign. They twisted the facts to suit their agenda, still not admitting that this was going to hurt some businesses and would not generate jobs as they told us. In fact the jobless rate got worse but they spun that to say it was improving. And prices were going to go down because of the saving to business. What a total crock of shit. The first business owner I talked to (and every one since) said they hadn't had an increase in a while and they would be using their windfall profits on the backs of the people as a virtual increase.
They used smear tactics in the recall campaign. In the case of "How Bad Is The Record?", they pointed to my usage of sometimes fowl language in my posts. That smear went viral but the overwhelming majority of respondents said "so what? He's just voicing what most people think of the situation." They quickly shut their mouths when they saw that backfire. There were numerous requests for interviews but I just ignored them. Why? Well first off they were trying to set me up and I don't play that god damn game. Secondly, I don't believe for one second that Terry Lake happened to find my blog all by himself as he professed. I happen to have a tracker here and I know exactly when the spooks in Victoria visit my site. Most bloggers have the same.
They were wrong in everything they did. Campbell resigned over it and some people in the movement thought that was good enough. It wasn't.
Now as we await the results of the referendum Clark has a plan B and Baldrey thinks he knows all (as usual).
I believe that Baldrey should actually spend time in the trenches away from his pals in government and he may get a real perspective on matters in the province. Lets have him get in to real investigative reporting instead of pimping the party line. In fact that could go for 99.9% of the reporters in the BC mainstream Media. Stop the spin and report the facts.
We used to have a beautiful province here. In the past 10 years we have gone from real work in the leg to basically no work at all. My next cause would be to get the people together again and have legislation in place to have the Legislature sit a minimum of 70% of the working days in this province. Lets stop the photo ops and bullshit that is now spewing from Victoria. Get the fucking job done and stop pissing around.
That's my rant for today. And now I'd like to take time to thank Bill Van der Zalm , Bill Tieleman, Chris Delaney, Cheryl Baron, their crews, all the area captains and their volunteers, (that's right, volunteers not paid lackies) that brought us to today regardless of the outcome later today. They did a masterful job with the help of the average joe. I'd especially like to thank the volunteers in the Cariboo Chilcotin without whose tireless efforts we could not have progressed as far as we did.
He seems to think that to get rid of the HST and put things back the way they were will take 1-1/2 to 2 years. So lets have a look at that. Just days before the may 2009 Election Campbell and Hansen swore that the HST was not on their horizon. In spite of the fact that they were warned by everyone that the economy was about to tank.
Then just days after the election they announced that they were going to change the tax system (without any consultation with the people) to the HST system. Not only that, they were going to further decrease taxes (which were already near zero) for big business, and dump that burden on the people who elected them and told them pretty much that they could love it or shove it. Now they want to know how they will pay the bills without the HST. For christs sakes just start making business pay their fair share of the burden. Is that so god damn hard to fathom? Take the burden off the backs of the poor and middle income folks. It's so simple. Recall the Legislature and pass legislation to fix the Liberal screwup. It didn't take them long to fuck it up. Why should it take any longer to fix it?
If CC thinks her plan B is to raise the people taxes to cover the loss instead of putting things back the way they were then she is committing political suicide. We still have the option of recall.
If she calls an election before fixing things she will lose.
They were so arrogant they didn't even fight or register to fight the more than 700,000 people of BC who signed a petition to get rid of the money grab. After the unprecedented success of that petition in which a newly appointed TEMPORARY Chief Electoral Officer manged to cancel almost 200,000 signatures they further brought out their big guns (and big money suits) to have the results overturned. Even in the face of a probable defeat in a referendum they forged ahead. Still not listening.
Then came the recall campaign. They twisted the facts to suit their agenda, still not admitting that this was going to hurt some businesses and would not generate jobs as they told us. In fact the jobless rate got worse but they spun that to say it was improving. And prices were going to go down because of the saving to business. What a total crock of shit. The first business owner I talked to (and every one since) said they hadn't had an increase in a while and they would be using their windfall profits on the backs of the people as a virtual increase.
They used smear tactics in the recall campaign. In the case of "How Bad Is The Record?", they pointed to my usage of sometimes fowl language in my posts. That smear went viral but the overwhelming majority of respondents said "so what? He's just voicing what most people think of the situation." They quickly shut their mouths when they saw that backfire. There were numerous requests for interviews but I just ignored them. Why? Well first off they were trying to set me up and I don't play that god damn game. Secondly, I don't believe for one second that Terry Lake happened to find my blog all by himself as he professed. I happen to have a tracker here and I know exactly when the spooks in Victoria visit my site. Most bloggers have the same.
They were wrong in everything they did. Campbell resigned over it and some people in the movement thought that was good enough. It wasn't.
Now as we await the results of the referendum Clark has a plan B and Baldrey thinks he knows all (as usual).
I believe that Baldrey should actually spend time in the trenches away from his pals in government and he may get a real perspective on matters in the province. Lets have him get in to real investigative reporting instead of pimping the party line. In fact that could go for 99.9% of the reporters in the BC mainstream Media. Stop the spin and report the facts.
We used to have a beautiful province here. In the past 10 years we have gone from real work in the leg to basically no work at all. My next cause would be to get the people together again and have legislation in place to have the Legislature sit a minimum of 70% of the working days in this province. Lets stop the photo ops and bullshit that is now spewing from Victoria. Get the fucking job done and stop pissing around.
That's my rant for today. And now I'd like to take time to thank Bill Van der Zalm , Bill Tieleman, Chris Delaney, Cheryl Baron, their crews, all the area captains and their volunteers, (that's right, volunteers not paid lackies) that brought us to today regardless of the outcome later today. They did a masterful job with the help of the average joe. I'd especially like to thank the volunteers in the Cariboo Chilcotin without whose tireless efforts we could not have progressed as far as we did.
7/24/2011
Is The HST Referendum Being Manipulated By The Government?
I have been saying it for months now. And now:
Bob Mackin has a piece in the Tyee on the manipulation of the voting process with the HST Referendum.
It seems a top aid to Campbell is in the mix and the Freedom of Information response is heavily redacted.
And while you are at it have a look over at BC Mary's place to see her comparisons of the News Of The World and our own local (lack of responsible) media. .
Seems as well that we "conspiracy theorists"aren't alone. A well known retired journalists has been giving us lessons on what questions the media should be asking of the government. When you hear it from someone as experienced and respected as Harvey Oberfeld it kind of puts water on the fire of some local lapdog journalists in the Mainstream Media
Bob Mackin has a piece in the Tyee on the manipulation of the voting process with the HST Referendum.
It seems a top aid to Campbell is in the mix and the Freedom of Information response is heavily redacted.
And while you are at it have a look over at BC Mary's place to see her comparisons of the News Of The World and our own local (lack of responsible) media. .
Seems as well that we "conspiracy theorists"aren't alone. A well known retired journalists has been giving us lessons on what questions the media should be asking of the government. When you hear it from someone as experienced and respected as Harvey Oberfeld it kind of puts water on the fire of some local lapdog journalists in the Mainstream Media
7/19/2011
Hit List Of Items Previously Exempt From PST
From Fight HST
The “Real” Fight HST Hit List
Here is a list of the items previously exempt from PST that will now have HST applied to them at 7% additional.- Accounting
- Admission Fees
- Advertising
- Airline tickets
- Animal feeds (hay is exempt)
- Appliance repair & maintenance
- Architects
- Art Galleries Admission
- Attractions / Events
- Ballet Lessons
- Basic Cable TV
- Bicycles
- Campgrounds
- Cigarettes / Cigars
- Catering
- Chinese medicine
- Clothing –adult sized children
- Clothing – used adult (less than $100)
- Coffee shops
- Commercial Leases
- Compost
- Computer servicing
- Concert Tickets
- Condo management fees
- Consulting services
- Conveyance fees
- Delivery Services
- Dietary supplements
- Dry cleaning
- Driving Range fees
- Electronics repair
- Energy equipment
- Esthetician Services
- Fast food – Beverages
- Fire extinguishers
- First aid kits
- Fishing charters
- Fitness Club memberships
- Fitness Trainers
- Food producing trees and plants
- Freight (in BC)
- Funeral services
- Golf fees
- Grass Cutting
- Hair cuts
- Hall rental
- Health equipment
- Helmets
- Hockey tickets
- Hockey rink rentals
- Home appraisals
- Home inspections
- Home maintenance
- Home renovations (Labour)
- Horse Boarding
- Horse Shows
- Horse riding lessons
- House Cleaning services
- Insulation
- Interior design services
- Investment Counseling fees
- Landscaping
- Life jackets
- Limousine rentals
- Magazines/ newspapers
- Marketing services
- Massage therapy
- Membership fees
- Moorage
- Museum admissions
- Movies / Theatre
- Moving Costs
- Music MP3 downloads
- Naturopathy
- New Homes (some rebates applicable)
- Nicotine replacements
- Non-prescription meds
- Painting
- Parking
- Photography
- Postage
- Private Bus fares
- Printing
- Rail travel (originating in BC)
- Real estate fees
- Reflexology
- Rentals for Weddings, Canopy, Tuxedo etc.
- Reroofing House
- Restaurant meals
- RV parks
- Safety equipment (Not all safety and Energy Equipment is affected)
- School supplies
- Shoe repairs
- Skiing
- Smoke detectors
- Snow removal
- Solar power
- Some groceries
- Spa services
- Sports Training / Lessons
- Storage lockers
- Tailoring
- Taxi fares
- Telephone (Basic Charge for landlines will be affected)
- Theatre admissions
- Veterinarian
- Video downloads
- Vitamins
- Wedding Planner
- Windows (energy star)
- Rentals / Strata fees (Though they are HST exempt, most people will notice increases brought on by an increase in maintenance costs and other costs associated with owning Rental and Strata properties)
- Used cars / trucks / boats / non-turbine aircraft (Private Sale will have an additional 5% tax, it is not called HST)
Something Fishy With The HST Ballot Returns
From the Globe and Mail
Elections BC’s collection centre for HST ballots in the city of Vancouver is centrally located – across the street from city hall, down the road from Vancouver General Hospital and a block away from a Canada Line subway station.
The referendum may have been hotly contested but you’d never know it at the collection centre. At noon on Monday, the office was empty........[snip]
Further to this, I have been getting reports of only one ballot being sent to a residence where multiple eligible voters live.
If you have not received your Ballot please call Elections BC at 1-800-661-8683 This is the voter registration office. Call to make sure you are registered.. If you are registered and there are no errors then request a ballot be sent to your address. If they say you are not registered, yet you voted in the last Provincial election (May 14,2009) then you must dispute their information. There may be discrepancies in the information they have for you which might cause the delay. Correct any faults and have them mail you a ballot today.
There are too many variables in this ballot that can cause it to fail. I allege that these variables were put in place to sabotage this vote. Certainly Clarks claim about having a level playing field in this campaign went out the window in a hurry. $5 Million+ for the No side and $250,000 for the people on the YES side.
VOTE YES TO EXTINGUISH (GET RID OF) THE HST
Elections BC’s collection centre for HST ballots in the city of Vancouver is centrally located – across the street from city hall, down the road from Vancouver General Hospital and a block away from a Canada Line subway station.
The referendum may have been hotly contested but you’d never know it at the collection centre. At noon on Monday, the office was empty........[snip]
Further to this, I have been getting reports of only one ballot being sent to a residence where multiple eligible voters live.
If you have not received your Ballot please call Elections BC at 1-800-661-8683 This is the voter registration office. Call to make sure you are registered.. If you are registered and there are no errors then request a ballot be sent to your address. If they say you are not registered, yet you voted in the last Provincial election (May 14,2009) then you must dispute their information. There may be discrepancies in the information they have for you which might cause the delay. Correct any faults and have them mail you a ballot today.
There are too many variables in this ballot that can cause it to fail. I allege that these variables were put in place to sabotage this vote. Certainly Clarks claim about having a level playing field in this campaign went out the window in a hurry. $5 Million+ for the No side and $250,000 for the people on the YES side.
VOTE YES TO EXTINGUISH (GET RID OF) THE HST
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