Fuschi’s Canadian Forum

No, really…did we actually expect that McGuinty meant lower liquor prices? He promised a benign HST - with only a slightly screwed up face - with the reassurance that all the manufacturers who were about to save billions in input costs, would gladly hand those savings to us. (Even federal minister Jim Prentice assured me that this fairy tale would indeed come true.) But, did we really expect him to use that strategy on liquor sales? Did we believe that the man who misled voters on over 200 different issues during his first election, was going to hand money back to the taxpayer he has conspired to torture, since then?

And surely, it must have been easy for the guy who has already spanked us repeatedly (by gratuitously banning everything from pit bulls to weed spray) to justify higher rather than lower liquor prices, in order to keep us from deteriorating into a society of reprobates. Theoretically, he might say, prices should be lower because of the government’s brilliant economic performance, but we fear that the average voter is a step away from alcoholic oblivion, (it is becoming more likely under McGuinty’s rule) and it is our duty to keep a tight rein on prices.

But if that strategy works with alcohol, will it not be just as useful elsewhere? Can we not anticipate the following announcements?

Thanks to the HST, (continued economic turmoil would be the real reason) gasoline prices have fallen. However, the McGuinty government has instituted a self-sufficiency tax to ensure that the lower prices do not lead to increased consumption and deterioration of our environment.

Electricity consumption has dropped dramatically, (it will when prices become outrageous, as they will) thereby jeopardizing the economic viability of Ontario’s power generation. The McGuinty government will act aggressively with an electric maintenance tax to maintain a floor on prices to ensure future delivery of electric energy.

How about; The Mcguinty government has bravely led the way in the spirit of our ancestors, to make the sacrifices necessary to return Ontario to its position of prominence in Canada. In the spirit of equal sacrifice for all, a land use tax will accrue to the HST levied on future burial sites.

Remember that the theory of lower prices resulting from decreased business costs, depends on the health of individual manufacturers, and the nature of their competition. At this time, both of these are questionable motivators. What is not questionable is the terrible example presented by the McGuinty government, which has made the bold statement that they intend to mug us for our own good.

Answer to comments: I would still have given Prentice more credit than McGuinty. I know that in spite of the damage, the HST is a logical measure. However, the damage is the reality, and Prentice’s statements were party boilerplate. I felt demoralized that the federal Conservatives for whom I have sacrificed myself electorally, three times in five years, could reassure me in no better way. I expected that much from McGuinty who is a straw man of little substance, but I expected more from our federal Conservatives who are abandoning us to McGuinty’s rapine.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 23rd, 2010 at 12:46 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.