[sweetlou]

Dougie's still doing the media rounds this morning whining about this fundraiser. The guy's unbearable! I think he gets under my skin more so than Rob.

The last few Doug-free months have been a breath of fresh air. Suddenly it feels like the blackflies have come early.

 

[Jimmi T]

The last few Doug-free months have been a breath of fresh air. Suddenly it feels like the blackflies have come early.

He's going to be around a long time I'm afraid. I think he could easily win a seat in the next federal or provincial elections. And he'll refuse to be a quiet backbencher. He'll be meddling in Toronto's affairs for several years to come.

 

[pud99]

 

[Jimmi T]

I think Doug thinks this is him showing "the people" who the real John Tory is, like he said so many times during the campaign.

 

[zang]

Having seen the latest sunshine list I think most cops just pass the time doing as little as possible so nothing gets in the way of their sweet paid duty money.
http://www.thestar.com/news/city_ha...police-workforce-earned-100000-last-year.html

And the only thing that's going to 'pick up' will be the additional hours and overtime during the Pan Am Games.

Okay, two things:

It irks me that people complain about paid duty. Imagine if your boss said to you, "The law requires that in certain instances, people with your specialization (Engineer, Safety Inspector, etc.) are legally required to be on site. You'll mostly be paid to stand around, but your expertise is there to make sure nobody does anything stupid. So, they can hire you for a few extra hours a week beyond what you normally work and we will bill them for your wages for that time, minimum 3 hours at $68/hr."

The public doesn't pay for that extra police overtime.

Second:

The sunshine list minimum has not changed since its introduction in 1996. $100,000 in '96 dollars is $142,000 in 2015 dollars. $100,000 in 2015 dollars is $70,000 in 1996 dollars. I suppose it's been brilliant for conservatives that there was never any allowance for growth of cost-of-living and inflation in general. It's had the effect of making it look like more people are "rich" when their wages have just simply followed the rate of inflation. The government always has an obligation to set an example for fair wages (there's a reason the minimum wage is called "minimum wage" and not "fair wage"), and thus pays its employees *fairly*.

What kills me is that no one's bothered to factor the Sunshine List for inflation, and (as with those who complain about "union bloat") no one ever says, "why aren't *I* earning that/getting those benefits? We're happy to sit getting paid shit and complaining about those who don't—while companies make record profits—and never asking why our wages aren't changing. If you want to complain about something, complain that middle class private wages have remained stagnant for decades. The government is setting an example for fair wages calculated for inflation and cost of living, and the private sector has been allowed to completely act like inflation and cost of living *never* increase.

 

[animatronic]

Okay, two things:

It irks me that people complain about paid duty. Imagine if your boss said to you, "The law requires that in certain instances, people with your specialization (Engineer, Safety Inspector, etc.) are legally required to be on site. You'll mostly be paid to stand around, but your expertise is there to make sure nobody does anything stupid. So, they can hire you for a few extra hours a week beyond what you normally work and we will bill them for your wages for that time, minimum 3 hours at $68/hr."

The public doesn't pay for that extra police overtime.

Second:

The sunshine list minimum has not changed since its introduction in 1996. $100,000 in '96 dollars is $142,000 in 2015 dollars. $100,000 in 2015 dollars is $70,000 in 1996 dollars. I suppose it's been brilliant for conservatives that there was never any allowance for growth of cost-of-living and inflation in general. It's had the effect of making it look like more people are "rich" when their wages have just simply followed the rate of inflation. The government always has an obligation to set an example for fair wages (there's a reason the minimum wage is called "minimum wage" and not "fair wage"), and thus pays its employees *fairly*.

What kills me is that no one's bothered to factor the Sunshine List for inflation, and (as with those who complain about "union bloat") no one ever says, "why aren't *I* earning that/getting those benefits? We're happy to sit getting paid shit and complaining about those who don't—while companies make record profits—and never asking why our wages aren't changing. If you want to complain about something, complain that middle class private wages have remained stagnant for decades. The government is setting an example for fair wages calculated for inflation and cost of living, and the private sector has been allowed to completely act like inflation and cost of living *never* increase.

Agreed that the sunshine list should be indexed.

Disagree that paid duty doesn't impact taxpayers. It's getting better but a lot of the paid duty gigs are still funded by the municipal, provincial and federal governments in support of public activities. $68/hr does not cover the true cost of a constable, once you factor in insurance and liability, equipment etc... We need to keep a larger police force on payroll to support the activities and we are on the hook if they get injured or killed while moonlighting.

 

[Lucinda]

-- Re: Tory won't help the Ford brothers --

As if Tory needs any other reason, Ford designated propogandist Neil Flagg has pivoted his "I Hate The War on Mayor Rob Ford" Facebook page from a general purpose attack page that targets all opponents of Ford to a straight-forward John Tory insult machine. That alone would make me refuse to even look at either Ford in their face.

*Actually, just checked now and it's not *purely* anti-Tory. Flagg seems to have time to slander Olivia Chow -- a March 21st posting has an unbelievably racist photoshopped image of Chow with chopsticks and a rice bowl full of hundred dollar bills.

 

[zang]

Agreed that the sunshine list should be indexed.

Disagree that paid duty doesn't impact taxpayers. It's getting better but a lot of the paid duty gigs are still funded by the municipal, provincial and federal governments in support of public activities. $68/hr does not cover the true cost of a constable, once you factor in insurance and liability, equipment etc... We need to keep a larger police force on payroll to support the activities and we are on the hook if they get injured or killed while moonlighting.

Sure, but wear and tear on equipment, insurance and other things are fixed costs; and I'm willing to bet the risk of injury or death are *lower* when performing paid duty—which, if they have decent agreements with insurers, probably lowers their overall premium. Regardless, it's likely negligible anyhow, as the vast majority of police officers are *not* working paid duty on a given day. I'm certain the $68/hr more than makes up for these costs anyway.

Government paid duty should really not even be called "paid duty". Making it seem like we're paying "extra" for these cops when they're officially serving the public is a little ridiculous. We're paying their wages whether they're working overtime on a case, or directing traffic around a public event. All we're doing is splitting those wages off for accounting purposes; it doesn't cost us more, it just looks like it does.

 

[Videodrome]

He's going to be around a long time I'm afraid. I think he could easily win a seat in the next federal or provincial elections. And he'll refuse to be a quiet backbencher. He'll be meddling in Toronto's affairs for several years to come.

I have my doubts about that.

 

[animatronic]

I have my doubts about that.

The federal Tories don't need him and don't need the liability, but the provincial PCs are just fucked up enough to let it happen.

 

[W. K. Lis]

David Soknacki was a gentleman during the mayoralty campaign. John Tory was right to give him some support.

Dough (sic) Ford was not and is not a gentleman, and neither was or is his brother. John Tory should turn his back on both of them.

 

[Cooper]

I have my doubts about that.

I agree. I don't think Doug Ford is a magic bullet in terms of winning a seat either federally or provincially. Ward 2 may love the family, but the federal and provincial ridings cover different geographies and, IIRC, the ridings have been solidly Liberal for the past decade.

Moreover, I doubt the federal or provincial Conservative parties want Doug enough to parachute him into a safe seat. I also think a lot of his mojo is tied to Rob's years of work pounding doors, returning phone calls and filling potholes. Doug doesn't have that record or profile. If Rob doesn't survive his cancer, I suspect the goodwill for Doug will eventually erode. Anything can happen of course, but Doug's future in politics in by no means a lock — unless he wants to run in Ward 2. LOL.

 

[pud99]

...Anything can happen of course, but Doug's future in politics in by no means a lock — unless he wants to run in Ward 2. LOL.

To which one can only add: And he hasn't got no personality himself.

 

[Edward]

I'd love to see Doug run in the federal election.

 

[Videodrome]

The federal Tories don't need him and don't need the liability, but the provincial PCs are just fucked up enough to let it happen.

This is true. Just look at the leadership race.

I agree. I don't think Doug Ford is a magic bullet in terms of winning a seat either federally or provincially. Ward 2 may love the family, but the federal and provincial ridings cover different geographies and, IIRC, the ridings have been solidly Liberal for the past decade.

Moreover, I doubt the federal or provincial Conservative parties want Doug enough to parachute him into a safe seat. I also think a lot of his mojo is tied to Rob's years of work pounding doors, returning phone calls and filling potholes. Doug doesn't have that record or profile. If Rob doesn't survive his cancer, I suspect the goodwill for Doug will eventually erode. Anything can happen of course, but Doug's future in politics in by no means a lock — unless he wants to run in Ward 2. LOL.

Even if he did get in, he would be that backbencher who never gets to speak.