[Prometheus The Supremo]

LOL enviro!


i think the car tax made the most sense. the money from it would go to public transportation projects which would have a direct benefit to drivers. increasing the price of water and garbage fees punishes the most economically vulnerable such as the elderly and the disabled. for example, i use lots of water to bathe and have lots of things to wash due to my disability. i also produce alot of garbage and i can't help it. if i could afford to drive, i could probably afford a car tax but if i can't, i can't afford higher fees for water and garbage. what i'm trying to say is that usually, those who can afford luxuries can afford a fee & those who can't afford luxuries, are probably just barely affording basic necessities.

 

[W. K. Lis]

LOL enviro!


i think the car tax made the most sense. the money from it would go to public transportation projects which would have a direct benefit to drivers. increasing the price of water and garbage fees punishes the most economically vulnerable such as the elderly and the disabled. for example, i use lots of water to bathe and have lots of things to wash due to my disability. i also produce alot of garbage and i can't help it. if i could afford to drive, i could probably afford a car tax but if i can't, i can't afford higher fees for water and garbage. what i'm trying to say is that usually, those who can afford luxuries can afford a fee & those who can't afford luxuries, are probably just barely affording basic necessities.

Except that as the price of oil (and gasoline) goes up, there could be less car use. Less car use, the less revenue from the car. There will still be a family car, but less driving to the neighbourhood store (except for Rob Ford of course).

 

[Admiral Beez]

Exactly. The vehicle registration tax was for many city folk a parking tax. We rarely use our family mini van, and my motorcycle gets about 100-200 km a year, but I'm paying for both in order to support roads these vehicles rarely use.

 

[spider]

The vehicle tax was levied against ownership of a car not use of a car. Many people own more than one car but obviously can only drive one at a time. A reasonable parallel would be a tax on the number of toilets in a home even if one or more of them are never used or the home has a single occupant. There is no reason to believe that the money raised would be expended to support the activity taxed in either case.

I'm tired of paying garbage fess to subsidize car drivers with their paved roads, signs, stop lights, etc. Cars run fine on gravel and stop treating drivers like babies with the signs and stop lights. You come to an intersection, you look both ways, you go. Instead we need signs for the most obvious of things, road curves?? When did pedestrians ever need such hand holding.

Queen and Yonge would be quite the spectacle, imagine all those pedestrians who don't need traffic lights bobbing and weaving their way across the free for all traffic clogged intersection.

 

[MisterF]

Queen and Yonge would be quite the spectacle, imagine all those pedestrians who don't need traffic lights bobbing and weaving their way across the free for all traffic clogged intersection.

There are a lot of intersections that operate that way all over the world, including in developed countries. This intersection in Prague has no traffic control. Pedestrians come first, then streetcars, then car traffic. And it runs like clockwork.

 

[Torontovibe]

Now what did I tell you guys.

http://www.thestar.com/news/torontocouncil/article/910648--rob-ford-s-confusing-university-life

Did you guys read the Toronto Star's acticle about Rob Ford's education? (or lack there of) The Ford camp was putting out info that Mr. Ford was short 2 credits for his degree. He had to drop out to help his sister. Was that the best excuse they could come up with? Now it turns out that Ford didn't get past first year studies. He is credited with "taking some first year courses." lol So why didn't the guy just come clean from the start? OK, so he didn't have the smarts to get a BA but does that disqualify him from becoming mayor of Toronto? HELL NO! This info is not that hard to track down. (So why didn't anybody do it until now?)

And all his stories about playing university football, were also bunk. He was on the team but he never got off the bench, yet the way he talks, you'd think he was a football hero. This man has some serious issues with honesty. I guess his lack of education in some circles (tea baggers) might actually be considered a plus.

 

[spider]

There are a lot of intersections that operate that way all over the world, including in developed countries. This intersection in Prague has no traffic control. Pedestrians come first, then streetcars, then car traffic. And it runs like clockwork.

Wow it looks exactly like Yonge and Queen, in 1810.

 

[taal]

Now what did I tell you guys.

http://www.thestar.com/news/torontocouncil/article/910648--rob-ford-s-confusing-university-life

Did you guys read the Toronto Star's acticle about Rob Ford's education? (or lack there of) The Ford camp was putting out info that Mr. Ford was short 2 credits for his degree. He had to drop out to help his sister. Was that the best excuse they could come up with? Now it turns out that Ford didn't get past first year studies. He is credited with "taking some first year courses." lol So why didn't the guy just come clean from the start? OK, so he didn't have the smarts to get a BA but does that disqualify him from becoming mayor of Toronto? HELL NO! This info is not that hard to track down. (So why didn't anybody do it until now?)

And all his stories about playing university football, were also bunk. He was on the team but he never got off the bench, yet the way he talks, you'd think he was a football hero. This man has some serious issues with honesty. I guess his lack of education in some circles (tea baggers) might actually be considered a plus.

Smitherman had just about the same in the way of education - so in that sense he wouldn't be any better.

And Miller is a Harvard grad no ? So if education is all that matters we had the best of the best yet many seemed to disgaree (assuming you believe the specific university matters as well).

 

[toto]

Let's just accept the fact that Ford and his handlers find it easier to lie than tell the truth. The majority of Torontonians don't seem to care. Ford is going to lie his way through the next four years. That's a given. My concern is that, we will be paying a lot more for his lies, for fewer services.

Next big Ford lie? The subways he promised for Scarborough will be too expense. So we're not building it. In the mean time Transit City is cancelled and Ford gets what he wanted all along. Surface routes free of Public transit. The only real truth Ford has spoken. "The war on cars is over". Almost everything else he says is a lie in an effort to end this make believe war.

 

[Torontovibe]

Education isn't all that matters but intelligence does. If Ford couldn't get through first year studies, don't you think he is going to have a tough time understanding the complexities of running Canada's largest city? Intergity and honesty is another issue. He had no quams misleading people and making it seem like he almost had his BA, when in fact, he was nowhere close. The guy has a history of hiding his past. (and outright lying) Is that a personality trait you admire in your politicians? The man has some good qualities too, I just hope they are enough to do his job. (He does seem to respond to people's complaints, so I'm not saying it's all bad) I think it would only benifit him, if from now on he started telling the truth, even if it reveals some of his flaws. Clearly, the man is not successful at covering up his lies and half truths.

 

[allabootmatt]

Indeed. Whether or not he finished university is neither here nor there; on the whole I would hope politicians would be educated, but there are certainly examples of academically brilliant politicians who were failures in government and vice versa. But reflexive dishonesty is an extremely worrisome trait in a leader.

 

[MisterF]

Wow it looks exactly like Yonge and Queen, in 1810.

I suppose the implication is that Prague is quaint and old fashioned, without any real traffic. But in reality that short street has 3 subway lines on it and a lot of pedestrians. Czech car ownership is only slightly lower than Western Europe, and the Prague metro and streetcar systems are busier than their counterparts in Toronto. It may look quaint, but it’s a big, busy city like any other.

That’s kind of off topic though, we wouldn’t want to bring other cities that have declared war on the car into the discussion now would we?

 

[Eug]

Education is nice, but I've long since realized that education isn't a good indicator of political success or ability, and I say that as someone with double-digits worth of years of post-secondary education.

It's nice knowing your political leaders are smart and capable people, but I voted for Smitherman knowing he had very little formal post-secondary education. In fact, come to think of it I believe he didn't have any formal post-secondary education at all, but don't quote me on that.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Education is nice, but I've long since realized that education isn't a good indicator of political success or ability,

Not but misleading is.

At my workplace we hired a guy who said he had his BA. A month into the job the HR folks heard back from the university that he didn't graduate. When pressed to present his BA transcipt the new guy admited he was a few courses short. So, we fired him on the spot, not for lack of education, but for dishonestly. Worst of all, the company wouldn't have cared if he'd said in the interview that he needed a few more courses - in fact the company would have paid the tuition. Of course they'd have paid him less until he got his papers. And it's not as if he wouldn't have been considered for the job without his BA since his other qualifications, network, experience and accomplishments were what the company was after, and why they approached him in the first place. Every day an idiot pushes the envelope too far and gets burned.

 

[Eug]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC Ford never claimed he had a degree or anything, or even that he was a few courses short.

If the Star article is accurate, then perhaps he needed to fire somebody in his camp that claimed he did, but he didn't fire that person.

The stupid part is that I don't think anyone really would have cared that much.