I have argued for amalgamation for Greater Victoria for several years now. The same needs to be said of Metro Vancouver.
There is not a need to make a single a large city, but there are some obvious amalgamations that need to happen now.
1) North Vancouver City and North Vancouver municipality - there is no reason to have these be separate.
2) The Tri-Cities along with Anmore and Belcarra - five governments for one set of people? Makes no sense on any planet.
3) Richmond with the western half of Delta (Ladner and Tsawwassen) - the flow together nicely and the existing Delta makes no sense
4) North Delta , Surrey, both Langleys and White Rock
5) Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster.
6) Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadow
One could majorly rejig many of the boundaries south fo the river to reflect the reality of the communities that exist there, but let us start with this.
I have left West Vancouver out of this because they have enough clout and power to mess up an suggested amalgamation. In reality they should be made part of North Vancouver even if they are a fantasy island outside of reality.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Government Subsidies
We still see too many government subsidies out there.
1) Athletes - if you are good at sports you qualify for government welfare, but only some sports. If you are a hockey player you do not get it. There is no public policy benefit from giving money for elite athletes.
2) Crop insurance - government run crop insurance does not raise as much money as it needs for pay outs.
3) Government underwritten low interest or no interest loans - they distort the market as it supports businesses that are less viable than others.
4) Ferries - here is a controversial one. Why do we make it cheaper for people to live on islands? Get rid of the cheap ferries and property prices on the islands will drop to a level where regular people can afford to live there again.
5) Government international trade missions - Trudeau was right, it is not the job of government to sell products.
6) Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Television Fund - so the public is expected to pay a tax to produce television and movies that we are not watching. There are no shortage of countries willing to sell us their television products for next to nothing. Why do we need to pay to produce more? Let their taxpayers pay to give us cheap TV.
At the end of the day, each dollar we spend on subsidies makes our economy less productive, reduces our competitiveness and reduces choice. There is no upside to subsidies.
If we
1) Athletes - if you are good at sports you qualify for government welfare, but only some sports. If you are a hockey player you do not get it. There is no public policy benefit from giving money for elite athletes.
2) Crop insurance - government run crop insurance does not raise as much money as it needs for pay outs.
3) Government underwritten low interest or no interest loans - they distort the market as it supports businesses that are less viable than others.
4) Ferries - here is a controversial one. Why do we make it cheaper for people to live on islands? Get rid of the cheap ferries and property prices on the islands will drop to a level where regular people can afford to live there again.
5) Government international trade missions - Trudeau was right, it is not the job of government to sell products.
6) Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Television Fund - so the public is expected to pay a tax to produce television and movies that we are not watching. There are no shortage of countries willing to sell us their television products for next to nothing. Why do we need to pay to produce more? Let their taxpayers pay to give us cheap TV.
At the end of the day, each dollar we spend on subsidies makes our economy less productive, reduces our competitiveness and reduces choice. There is no upside to subsidies.
If we
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Evergreen Line Change
Thank god the government is saying the line should be a Skytrain line. It was utter lunacy to suggest that it should be light rail.
Light rail on grade is the biggest transit disaster possible. It costs almost as much as a fully separated rail transit system but does not have the benefits of freedom from traffic.
Bus Rapid Transit - such as the B Lines in Vancouver - have shown themselves to be much more flexible and cost efficient than light rail.
Light rail on grade is the biggest transit disaster possible. It costs almost as much as a fully separated rail transit system but does not have the benefits of freedom from traffic.
Bus Rapid Transit - such as the B Lines in Vancouver - have shown themselves to be much more flexible and cost efficient than light rail.
McCain from Prez
I am beginning to get hopeful that John McCain will win the Republican nomination. I had hoped he would have done better yesterday, but he appeals to the centrists and not to the hardcore social conservatives in the US.
I remember the 2000 presidential election and I was very happy to see Bill Bradley and John McCain doing so well. The two of them would have made for a good race for president and each of them would have made a good president. Why the republicans rallied behind a dumb and inexperienced person like Bush is utterly beyond me. The decision was such a stupid one.
Meanwhile we are in 2008 and McCain is still in it. On the Democrat side I was pulling for Bill Richardson. Obama does not have the experience to be President and Clinton is much too interested in power for power's sake.
Good presidents tend to come from the governor's mansions. They have some real executive experience. Very few US legislators are able to make the leap to the other branch of government. McCain has shown he has the skills to move to the executive.
I have no idea how the election will play out, everyone seems to have written off the Republicans, but there are polls showing McCain can win. I believe he can win because he is a populist that does not pander. He is a leader that speaks for what he believes and sticks with it. Most people will respect that, but most of the people in politics are interested in partisan gain over all else.
John McCain is Mr Smith and he is already in Washington, he now needs to be in the Whitehouse
I remember the 2000 presidential election and I was very happy to see Bill Bradley and John McCain doing so well. The two of them would have made for a good race for president and each of them would have made a good president. Why the republicans rallied behind a dumb and inexperienced person like Bush is utterly beyond me. The decision was such a stupid one.
Meanwhile we are in 2008 and McCain is still in it. On the Democrat side I was pulling for Bill Richardson. Obama does not have the experience to be President and Clinton is much too interested in power for power's sake.
Good presidents tend to come from the governor's mansions. They have some real executive experience. Very few US legislators are able to make the leap to the other branch of government. McCain has shown he has the skills to move to the executive.
I have no idea how the election will play out, everyone seems to have written off the Republicans, but there are polls showing McCain can win. I believe he can win because he is a populist that does not pander. He is a leader that speaks for what he believes and sticks with it. Most people will respect that, but most of the people in politics are interested in partisan gain over all else.
John McCain is Mr Smith and he is already in Washington, he now needs to be in the Whitehouse
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