Raise the Hammer

Councillor Bratina, incentives are the magic bullet that can turn Hamilton back in to an economic powerhouse. We used to supply businesses with cheap electricity and the result was that businesses flocked here in droves. Over time, I think we forgot this lesson and we started treating businesses like they needed us more then we needed them. The result has been that businesses have fell out of love with Hamilton, just like a wife does when her husband forgets to treat her like the important partner that she is.

Therefore, I think that by reducing tax rates on businesses, perhaps beginning with the downtown core, we could once again bring businesses back to this city in large numbers. I believe the recent commercial tax rate reductions have helped substantially in this regard, but seeing that business tax rates are still almost 3x as high as residential rates, we still have a long way to go.

Perhaps a small test project in the downtown could serve as a great example of how powerful business incentives could prove to be. I like the idea of dropping commercial tax rates in the core to around 2%, since that would be competitive with most other jurisdictions in the GTA. When this tax rate took effect, I guarantee the downtown would soon become the fastest growing part of Hamilton, proving that the lessons we forgot many decades ago, are still valid today, just as kindness has never gone out of style and never will.

Finally, even though I understand you can't agree with me for obvious political reasons, I truly think it is a shame that our elected officials aren't rewarded on a performance based system that promotes success. Like I have said before, you tend to get what you pay for in life, so I think most residents of Hamilton would be far better off paying people like yourself based on your results, rather than capping your pay because we can save a few bucks. Keep up the good work in helping to make Hamilton a prosperous place to work and live.