There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?
Recent Articles
- Justice for Indigenous Peoples is Long Overdueby Ryan McGreal, published June 30, 2021 in Commentary
(0 comments)
- Third-Party Election Advertising Ban About Silencing Workersby Chantal Mancini, published June 29, 2021 in Politics
(0 comments)
- Did Doug Ford Test the 'Great Barrington Declaration' on Ontarians?by Ryan McGreal, published June 29, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- An Update on Raise the Hammerby Ryan McGreal, published June 28, 2021 in Site Notes
(0 comments)
- Nestlé Selling North American Water Bottling to an Private Equity Firmby Doreen Nicoll, published February 23, 2021 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- Jolley Old Sam Lawrenceby Sean Burak, published February 19, 2021 in Special Report: Cycling
(0 comments)
- Right-Wing Extremism is a Driving Force in Modern Conservatismby Ryan McGreal, published February 18, 2021 in Special Report: Extremism
(0 comments)
- Municipalities Need to Unite against Ford's Firehose of Land Use Changesby Michelle Silverton, published February 16, 2021 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Challenging Doug Ford's Pandemic Narrativeby Ryan McGreal, published January 25, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- The Year 2020 Has Been a Wakeup Callby Michael Nabert, published December 31, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- The COVID-19 Marshmallow Experimentby Ryan McGreal, published December 22, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- All I Want for Christmas, 2020by Kevin Somers, published December 21, 2020 in Entertainment and Sports
(1 comment)
- Hamilton Shelters Remarkably COVID-19 Free Thanks to Innovative Testing Programby Jason Allen, published December 21, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- Province Rams Through Glass Factory in Stratfordby Doreen Nicoll, published December 21, 2020 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- We Can Prevent Traffic Deaths if We Make Safety a Real Priorityby Ryan McGreal, published December 08, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(5 comments)
- These Aren't 'Accidents', These Are Resultsby Tom Flood, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(1 comment)
- Conservation Conundrumby Paul Weinberg, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Defund Police Protest Threatens Fragile Ruling Classby Cameron Kroetsch, published December 03, 2020 in Special Report: Anti-Racism
(2 comments)
- Measuring the Potential of Biogas to Reduce GHG Emissionsby John Loukidelis and Thomas Cassidy, published November 23, 2020 in Special Report: Climate Change
(0 comments)
- Ontario Squanders Early Pandemic Sacrificeby Ryan McGreal, published November 18, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
Article Archives
Blog Archives
Site Tools
Feeds
By A Smith (anonymous) | Posted January 14, 2011 at 20:06:25
goin'downtown >> There must be a balance created for quality of life when it comes to government spending on cultural/recreational activities/facilities.
According to the 2009 financial report...
http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/5D8DCD38-518C-4F51-83FC-06AFD2A83967/0/2009FinancialReport_rev8202010.pdf (page 6 of 64)
we see that city spending on culture and recreation has increased from $91.6M to $132.6M over the 2005-09 time period. That works out to an average annual increase of 9.7%. In that same period of time, Ontario workers wages/salaries/other income has gone up an average of 2.8% and that's without accounting for population growth.
That is not balanced at all. Our salaries go up by 2.8% and the city spends our money at 9.7%. If by balance you mean the city spends only what we can afford to pay, then the city should only have spent $102.3M. This would could have given the average family of four an extra $230 to spend at local businesses, or fixing up their house, or paying down debts, etc. That might help the economy.
If the city can't deliver culture and recreation that matches our ability to pay, then what good is it doing anyone? Anyone can take money and spend it, but spending it wisely and delivering value for money requires discipline and the ability to make tough choices.
>> I do know that our Economic Development department's mission is exactly that - which is a "spend money to make money"
To see how that's working, let's look at some numbers. From 2005-09, Ontario wages went up 11.7%. In Hamilton, it was likely less due to slower population growth. How much did taxes and user fees go up in Hamilton during that time frame? 17.1%, or 46% more than our earnings. If the city was spending our money wisely, shouldn't taxes be climbing slower than our incomes?
>> I don't know of a private company or sector that can morph Hamílton's economy to one of purely wealth generation.
And neither does anyone else, that will be left up to risk takers and consumers/businesses. In contrast to central planners, who always have the answers to our economic problems, the free market produces wealth in spite of the fact it doesn't have a master plan.
The free market works to produce wealth primarily because it allows wasteful spending to be shut down and shut down quickly. In contrast, when governments spend money, because they can't go out of business, they are never really forced to shut down money losing activities.
Giving more money and spending power to City Hall is like giving a stranger your credit card and asking him to buy you exactly what you want. It can't and it won't happen, because that person is not a mind reader. You may get something pretty good, but it will be less than optimal, making you worse off than had you just spent your own money.
Can you see why Hamilton's economy is in the shape it's in. We are running an economy that spends money inefficiently and that rewards people for failure. And then we are all surprised why we aren't producing jobs that make things people want to buy. Truly amazing.
Permalink | Context