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P>AGE, 4, WE-DNU-SDAY. MIAV 27, 1981, WIIITI3Y FRFU PRESS w h itb y _ PubLishedeverY Wednesday by MB.. ublishing and Photography Inc. / fm 1Ph one 668-6111i Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess, Publisher. Managing Editor , 1:1 Brock Street North. The only whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. P.O. Box 206, Whitby, O0 Michael J. Knoll Community Editor Marjorle A. Burgess Production Manager Karen Thompson Advertising Manager Maiiîng Permit No 460 Member of the Whitby Chamber of Commerce nt. Budget shows that government still wants to use old solutions to cure older economic problems We are sorry to see thatthe Government of On- tario has not learnt from the mistakes made not only by themselves, but by other governments as well. The budget that was handed down by Treasurer Frank Miller is a classic example of how gover- nment repeats its own mistakes and is, frankly, disappointing when the Progressive Conser- vative's campaign for re-election is considered. Durham West-MPP and Ontario Minister of Revenue George Ashe referred to the budget as "realistic and courageous". While it may be courageous, it is hardly realistic. It is ironic that a party dedicated to little gover- nment interference In the lives of business and individuals introduces a budget that does nothing but interfere in the economic livelihood of its citizens. This budget is not creative, it does not divert money from government coffers into those of the individual citizens or into the open marketplace. Instead, it brings money that would have other- ANCHORMAN FOR GLOBAL NEWS Li TRE' BEST Or, PETER A weekly news commentary from one of Canada's outstanding news personalities I had a man in my office recently, who by all of society's standards is worthy of sympathy. I felt sympathy for him too, because I am a member of the human race. But because I too have had a taste of trouble in my time, what I feit chieflv was admiration. His name is George Zylawy, a lean, good-looking fellow in his mid-thirties, with a patient wife, two healthy children, and a nice house with three acres of land northwest of Acton. Until 14 and a half months ago, life was going swimmingly. He had, it's true, hit something of a plateau in his career development. He was a research associate in the analysis and planning unit of the president's office at the University of Guelph. I won't trv to tell vou what that entailed. Suffice it to sav that although vou have to know a littie bit about a lot of things, it's a fairly narrow area of expertise. He'd been in the field for 13 vears when he got the chop. That was on February the 15th, 1980. Since then, he bas made inquir- ies about hundreds of jobs, and I have on my desk a detail- ed list of 89 jobs he has applied for since that dark day 14 months ago. So far, they have all come to naught. At the beginning, he and his wife joked about their hard luck. At least, they used to say, George would get a job before the American hostages were released from Iran. The host- ages, of course, are long since back in the United States. Then, as the shuttie program ran into snags, they used to say that at least George would get a job before the Col- umbia took off. Now, thev've run out of jokes, out of money, out of almost everything except perhaps hope and gratitude for what they've got, which is the kids and each other. They have run into a solid wall of runarounds at everv level - in both private and government bureaucracy. They have been short-changed on his unemployment insurance, and have suddenly become persona non grata at the bank. They have had every opportunity to become evnical and bitter, but somehow they haven't. And so, while the people who run the country argue in Ottawa how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, George Zvlawv, and thousands like him. continue the desperate search for a job. That's not news. but that too is realitv. wise been spent in the marketplace into the government. Surely this will have an adverse effect upon the level of consumer spending and investment in the economy. Perhaps the most positive thing in the budget is the $3 million that the government will spend to equip police forces th'roughout the province with bullet proof vests for their individual members. If anything, the government should have cut taxes in an attempt to encourage a higher level of consumer spending and investment in the economy. The money should have been left in the private sector and the tax increases will reduce the cost of living of the ordinary working person. However, one thing that should be made clear is that Ashe was correct in his statement that the provincial government cannot do anything about high interest because it is the sole jurisdiction of the federal government. But the major flaw in this argument is that since Ontario has the largest population in Canada and pays the largest percentage of the federal budget, the Ontario government should be exercising its economic muscle with Ottawa to force changes in the interest rate structure. On the issue of interest rates, it appears that the government of Premier Bill Davis is acting in a timid fashion and fails to realize that it has the power to force changes for the benefit of its own individual base and potential for growth. (In fact, when dealing with Ottawa, perhaps Queen's Park should take some lessons from Alberta who are certainly the more aggressive par- ty when it comes to energy pricing agreements.) It is also disappointing that the government has not sought new ways of raising revenues. In Durham West, the government owns a facility that could be a big money maker for the province, the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station. The government also has a market for the electrical energy produced here - New York State. Our nearest U.S. neighbour would probably jump at the chance to buy more electrical energy from Pickering and would probably pay a good price for it. Queen's Park should also be exploring ways to raise royalty revenues from raw materials that are mined in this province and shipped to foreign countries. Royalties could be levied against steel that is exported, against raw nickel, copper and other metals that are vital to the province's export market. The Government of Ontario's BILD (Board of In- dustrial Leadership and Development) program has a great deal of promise, but will it become the victim of other bureaucratically controlled programs? If it does, then it is doomed to failure. The largest sector and employer in our economy is small business and it is amazing that the government did not see fit to bring in programs designed to help small business deal with the problems of the day. The bud'get is not what was expected from a government a political party that wanted to "keep the promise of Ontario." It was not a creative budget, it did not seek to solve old problems in new ways, but instead chose to compound old problems with old, and unworkable, solutions. The Tories have not learnt from the mistakes of the past and, indeed, seem determined to repeat them and the only loser in this situation is the average citizen.