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Page 6, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, February 0, 1994 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents! MEMBER 0F: ONTARIO CANADIAN ~zCUOMMUNITY f ~iACOMMUNITY ~I EWSPAPER +JIMNEWSPAPER ASSOCATIONASSOCIATION E! CANADIAN CIRCULATIONS CNA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD ISSN#0844-398X 26,500 COPIES DELIVERED WEEKLY Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Imc. Box 206, 131 Brock St. N., Whitby, Ontario Li N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Toronto Line: 427-1834 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pither - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 2011/ recycled content using vegetable based inks. C) Alil written material, illustrations and advertising contained herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for commercial purposes without the express permission of the newspaper is prohibited and is a viola tion of Canadian copyrigh law. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit lin. to thecWitby Free Press. TWO SOLITUDES: The People and the Poilticlans By Doug Anderson, Publisher, Whitby Fr. Press Last Tuesday's special council meeting on the DBIA highIghted the gui! that exists between the members of Whitby council and ciizens. You can read separately in Mike Kowalski's story on page 1 how each councillor expressed his or her support for the DBIA, how the DBIA was vital 10 the future of downtown, and how everybody should start working together. More interesting were the rationalizations about how a petition signed by 85 per cent of the businesses downlown could be safely ignored. Some thought il was too broad, some too narrow, somne that people didn't know what they were signing, some that they were pressured, and so on. Cîearly Rt wouldn't have maltered what the petition had said. An equally plausible rationalization would be that we didn't realîy know who we were electing in the last election and therefore they don't really have the right to govern us. And so lhey retired totheir private litle clutch and came backç after hait an hour with a motion that praised the DBIA to the hilI, and passed it unanimously. But aller the meeting, I spent an additional two hours in the council chambers taîking, arguing and discussing the issue wfth councillors Fox, Longfield and Brunelle. They thought that we, the nanti-BlA" group, had won. Huh? How could they interpret this saccharin motion as anything more than a sîap in our faces? Our wvictaryw consisted af three minor changes in the oiginal motion (see text of motion on page 18) which had been writlen long before the meeting and which some councillors were very reluctant 10 change. Nevertheless, the words %wilI b. receptive« were replaced wfthnencourages"; "or the DBIA membershipu was added afler "recommendation(s) from the Board; and *mechanism deaiing with ... appoinmentsw was replaced with wmechanism leading to ... appointments." These councillors recounted how hard they had argued for jihis proposai was faxed 10 the board off ice for consideration at a board meeting last night. 'm readyl Are they? f push comes 10 shove, there is another body which might be enlisted 10 help the downtown. That's the supposedly secret economic development committe, set up two years ago by councl 10 advise them on - as the tille says - economuc development. Il hasn't done much because il hasn't been given much to do. Why not tum lthem baose on the problems downtown? Spending ritual OntarhaulPagnuelo Onterexpaysrs Fedoration The budget year-end for governments approaches. As crusader Rose Perot says, Liizz.n carefully and yu-u-II heer that gil-aant suckin so-ow-nd.7 That sound Is coming from your wallet. f's th. lime of year when taxpayers gel taken for a wild ride as departments and agencies across the land race ta spend any money that *remains in their budgets. In 1he next mont hs, departments all over wiIl order new furniture, upgrade computers, buy new carpeting, f und new consulting studies and spend more on travel and conferences. You name t. Il will be spend, spend and soend. Outrageous, yau, the poor taxpayer, say. Correct. But 1he mini-spending boom 15 a ritual that accurs every year about now. Should w. blame aur policitians? Should we blame the civil servant who, as you read this, is figuring out creative new waysq ta spend your tax money quickîy, freely and loosely? The answer is no. First, the paliticians don't understand what is going on. During the next few months, the bureaucracy will present aur elected officiais with tons af paper, delalling a confusing set of complicated options and plans for operations over th. next year. Yau can safely bel thal the system wili try la completely overwhelm the politicians wiM mounltains ai information that frame next year's budget in terms aftmore spending and more taxes. As for the government employees who design the spendi ng plans, they are, when out think about Rl, acting rationally in a budeting syslemn that aulomaticaly faours more spending year after year. lb alilhas ta, do with incentives. Try this in yaur organization or enterprise. You will pay your managers based on how much they spent ta aperate the business during the year. You wilI aiso pay your managers based on the number af employees that work for thern. Let's look ad spending. One ai C ar managers is close ta your sinesses's fiscal year-end. She has not spent ail the money in her budget. Alas,- she finds a problem -- an extra $50,000 unspent in her budget. She could save the nianey, but next year her budget would b. reduced by. $50,000. Should anyon. wonder why se rushes out befor. year-end and b4ows $50,000 on new fumiture? Second, the Pay of aur managers in ths ima in'a7- business is als determinedg u part, by how many employe.s th manage. No surprise. We now fiZ empire-building and over-staffing. Suddenly, everyone is hiring more workers. What would happen? The business now has slrong incentives ta rais. spending on operations and hire more empby ees. Costs rise relentlessly. Wlh these Incentives, the business spends Ils way 10 bankruptcy. Governments tend not togobankrupt. They just Ioad the buis for perverse spending and hiring incentives on overloaded taxpayers. This is one defect of many in a system 0of unnecessariiy expensive govermnt And we ail pay throgh the nose for iR. lls cailed 'spend-it-or-Iose-it' budgeting. Only in government. l's on. reason the system bamboozîes our elected off icials mbt raisîng taxes instead of, for example, spending aur tax money in a smarler fashion. The stakes are just too high. Peopîe's salaries and rank in the civil service are ai stake. Therefore, 1h. system has every incentive ta present options 10 our elected officiais Ihat involve more taxes. Itlis a system that has every incentive 10 make spending culs as painful as possible (Filmon Fridays, Rae Days, trim f ire and police, chop wei!are for the poor, *l>ýhat is why 'spend-il-or- lose-it' b>udetinghas la go. Opnios expressad are those of the author. 1 o het or..., 1o A thank you from Davis InUet To the Edilor: On b.haft ai the Innu community af Utshimassits, Davis Inlet, I amn writing ta thank Whitby Free Press readers for ail theïr donations, materiai and/or fi mandiaI help ta Innushare during the last year. Thanks ta your donations, aur children have warm clothes, mitts, hats and boots. At Christmas, children received tays, candies, sluffed animai toys and clothings sent 10 us fram Innushare. Aduts were not forgotten either. W. enjoyed Christmas cake and chocolates and receîved new mugs, kitchen utensils and towels. As 1he newly-hired community heafth worker at Davis Inlel, 1 wanî ta tell you that, through your donations, you have mnade a difference. Most ikely you have read about or seen on T V the difficuties we are experienclng in our community. With yjaur help and prayers and th. determination o! numerous Davis minel parents, we intend ta change aur lves and thas. af aur children. Due ta aur Isolaed locat ion, the cost af buyi ng hausehald items, furniture, dlol ing and tools is prohibitive, so we really appreciat. ail supplies sent through Innushare. Our population consists o! 229 adufts and 285 children and yaung aduts. Most af aur homes are heated only by woodstoves and we use snowmobiles and komatiks ta haul our wood and get waler from the communily wel. There is only one grocery store. There is a kindergarlen ta Grade 12 school where aur children shower on a weekly basis, using donaled lowels, shampoo and Tis so wonderful ta know that so many of you have helped, and I wish you ail the best for 1994. Marthe Piwas Communlty heaith worker Devis Iniet A Notable a12 f- air To th. EdItor: The Volunleer Association at Whilby Psychiatric Hlospital wishes la thank The Fr.. Press for the coverage of aur Christmasevents, including the patienl's Christmas gift drive and the association's Ire. lighting and wassail held Dec. 8 at the hospital. The coverage af the Ire. 11ighting, wassail and communily chai r, 'The Notables,' was indeed 'Inotable" and has prom ped interest not only in the work aithe association but in the choir. Items danated ta aur Christmas gift drive were timely and of excellent quaiity, and made many people feel a special part ai the holiday season. To each and everyone who cantribigaed toward our holiday events, we sincerely thank yau. For information on the wark of the valunteer association or how ta join the community choir, cal 668-5881, ext. 5292. Joanne H. Ashlsy Director,.volunteer servies rý-- Viewpoint