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PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, April 26, 1988 -- 5 Viewpoint by John B. McClelland { The Ontario Liberal government came in for some. healthy criticism last week for a budget that will drag some $1.3 billion in new taxes from the pockets of the good citizens who live and work in Ontario the Good. Slapping new taxes on booze, cigarettes, gaso- line and income has become old hat in this country. It is so predictable. And treasurer Bob Nixon has even upped the sales tax by one per cent, which in itself will account for $1 billion in new taxes. I've long ago given up complaining about the Yanss on booze, smokes and gasoline. What's the point" But what really scares the devil out of me in the Ontario budget last week is the timing. Ontario spending this year is increasing by $3 billion, and the deficit will be $500 million. Yet over the last four or five years, Ontario has enjoyed a remarkable prosperity. There is virtually full employment, which means a lot of money flow- ing into the coffers from income tax. Consumers are spending their money on cars, homes, furniture, appliances and so on, which means more bucks from sales tax. And presumably, the super-charged economy should mean a reduction in certain areas of government spending, like welfare. | think there is a great danger when govern- ments increase their overall spending in the good times. The Ontario economy is due to level off in the next year or two. When that happens the unem- ployment rate goes up and consumer spending goes down, reducing two sources of income for the [S government. So what will Ontario do in the lean times to maintain the level of spending reached this year? You can pretty well draw your own conclu- sions. As far as I'm concerned the budget last week is an indication that Ontario is unable to cut its spend- ing or even hold the line. When David Peterson and his Liberals were elected in a landslide last summer, | at least expect- ed a regime with some imagination, some creativity, some diferent ways of doing things. What do we get? The same old stale chicken soup of higher spending and more taxes. I'm not so much angry as | am disappointed. MY BOYCOTT Once in a blue moon, when I'm in a very good mood, and all the bills have been baid, | will indulge my palate with a bottle of French wine. Chateau- neuf-du- Pape has long been one of my favourites. But at $17.30 for a 750 ml. bottle, it is not on my regular shopping list. And it won't be, either. As my personal protest over that ashy little fishing war going on between Canada and France, | am going to give up French wine and anything else from the land of Gaulle. | don't profess to know all the ins and outs of the dispute. The French government, by virtue of its ownership of the St. Pierre and Miquelon Islands just off the Newfoundland coast, is claiming fishing rights in a 200 mile zone. France has been saying some nasty things about Canada, has been urgning a boycott of Cana- dian products, pulled a nifty little publicity stunt, and even harassed Canadian tourists arriving at the air- port in Paris. Of course, it is an election year in France and that may have something to do with the attitudes. If the French want to boycott Canadian prod- ucts over this issue, that's fine by me. But two can play the game. For the time being, at least, Cha- teauneuf-du- Pape will ndt grace my table. | often wonder just how the French would react if Canada owned a tiny dot of an island just a few miles off the coast of Bretagne, or within spitting distance of the Riviera, and we claimed a 200 mile fishing right. The splutters of indignation and out- rage I'm sure would be heard from the German bor- der to Marseille. Well, enough is enough. | don't really like the way France handles this affair. Come to think of it, I'm still ticked off over that incident 21 years ago when de Gaulle uttered "Vive le Quebec libre." So goodbye French wine. It hurts, but duty to country must take precedent over my taste buds. ON THE HOCKEY MAP By the time this issue of the Star is printed, | don't know where the Jr. C MoJacks will be. Hope- fully, they will still be in the hunt for the all-Ontario title. But as | write this, the team has yet to play three crucial weekend games with the Hanover Bar- ons. But win, lose or draw from here on in, this team has done much for Jr. C hockey and hockey gener- ally in this community. The playoffs over the past few weeks have generated a lot of interest and sup- rt. The calibre of hockey to date has been excel- ent. People are talking about the MoJacks, and | hope they can win all the marbles this year. Yesterday's Letters Memories 70 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 25, 1918 On Saturday evening, Pte. George White was presented with a handsome gold watch and chain by the Port Perry citizen's Patriot- ic League. The presentation was made by Reeve Jeffrey and Mr. H. G. Hutcheson respnded for the recipient. Mrs. Noble, who has been visiting with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. H.L. Ebbels, leaves this week for her home in Winnepeg. The Port Perry Creamery opend up for business in its fine ncw building and has commenced operation by its owner, Mr. A. Goode. Buy your new 1918 Ford Runabout for $575.00 at W.U. and H. Carnegie, Ford Dealers in Port Perry. 45 YEARS AGO THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1943 Mr. A. L. McDermott presided over some 50 of the business men in Port Perry at the Annual Banquet of their association. The group enjoyed the social gathering at the well-spread table at the Sebert House last Friday evening. Dr. J. A. McArthur, Blackstock, announces that he has opened an office where Dr. R. H. Hamilton formerly was located. He will be in attendance on Tuesday and Friday afternoons and Wednesday cvenings. Mr. and Mrs. Hillier went to Broackville on Saturday to see their son, Cadet Raymond S. Hillier, receive his certificate at the Canadian Army Officer's Training Centre. Mrs. George Clements and Mrs. Cox have moved into the house of Mrs. Dorothea Koch, Port Perry. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 23, 1953 John Leask, Seagrave, was clected President of the 4-H Club which is now operating in the Port Perry area. Bill Fitsell, news editor-reporter for the Port Perry Star for the past eight months, will leave this weekend to join the editorial staff of the Gananoque Reporter. Welcome to Mr. and Mrs. B. Keizebrink and baby, who have moved onto the former Heidt farm, Prince Albert. 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 24, 1958 Dr. G. M. Rennie will hold clinics for the Polio Vaccination of pre-school children who have not had any previous shots and for those who have had 2 previous shots on May 2nd and 3rd, 1958. Mrs. Charlie Pram, who has been spending the winter in To- (Turn to page 8) Baby Boomer 'couch potatoes' To The Editor: Last week as you shall see from the following letter, a plane from Cape Breton, landed with a jerk and now Roy Walker Smith is back in Port Perry, The Beautiful. At some point in life, many peo- ple are quilty of trying to live beyond their income. Some say a man's automobile is an extension of his ego -- The automobile symoblizes manhood. When men choose an automobile, (and now many women) it is not just a mode of transportation. They are buying Need dog To The Editor: As a resident of View Lake, a lot of us here have long put up with getting very little in return for our big tax dollars. It seems that the Institute to which we pay our taxes would prefer to pretend we don't exist. The issue here is dogs running at large. When I recent- ly placed a call to complain about a certain dog and said I lived at View Lake; the reply I got was "Oh. Way out THERE!!!" Yes. Way out here. A whole half hour from Port Perry. BUT we pay our taxes too. But no dog catcher ever cats, Not even after my second call. This one dog is never restrain- ed. My son and I are afraid of him and I live in fear of being bitten by him. Then last night my son's friend came to visit and - sure enough - was bitten by this dog. I'd like to know why he constantly ran at large to begin with - if someone part of a dream, from the first col- lection of dinky toys, the first souped-up jalopy with racing stripes, a lowslung Porsche hug- ging the road, a classy family sedan with sporty pretensions or a custom van that transports the whole team. When the subject is automobiles, men (women) are identifying with a national pas- sion, usually a male passion. It takes a great deal of faith, for many women to understand this love affair with horsepower, fire, steel, trimmed with chreme and often threatening financial ruin. control had answered my calls, maybe this poor boy needn't have gone through this. Where are the dog control people when they're needed? Maria Bostelmann, R.R.1, Janetville. First they were YUPPIES -- young, urban professionals. Then, DINKS - double - income, no kids. Now, add yet another label to the baby boom generation. COUCH POTATOS, the phrase to describe todays young moneyed class. Most Baby Boomers are stay- ing home in their high priced houses or condos, in their liv- ingrooms -- and they are proud of it. COUCH POTATOS - people who prefer to vegetate on a couch - with popcorn - a V.C.R. "the magic machine" or television. I attribute this phenomenon to three important facts of baby boomers life, the V.C.R., mar- riage and children (not necessari- ly in that order). Today the home holds a lot of sentimental value. The home has become a haven, a retreat and shelter from the world outside. If staying home is fashionable, com- fortable, attractive furnishings are a high priority on the baby boomers lists of must-haves. (Turn to page 6) to the editor. Letters to the Editor ... our policy It has always been the policy of this newpspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their opinions and view- points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters column helps make a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that a letter writer sign his or her name. On rare occasions, we will agree to with-hold publication of a letter writer's name, if we feel there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an anonymous letter While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer.