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As hard as it might be for some Canadians to accept some of these suggested changes to our social fabric, look for even more cuts when Finance Minister Paul Martin brings down his next budget in February. ~the lack of commitment to change This is evident with the complete absence of any comment about the universality of senior citizen benefits. Earlier the govâ€" ernment reduced or cut out family allowance (baby bonus) cheques to those earnâ€" ing a certain income. Why are wellâ€"off seniors exempt from cuts when they can well afford it? It‘s obviously too much of a political hot potato for Axworthy to handle. But any demographer will tell you that the swelling of the babyâ€"boomers to senior status will see a disproportionate amount of the wealth resting with fewer and fewer people below that age. It‘s kind of like the tail wagging the dog. It is the providing of funds for this group, more than any other factor, that will be the biggest drain on the federal treasury by the turn of the century. Failure to deal with it won‘t make the problem go away, it will only make dealing with it more difficult down the line. â€"make students pay more of their tuition. Nice thought Lloyd but we ask the question: if more students are working to try and pay for their tuition, how many seasonal workers collecting UI will have to collect it fullâ€"time or revert to welâ€" fare? Must we clone the American model where those who have resources get the best education and those without don‘t? That‘s not the Canadian way and to repliâ€" cate the U.S. system would be folly. makeâ€"work training program, he can operate a computer he can‘t afford for aijot’) that will never come to his area. How many more public consultations are needed before Ottawa understands the needs of workers? (Look for a new study on the issue.) First let‘s talk about what‘s good about the document. The idea that our social programs should be reviewed and changed with the current economic and social realities in mind, is a positive move that‘s long overdue. That‘s about it. Now the rest: ~the document talks again about training people to get them off Unemployment Insurance. The feds still don‘t get it and they still haven‘t listened to those most affected like fishermen and other seasonal workers. What good does it do to train a fisherman in Cape Breton to operate a computer? At the end of an expensive We shouldn‘t have expected anything more, though, from a government that still seems to be in love with itself and its standing in the polls. Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager Editorial ust a few days after federal Human Resources Minister Lloyd Axworthy released his discussion paper on social reform, the document is no less clear in its aims or just how much money these changes are supposed to save Lloyd‘s legerdemain 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 354 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 The Oakville Beaver, published every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, at 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, is one of the Metroland Printing, P ishing Distributing Ltd. group of suburban newspapers which includes: Ajaxâ€"Pickering News Advertiser, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Collin Connection, Etobicoke Guardian, Georgetown 1 lent Acton Free Press, Kingston This Week, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist and Sun, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Milton Canadian Champion, Mississauga News, Newmarketâ€"Aurora Eraâ€"Banner, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby This Week, Peterborough This Week, Richmond ThomhilWVaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror. All material published in the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Any reproduction in whole or in part of this material is strictly forbidden without the consent of the publisher. "So, there I was on the sixth hole, where the trees line the dog leg. The wind was blowing cold, south to southwest. I contemplatâ€" Don‘t misunderstand...I think golf‘s a grand game, right up there with fiveâ€"pin bowling and field hockey. But I‘m sick of being sandâ€"trapped, driven into the rough by golf gonzos whose pasâ€" sion for playing the game is exceeded only by their proclivity for babbling about it; I refer to obsessive souls (whose life expeâ€" riences probably don‘t include par) who insist on recounting every single, solitary riveting detail of every godless game they‘ve ever played. J I‘m thankful the 1994 golf season is all but over. Granted, there will be some clubâ€"happy clowns out on the courses flogâ€" ging furiously even after the snow flies, and other links lovers will soon be packing their putters for the sunny south. But around these parts, the golf season is nearing the 19th. Allow me now to share a hearty handful of the many things for which I am thankful. 2. The lotus position is not one of those things. Today, I suffer cramps, where I didn‘t know I had muscles. be thankful. 1. Life is good â€" I have infinite things for which I should surely n preparation for Thanksgiving, I spent the k â€" past week in deep contemâ€" platlon entangled in the lotus position, getting in touch with my Inner Self, contemplating Life as It exists around me, and defining the things for which I have to be thankful. After this intensely spiriâ€" tual week, I arrived at two concluâ€" sions: There‘s lots to be thankful for but none more than the family O Of course, I‘m thankful, erstwhile viceâ€"president Dan Quayle is set to take a run at the U.S. Presidency. Quayle, you‘ll O I‘m dearly thankful for majorâ€"league moguls and players in the sports of baseball and hockâ€" ey (and soon basketball, too) who have so thoughtfully abandoned their respective sports just to give guys like me more spare time than we ever imagined existed. Time to do thousands more jobs around the house. Time to do work that formerly never seemed to get done. Time to â€"rake leaves and hose down the van, and pick up all the pup poopers in the backâ€" yard. And while I‘m puttin‘ the scoop to the poop, I think: thank goodness, there‘s no ball game on the tube right now. O I‘m thankful for the upcomâ€" ing municipal elections, which allow the enlightened electorate to utilize its collective, enormous interest, and understanding of all matters municipal â€" to weigh area interests, dissect local issues, compare candidates, and enter the polling booth on Election Day poised, confident, and burdened, with but a couple inconsequential questions. Who‘s running? For what? Please, tell me more. Next year. ed pulling my cardigan up over my head, or my putter out of my bag. But then I thought, maybe, I should put on a windbreaker, and use by driver..." Happy Thanksgiving. Turkey Time. To boot, I‘m thankful for Connie Chung‘s night off, the death of the rebirth of disco, idiotâ€" proof computer programs, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and Paul Westerberg. And most of all, I‘m thankful for all the fabulous flesh â€" family and friends â€" that surâ€" rounds me. I‘m thankful for highâ€"test cofâ€" fee, donuts, potato chips and, least anyone thinks I‘m going to play the lead in the upcoming movie, The Cholesterol Kid, I‘m also thankful for cantaloupe. But seriously... As Thanksgiving arrives, and as we continue on our crawl toward Christmas, I am certainly thankful for many, many things. I‘m thankâ€" ful for indoor plumbing, junior kindergarten, extraâ€"strength Tylenol, John Irving and J.D. Salinger, central vac. and central air (the "centrals" that separate us from the primates). J As an avid reader and a writâ€" er, I‘m thankful as heck for book critics â€" critical men and women willing to spend minutes or more reading the back cover of the book they are to review, then investing even more time pondering how they can best trash that book. I mean â€" where would the world of literature be without these dedicatâ€" ed souls? Where indeed. As Garrison Keillor wryly noted, "It takes courage for a politician to stand up for decency in an election year." President Dan. Kind of gives a humorist hope and material. recall, stood tall in the prattle in the last election by announcing he was firmly in favor of marriage, strong moral values, and common decency.