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Just Bitchin’ – Looking for the Positives

Oct18

My “blogging mentor” (and website designer/developer extraordinaire) told me that I should balance my blogs so that people don’t get tired of listening to me rant and whine all the time.

Here is my attempt to find something positive in the things that are irritating me these days:

  1. No NHL hockey:  I’m certainly watching less television and that probably means I’m saving money on hearing aid batteries!
  2. Basic Garbage moving to Bi-Weekly Pickup: I won’t have to lug the garbage can to the curb every week and I won’t have to chase it down on windy days as often!
  3. Dalton McGuinty Resigns:  YEAHHHHHHH!  Break out the champagne!  This one is long overdue.
  4. Dalton McGuinty Prorogues Parliament:  While this one really irritates the heck out of me – I suppose the good news is that there won’t be a Dalton copy-cat interim leader simply carrying on the party line insanity.
  5. Graham Fraser is unhappy about the level of bilingual services offered in Ottawa. I’m so tired of the whole bilingual thing – and I’m even more tired of paying for it!  Let’s scrap the program and save a bundle!
  6. LRT Price Tag going UP UP UP:  At the rate this City Council moves on major programs – I’m guessing I’ll be long past taking public transportation by the time this one is up and running!

What do you think?

 

 

Just Bitchin’ – My Take on Stuff from Today’s Ottawa Sun

Oct4

Casino for Ottawa: Let’s start with the frenzy going on about a new casino for our fair city.  It seems that the OLG will insist on ONLY ONE casino in Ottawa and it will likely be where they want it to be (aka Downtown).  Calgary has multiple casinos – a smaller city in population than Ottawa.  Edmonton has multiple casinos – a smaller population than Ottawa.  Winnipeg has multiple casinos – again a smaller population than Ottawa – so what on earth is going on here?  The rumors that Dalton McGuinty has made some sort of deal with a large casino conglomerate who is insisting on no competition might just be true – otherwise this “one casino for Ottawa” scenario makes absolutely no sense at all.  Why not leave Rideau Carleton Raceway just the way it is????  Harness Racing – although not my favourite way to spend my money – has been a part of this city for as long as I can remember and Rideau Carleton appears to be a very profitable and very Canadian company.  It is a money maker for both the City and the Province and employees a large number of people – all tax payers!!   Build another casino if the powers that be want another casino.  I have no doubt there is room for both.

NHL Lockout:  I read this morning that BMO Capital Markets economist Doug Porter said the NHL strike is likely to take a $1.8 billion cut out of our (Canadian) gross domestic product this year.  WHAT????

High-Speed Longboards (i.e. skateboards meant for getting from a to b vs doing tricks):  If we aren’t careful, there will be another special commuter lane on Laurier Avenue – for longboards!  Where do they fit?  On the sidewalks?  On the roads?  In the bike lanes?  Maybe we should insist on brake lights and turn signals on these boards!!  OMG – then what about little old ladies using walkers, electric wheelchairs, strollers, etc.  Are we really having conversations about this sort of stuff????

Just Bitchin’ – Gambling to Support our Infrastructure

Sep27

I whole heartedly agree with a couple of our City Councillors who are against the idea of using revenues from a new casino to cover the increasing need for funds to maintain our city infrastructure.  Jim Watson isn’t thinking with a clear head when he makes this sort of suggestion – and perhaps, this is an indication of just how desperate the situation really is.

I don’t care one way or the other if the City builds a new casino – or two – or three of them.  What I do care about is making the right budget decisions when it comes to the bare basics of running and maintaining the City.

I propose that our tax dollars are used for the absolute essentials:  police, fire, paramedics, roads, infrastructure – and 35% of the staffing costs (approximately what I think is truly needed in terms of FTE city jobs).  Whatever funds come from Rideau Carleton and any new gambling facility can be used for the “nice-to have” budget items and any staffing beyond 35% of the current level. I would even like to see the two accounts kept completely separate!!

Most of us manage our households this way – we cover the basics first (mortgage, property taxes, food, clothing, transportation, utilities).  If we have money left over, it is held in savings or we spend it on the “nice to haves” – vacations, large TVs, etc.  Some of us manage a second job to pay for the extras.

Take a risk on being able to manage the basics?  NEVER!

Just Bitchin’ – NHL Lockout

Sep22

Just thinking about this – again.  My guess is most team owners purchase a hockey team as a tax write-off, never really intending to make much money from it.  I have no doubt that it is only the very wealthy who can think about owning an NHL team in the first place.

Given this – why would the owners care – even a little bit – about the teams actually playing games?  They are still the owners.  Some of them own the facilities as well so their tax write-off might even get larger if no games are played and no income rolls in!!

The older players – those who have amassed large fortunes playing the game – and/or those already planning to play hockey elsewhere for the season – why would they care?  Many of them no longer depend on playing hockey for a living – they own other businesses, have investments, etc.   It wouldn’t surprise me to discover that they even have insurance of some sort against a lockout! The young players entering their first or second year in the NHL are probably not very happy with the situation – but they aren’t in a position to influence anything or anyone.

So – I think I have just established that, for the most part, neither owners nor players give a damn.  The fans care – and the folk whose jobs depend on games being played care – but those with influence – or the ability to change things – obviously don’t care about fans or spin-off jobs.  Bettman still draws his $8M salary.  The Bettman Bobbleheads go about their many other business interests – and NHL hockey takes a direct hit.

I’m about to kiss the season good-bye and I wonder what on earth I will watch on TV all winter!!

Just Bitchin’ – More “What the Heck?”

Sep20

Unions tell teachers they must NOT  volunteer outside of regular hours in order to allow after-school activities to continue.  Students picket the teachers!  What is wrong with this picture?  In this case, they are angry at the wrong people – or at the very least, the students should give equal attention to the union offices!

Our City Council approves huge infrastructure projects like Lansdowne Park or Hi-Speed Transit and it seems they had NO idea how far in the red the city already is just trying to keep up the maintenance on the existing infrastructure.  Today’s Ottawa Sun looks at the books and the city needs to double the already millions of dollars needed to maintain existing roads, sewers and facilities.  How and Why do they make these large-dollar decisions without having what, to me, seems like very basic information???  Can you imagine this type of bookkeeping and decision-making in private industry?  Fix what we have.  Build new once we can actually afford it!!

Jason Spezza playing for the Swiss team?  Rats are abandonning a sinking ship in fast order!

Nobody comments on my blogs anymore!  Is anyone reading them?  Does nobody have an opinion out there?

 

 

 

Just Bitchin’ – What the Heck?

Sep18

As I read today’s newspaper, I found myself wondering what on earth is going on these days!!!  Here are just a few examples:

Teachers are refusing to carry out their usual volunteer duties to enable after school programs.  From what I read, this is not something the teachers want.  Is the tail (the union) wagging the dog (again)??  This one isn’t funny.  Among other things, it will have an effect on student’s eligibility for scholarships.  How can a union suggest what a teacher can and can’t do on his or her own time?  This one makes my blood boil!

NHL Team owners and NHL players don’t seem to understand what negotiating means.  If relationships discussed differences by not talking to one another, our divorce rates would be sky-high.  Seems to me the team owners are just a bunch of Bettman Bobbleheads and the players must be a tad too comfortable .  Could you afford to take a year off work?  I wish fans in all NHL cities would flock to the arenas and cancel their season tickets – show that fans really care about what is being done to them – not to mention to the many people who’s livelihood is affected.

City Council is buying thousands of dollars worth of trees to “beautify” a local neighbourhood  – or worse, spending money on a piece of art made up of woollen crutches – while our infrastructre is falling apart, swallowing cars, flooding basements, sending sewage into the Ottawa River.  Now….I have nothing against trees and nothing against art – but I do believe there should be some sense of priorities when it comes to spending my money.  I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.  For the councillors (most of them), it is easy to handle the little issues, approve a thousand here and a few thousand there – what is difficult is to tackle the real issues – the big ones…….so guess what takes up the most time around council table?  You guessed it!

PSAC – a public sector union – actually spends part of the money collected in union dues on political activities.  Are they speaking on behalf of their members?  Do they know what the members’ political issues are?  Of course not!  Another case of the tail wagging the dog.  What surprised me even more was that they collect $76M in union dues and spend $43.7M on salaries and benefits to union staff.  Who are they really looking after?

And I’m only on page 6!!!

Just Bitchin’ – Letter to City Hall

Sep9

They have asked for input from the public with regard to the upcoming 2013 municipal budget exercise – so I provided mine.  On re-reading my rambling rant – I probably should have waited until cooler heads prevailed – it does go on and on……but, such as it is, I do earn my right to whine!

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Let me start by saying I am not the least bit happy with a 2.5% annual budget increase.  That number has been talked about to such an extent, it is almost now considered the de facto starting point and IT SHOULD NOT BE SO!!
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I spent 30+ years in the private sector and have a pension with zero cost of living increase – ZERO, not 2.5% – and a much smaller pension than a public sector one at that.  I’m not complaining about my pension – I’m darned lucky to have one.  I am concerned  that everything EXCEPT my pension continues to go up and up and up, resulting in my disposable income going down and down and down.  After working hard, saving hard, buying a home, paying for a home, worrying about finances is not how I saw myself spending my retirement years.  Property taxes are a significant chunk out of my monthly income!!
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I feel concern when I see my municipality involved in things I believe to be outside of a “municipal mandate” – such things as long-term care facilities, social housing, buying strange works of art,  while our roads and infrastructure are falling apart.  These things should be left to the provincial folk.
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I want my City to treat tax dollars the way most households treat their income.  You must prioritize!  You start with the “must haves”.  If there is budget money left over, you move to the next priority group. We seem to spend a lot of money on “nice to haves”.  WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD THESE.   I have never felt a sense of accountability at the municipal level.  Mr. O’Brien had great ideas but found himself all alone in a sea of people who prefer not to rock the boat.  WHERE ARE THE REAL LEADERS?  Is re-election really so important?  Or – given the union strongholds, can anyone ever really lead???
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I want you to start the budget exercise with a goal of decreasing the overall budget by 10%.  If this is set as a REAL goal, maybe the bright minds that are being paid the big bucks at city Hall will actually think of some good ways to  reduce expenditures!!  Do you think the unions would allow this???????….and therein may lie the real problem.  More and more, the unions seem to be running the show – in public sector at all levels.  There is something very wrong with this picture.  I don’t believe that there is a place for unions in public sector, funded by us, the public and I am appalled at how strong they have become.
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I want SOMEBODY to take on the unions.  More, More, More, simply cannot continue.  With the exception of firefighters, policemen and paramedics, staffing at the municipal level is probably 30% higher than it needs to be.  Nobody HAS to think of better and more cost-effective ways of doing things…..in fact, anyone who does is considered anti-union.  Eegads!!  What has happened to basic work ethic?
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I have lost faith. I have lost faith at the municipal level, the provincial level and the federal level. I now fully expect to see a minimum of 2.5% increase in the city budget.   I don’t think we can afford to be as GREEN as we would like to be.  I don’t think we can afford to run programs that run negative balances (e.g. green bin) – lovely ideas – but NOT AFFORDABLE.  I want a return to common sense!!!  Remember that?
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Lastly – you will not see me attending one of your town hall type or open forum/discussion meetings.  Special interest groups take them over, standing at the microphone with tomes of paper and droning on and on about stuff that is of no interest to the average person.  Set aside special meetings for special interest groups and I will start to attend the real people meetings once more.
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Lovely idea to ask for input – it may give many others besides myself an avenue through which to vent.  My expectations are, unfortunately, abysmally low.

Just Bitchin’ – Cost Effective Health Care

Aug26

When I think of the term “cost effective health care”  until now, at any rate, I would have described it as the most cost effective way to provide the best health care possible.  NOT TRUE……at least not true in Ontario.

An article in today’s Ottawa Sun blew me away when I read that a drug is considered “not cost effective” if it prolongs life and will therefore result in a further burden on the health care system down the road.  CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?

The case in question is a local gentleman with prostate cancer.  His oncologist determined he could benefit enormously from a new drug called Zytiga – perhaps even double his life expectancy.  The drug has been approved by Health Canada and is funded by 8 Canadian provinces under their health plans.  Ontario, though, will not fund it.  The Health Minister’s office bluntly stated that the drug is not cost-effective.  While acknowledging its benefits, the message was that the drug is so effective in prolonging life, men will survive longer with prostate cancer, and will therefore cost the health care system more money.

Chemo is funded – requiring hospital time, nursing time, blood work and more.  Zytiga is a once-a-day pill with relatively few side effects….no hospital time, no chemo, no nursing time, no blood work.   But  here’s the glitch:  Because it is so well tolerated, it can be given to a much larger population – thus the province’s position…….more men will live longer than those given alternative treatments such as chemotherapy and this will, therefore, cost the health care system more money.

Somehow I find this thinking on the part of the Committee to Evaluate Drugs TWISTED.  A third of my tax dollars are going to a health care system that really doesn’t want me to live as full a life as possible!!!  How bizarre is that?  What do you think?

Just Bitchin’ – What to Blog About?

Aug3

There are times when I sit with my morning coffee, reading the newspaper… and I have a significant reaction to something I’m reading.  More often than not, these reactions tend to lend themselves to “rants”.  Here are some examples:

I have trouble believing what I’m reading when I “hear” things like the current liberal proposal to put a 2-year freeze on teachers’ wages.  What in the heck do these folks think is going to happen at the end of year two?  Do you think teachers just might expect to “get caught up on missed increases”????????? DUHHHHH!  Bandaids, bandaids, and more bandaids!

….and why should teachers give up what they believe are their “rights” when federal public sector workers get PAID to retire!……they don’t just get a darned decent pension – they get “termination pay”…….FOR RETIRING!  As a former private sector worker, this just makes no sense at all – and it’s coming out of my pocket!!

I get upset when I read just about anything that comes out of our City Council (unless it comes from Allan Hubley – one sane voice among the bunch)……the “spin” is managed to an extent that it is laughable.  Susan Sherring should run for mayor in the next civic election!!

I get upset when the federal folks think it is just fine to provide EI payments to people who are working – do you suppose this could encourage folks to settle for part-time or ad-hoc work?  Maybe??  At the risk of upsetting a lot of people, I get upset at the idea that women on maternity leave can collect EI.  Isn’t it supposed to be applied to those “eligible for work”?  Why am I funding somebody’s choice to have a child?

I could be ranting about the very hot and very dry summer – the brown lawns, the potential impact on produce prices, etc – and I’m just as likely, 6 months from now, to be ranting about the very cold, snowy winter!

So – there is no end to the number of topics to rant about.

When it comes to the more positive stuff, human nature is such that we do tend to whine and complain more often than we compliment and rave about things.  It’s easier!  The negative stuff is in our face – in the newspapers, on TV and radio.

If, however,  I take the time to think about it – there are just as many things to rave about.

Turn on the TV and watch the excellent Olympic coverage.  What a celebration of mostly young athletes and their skills from all over the world! Finally – something that isn’t a typical reality show or cops and robbers, blood and guts.

Alfie is coming back!  I knew I was doing the right thing when I had Alfredsson and #11 put on my “vintage” style Ottawa Senators hockey jersey last year!  ….and there’s less than 2 months to go until hockey season starts up again!  Can’t wait!  This also means decent stuff to watch on television and the excitement of actually going to a game or two.

There is always another restaurant to be tested……trip to plan……bridge game to be played…..neighbourhood gathering to be enjoyed…..LIFE IS GOOD!

So – I rant…..or I rave……or I babble on about whatever turns my crank!!  It’s cathartic.  You should try it!

 

 

 

 

 

Just Bitchin’ – Nepean National Equestrian Park

Jul19

The City of Ottawa does it again……..or is it the NCC?  I’m not sure.  The land is owned by the NCC and leased by the city.

The City is certainly the one who decided to  close down the equestrian park because it was losing money.  What should one expect when a municipality tries to manage and run an equestrian facility?????  DUHHHH!!!

Terry Matthews – a very successful local entrepreneur – offered to take it on and put $30 million dollars into the park, expanding its use, adding soccer pitches, maintaining the equestrian events and offerings – but NO – the powers that be have decided this wouldn’t be fair to others who might want this opportunity – and it must all go to competitive tender – at some point in time.  Did you hear the thunder of a multitude of companies rushing to save the NNEP?  I sure didn’t.

Meanwhile, those who have their horses stabled there will have to find other lodgings and move them.

Those who take riding lessons there will have to find another place to take their instruction.

Those annual events on competitive riders’ calendars will disappear or be taken on by another facility.

The horses owned by the park will have to find new homes and the riding program for disabled kids will have to find a new provider.

Do you think any of this will come back to the NNEP a year or more down the road once the competitive process has been completed?  Not to mention, this sort of process often results in a contract to the lowest bidder….not necessarily the best one for the job!

The City did the wrong thing by sole-sourcing Lansdowne.  Now they are doing the wrong thing by refusing to sole-source the equestrian park. One certainly can’t put the two situations into the same category!!  They will likely never find a better scenario than that offered by Terry Matthews.   This is, of course, only my opinion.

BAH HUMBUG!