City
Sunday Supplement: The strange case of the lost middle class, iPad madness, and is Rob Ford your enemy?
Sunday Supplement rounds up the week's most important, amusing and link-worthy news stories.
Rob Ford was a big winner this week, though the first public art exhibit devoted to the new mayor revealed a certain ambivalence. Meanwhile, Maple Sports and Entertainment has too much money, and the residents of 200 Wellesley are looking to make a little bank themselves. Here's the week in review.
VERBATIM
"It's a great day for the taxpayers of Toronto. We just put $64-million back in their pockets. They can do what they want. They can go out and spend it, create jobs and stimulate the economy or they can save it." - Mayor Rob Ford on the elimination of the vehicle registration fee. Now what about that budget shortfall?
"We're just going to try to sway people with facts. To me, this is not dollars and cents. It's smoke and mirrors.... Where is the money coming from? You can't do what (Ford) is doing without cuts. And that's what I'm focusing on. I'm going to be vigilant about service cuts." - Councillor Pam McConnell asks a similar question to the one above.
"MAYOR FORD IS NOT MY ENEMY." - Gregory Alan Eliott offers a positive message about the city's new leader, but an anonymous resident modifies the meaning by brushing away the "not." Quite the visual metonym the current state of this city.
"The reality is that the industrial engineering would make it perfect for a hockey rink. It's cheaper to reuse it than to demolish. We wouldn't have to build an $80-million rink. It's the smartest thing to do. We have $34-million (from Ottawa) that has to be spent on the waterfront on a sports facility, and we have to do it soon." - Councillor Adam Vaughan on the future of the Hearn Generating Station.
"I get sweaty.... In my mind I still don't see how it all works. All that weight floating through the air. Just doesn't sound right." - Toronto Maple Leaf Tyler Bozak explains his fear of flying.
NUMBERS
$88,400 vs. $26,900 - The two average incomes that speak to Toronto's shrinking middle class.
12 - The number of weeks before construction is expected to be fully complete on Roncesvalles.
$80-million - The amount of a lawsuit filed by 200 Wellesley resident, Jo-Anne Blair, against Toronto Community Housing and Greenwin Property Management.
39-6 - The breakdown of the vote on eliminating the vehicle registration tax.
40 - The number of iPads MLSE-owned restaurant E11even uses to display its wine list.
$549 - The starting price of an iPad (16G, WIFI only).
$21,960 - Those numbers multiplied. So why are the Leafs under the salary cap?
FROM THE ARCHIVES
I'm working on a 2010 version of an over-the-top Christmas lights post, but here's a look at last year's so we can do a little comparison and contrast: Crazy (but Sometimes Beautiful) Christmas and Holiday Lights in Toronto.
VIDEO
Speaking of tech toys, we've certainly come a long way...
Mind. Blown. Below.
Photos by Tomasz Bugajski and wyliepoon, respectively. Toys R Us Video from Retrontario. Word Lens clip via Gizmodo.
Discussion
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The cap in the NBA is soft, though. Every top-level team exceeds it. MLSE has never allowed the Raptors to go over.
Ask yourself: Am I financially where i want to be?
if yes, good, carry on. But --> ask yourself, if you are in the lower middle class or less, is that because you found a cheap apt/ other parasitic situation and are content to work 20 hours a week? Well then you are likely a net sponge using expensive city resources like subsidized transit/ parks/ roads without paying the average property tax, provincial tax that supports these systems and prevents them from getting better.
If no, then ask: is it my fault because i don't have the right skills or the right attitude (though of course there is that small, small minority that were doing everything right, but just got blind-sided by corruption from above or the recession or language issues)
Case in point: buddy of mine doing well with internet company 3 years ago, decided that working 40 hours a week was for schmucks - would not innovate, improve, or save -- now is screwed, bitter, and anti-Ford guy. Don't let it happen to you. The average property tax is over $2000 a year - and the average income that provides tax benefits from the province in $32k. Are you contributing to upkeep of this city or are you a sponge?
Having once been a new immigrant (+ I'm a visible minority) I can attest to the difficulty in finding 'good' jobs when you are trying to put food on the table and work 1/2 full time jobs that leave little in the way of free time for anything other than rest.
It is a sickening reality that the Canadian Immigration agency gives residency on the basis of professional qualifications that their own business owners (or govt) refuses to recognize as experience.
No immigrant comes to Canada with a dream on working 20 hours a week for minimum wage. We come to make something of ourselves, but are forced into survival mode.
What this city needs is a work placement program that places new immigrants into jobs that provide growth opportunities within their field of expertise.
Sure there may be language issues for some immigrants, and some canadians have it easier because of family connections. But there are still a lot of canadian born people who despite hard work and education can't get into their field of expertise.
As to Jer's comment, I think s/he is making up crap based on perhaps only one example. Most people wouldn't choose to work 20hrs a week unless they were making $100/hr. And renters still pay property taxes indirectly through their rent.
Also, your logic is that anyone who doesn't pay property taxes is a "sponge"? You do think landlords don't factor in the cost of their property taxes to tenants? Really? Ultimately, we all pay property taxes, directly or indirectly.
And the other bit about sponging off "subsidized" transit. The reason TTC fares gets jacked up so regularly is because government refuses to subsidize adequately the operating costs. The TTC operating budget is among the least subsidized among major transit agencies in North America. Every public transit system in the world is subsidized.
And by the way, an increase in ridership this year increased the TTC revenue by the $60M. So, it can be argued, that transit actually subsidized your personal vehicle tax elimination.
Your welcome.
Also, your logic is that anyone who doesn't pay property taxes is a "sponge"? You do think landlords don't factor in the cost of their property taxes to tenants? Really? Ultimately, we all pay property taxes, directly or indirectly.
And the other bit about sponging off "subsidized" transit. The reason TTC fares gets jacked up so regularly is because government refuses to subsidize adequately the operating costs. The TTC operating budget is among the least subsidized among major transit agencies in North America. Every public transit system in the world is subsidized.
And by the way, an increase in ridership this year increased the TTC revenue by the $60M. So, it can be argued, that transit actually subsidized your personal vehicle tax elimination.
Your welcome.