Favourite Books

  • The Green Mile
  • Animal Farm
  • Lord of the Flies
  • Lord of the Rings
  • To Kill a Mockingbird

Wednesday 3 October 2012

Dictatorship

I have sat down to blog, many times recently, but...I just can't seem to natter on about one thing in particular.I have something in my craw today, and I have the overwhelming urge to spew.
  Yesterday I received a lovely colourful pamphlet from my town's District office. Oh my, what a surprise!!!Inside was the message that out of the blue, my Town Council had decided that our tiny community was suddenly going to have to start paying monthly for their water usage. O.K. all you folks in the big city likely do this already, however, you also have the pleasure of many amenities provided by your local City Council. We have F*ck all!!
  Where I live, the cost of living is extreme. A gallon of milk at the local grocery store will set you back $8, a loaf of their "bakery bread" sells for $2.89, haven't counted the slices in these little loaves, but, figure there are about 18, you do the math. If you have a pet, take out a loan...every single bag of cat food (small ones) costs 9.94, dog food, well, needless to say, I buy that either, at the local convenience store (cheaper) or out of town. That's the food....Then we have heat, just imagine, a winter that starts at the beginning of October, and ends sometimes in May. Winter temperatures hover between -5 and -30, more of the -30 (with added wind chill). We have short daylight hours during this time, so...lights must be used. That computes to  very high natural gas, and Hydro bills. No bus service, or Taxi in our town, therefore you must rely on your own vehicle...ooops lots of Deer and Moose collisions, ICBC costs much higher than the City. Onto fuel prices..not sure why, in the middle of Oil and Gas resources, we pay higher fuel costs than Vancouver with all their Transit taxes, etc.
  So what does our town offer to offset the nasty part of living in Nowhere B.C.? Ahhh..we have a swimming pool that some bright bulb decided would be an outdoor pool. That is open from the May long weekend, to the September long weekend. Then we have hockey, and curling(yep, winter stuff, and consisting of folks who love to drive all over the north in blinding snow storms for the enjoyment of their children).
  We have a couple of sidewalks, we have amazing flowers that line these said sidewalks, we have pots of plants hanging all of hell's 1/2 acre, we have boat launches (of course, most of these are on Hydro land, and they can close them down when the urge hits them). We have No Idle zones, all about, set by folks who apparently have never had issues at -40 with their vehicles. We have a new by-law that no one can offer RV's a place to set up when all the local campsites are full. Oh, our District run campgrounds, well, there is another ZIT. Someone decided that no one could camp longer than 5 or 7 days (not sure which one) at any site. Hellooooo..WTF? They pay by the day (unless they have a local pass) does it really matter how many days they have to pay,? Apparently they have to pack up and move to another site, can't understand this insanity!
  This is by far the most unwelcoming town I have ever spent time in. It is centered around one "company" which is also part of our Provincial government. As a tax payer, I am required to pay property taxes, this "company" does not pay property taxes, they, instead, have decided a specific amount that they will grant the town each year (well below the amount they indeed should pay for taxes). They get services from our town, but unlike the ordianry person, don't have to pay. I also have to pay Water and Sewer various times a year. Until recently the water that we were supplied, was so nasty, I would go through small appliances every few months, because the mineral buildup would destroy a coffee pot that quickly.
  We do NOT have a local Dr. we have visiting ones that flitter through part of the week, but these simply drive into town in the morning, and drive away at the end of the day. We cannot even get a cut stitched at the local Clinic if the Dr. is not in, therefore, anything after the Dr. leaves, must require a drive (with the high fuel prices) to one of the neighboring areas 45 minutes away. Dentist, that means a trip out of town, optometrist, trip out of town, clothing, trip out of town, school supplies, trip out of town, sick pet, trip out of town (do not idle).
  Now I receive this fabulous pamphlet. The words that raised the hairs on the back of my neck were..IT IS MANDATORY...to call the company to arrange a time for them to enter my home, to install this meter, within 2 weeks, so that I can dig deeper into my pocket every month to now pay a second time for water!!!
   I suppose in truth, I am partly to blame for this insanity, I did NOT vote in the last Council election. I could not bring myself to waste the time to go to the polling station to pick through names of people who had promised all sort of things they did not deliver, previously. I spent many nights for years going to the Council meetings, and would sit in my chair rolling my eyes at the stupidity , same crap over and over. Then they started their IN-CAMERA meetings. Hello, these are the secret ones behind closed doors, that someone decided are not for the public ear. Whoa, every single Council meeting has one of these attached to it. I just wonder, for people who are voted in to do what is in the best interest, or even more, what the blasted Public wishes, they have far too many private get togethers in the back room. I have lost faith in anything remotely connected to government, and this town reeks of government.
  Ah, you say, why don't I run for office? HAH!!! If someone who is really not considered a "local" (only been here 9 years, not connected to the aforesaid "company" even attempted to run, they would be lucky to get a few measly votes from those few friends they have. You MUST be connected!! Plus, I am sure if by some incredible fluke, I did get voted in, I would certainly be requested to leave quickly, because I simply cannot abide by stupidity!! I (if you haven't noticed, yet) tend to open my mouth, and vomit my take on things. I have managed to make people cry when I have had to participate in group organizations, not on purpose, but, just because when I start on a rant, I become very verbal (surprise). I am sick and tired of legalize. Our lives have become so ruled and regulated by political correctness, it is anal. Nothing gets done quickly, or even at all, simply because the lawyers and government plop so much red tape, which costs so much each layer you must peel off. Only pennies are left once the bureaucrats get their piece of the pie.
  It is clear the Dictators are not only in our provincial Liberal government, we now have them in our dinky little communities, doing what they think is BEST for us. My years of needing a babysitter, or even a parent, are far behind me.
  We need someone to step into our world now, someone who can just erase all the garbage that we have allowed those in power to state is law. We need someone who can take all the massive tax dollars our government has in their coffers, and tear off the blasted red tape, to allow the money to flow directly where it is needed. We need to make "companies" like the one that rules the town I live in, stop their waste, we don't need a modular home set up in the middle of Vancouver to showcase how much electricity is used, we don't need "companies" to spend mega bucks on a publicity tour to shove their reasoning for massive spending down our throats. We don't need politicians spinning fantasy, when the reality is slapping us in the face. Save the commercials.
  The only thing that should be MANDATORY, is for all governments, no matter how small, to stop screwing the tax paying public, and spend our money with care. I am fed up with continual money grabs, and in truth, I will be paying for water 3 times, as, the stuff that comes out of my tap is not something I want to drink, so I have to buy bottled.
  Wow, what a concept, 40 years ago, if someone had told me that one day, I would be paying for water, I would have died laughing. Like everything else, things were better and cheaper in the old days, even government!

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