EMBRACE optimism,
British Coiumbians.

Wehev leave us with noth-
ing else, they will leave us
that cockamamie nation of
how to run a provinee.

The NDP’s socialist
hordes are currently pinned
down in Victoria under heavy
artillery fire from all quar-
ters,

And a fitting bombard-
meat it is.

Bat dag blast it, readers,
they are hanging in there in
the Premier-bunker.

How could this be?

What with the NDP's fast
ferries project se
holed; budget hijin!
revealed, anti-recall dirty
tricks out of the bay, casino
dice coming up snake eves

Whar political armour
have they donned to shield
themselves from the
onslaught?

How could this humour-
less pack of political tlir-tlans
artists keep on ketping on?

Look no further than the
late great budget shell game.

Beneath all the blarney
and socialist fog machinery,
there resides the slippery soul
of contrived positive think-
ing.

In the budget caper, it
was rolled our as “revenue
optimism.”

Ever Tite Len

ripping
yarns

For cconomises aafamiliar
with the jargon of positivity,
itis a Blanket term for the
newest product manufac:
tured by Lotus Land pols.

It is snake off of the high-
est order,

Pumped into the 1996
pre-election budget it was
the elixir chat pushed the
numbers over the top and
helped return the shameless
NDPers te power for what
has been a disastrous second
term by any measure.

The 1995/96 budget sur-
plus of $16 million and the
pre-1996 provincial election
budget surplus of $87 mil-
ion were both fictions based
on revenue projections
grounded in litte more than
good vibrations —- $156 mil-
fion worth of revenue opti-
mism whipped up by the
NDP braintrust to cook the
provincial books with positiv-
ity,

And by God it worked.

Somewhere the ghost of

A vote against democracy

Dear Editor:

Democracy is not alive and
well in North Vancouver
Four members of our counci.
chose to vote against. Lin:
motion to allow our cucers
to vote in this fall's election
on whether or not they would
like direct democracy.

Even though an over-
whelming majority of those in
attendance spoke in favour of
this motion, four council
members ~ Mayor Don Bell
and councillors Janice Harris,
Glenys Deering-Robb and
Trevor Carolan — voted
against this.

Since when do four people

TRY OUR

have the right: to decide
what’s good for the many
thousands fiving here? They
must think we are too stupid
to think for ourselves, Please
remember these four names
when voting this fall.

Let’s throw them out and
bring some democracy to our
fair shores.

Elinor Ryan
North Vancouver

¢ GRADES 7 70 8 ENGLISH

doing the wave.

Socialist bromide of the
dave if vou haven't any nice
numbers to give the people
don’t given them any real
numbers at all.

Best of all for posttiss
pols, revenue optimisin is
fabricated from an ines:
haustible source: thin air.

And it costs nothing more
than bravada and brass to
produce.

Anvhoo, if optimism can
be applied to budgetary mat-
ters with such brazen disre-
gard for truth and reality
then surely it can be applied
to vexing problems else-
where.

The fast ferries, for exam.
ple.

Liberally applied to that
boandoggle, optimism —
velocity optimism in this case
— could help the program
overcome its scemingly insur-
mountable difficulties.

Damn the cost overruns,
the delayed launch dates, the
cest-plus construction con-
tracts, the realities of the
international market place,
the complete disregard from
the outset for the project's
budget and cost control,

Damn the torpedoes and
full speed ahead, Captain,
because the one PacitiCat
currently undergoing sea ti-
als can fly on the water.

With the right amount of
optimism —- revenue, veloci-

Because you've had encugh ot

nessed there's no shoal the
PacifiCats won't be able to
navigate,

Laud the ship's design
and seaworthiness even
though its practicality on
local ruts remains i ques:
non.

Add in Hollywood clich-
es: build them and they will
come,

Add in anything vou fike.

Just be sure to add in
optimism.

What about casinos? Hey,
this is the heart of revenue
optimistic country.

Roll the dice.

No luck?

Now roll them again with
revenue optimism.

Note the difference. Sce
how much better you feel
when numbers can be made
to mean anything you want
them to.

What about debts and
deficits?

Nota problem.

So the latest numbers
appear to be a touch bleak:
B.C. is now on track for a
$500 miflion deficit, which
is five times bigger than
had been predicted by gov-
ePMHMENt revenue Optimists.

So business is flesing the
land in droves to escape run-
away taxation and crippling
regulation.

And so a Fraser Institute
study has just rated B.C. as
the third worst province ar

Days

faxes, Ainbleside Businesses bring

¥0u 2 ‘to Tax’ event. Watch fer the Feature in the
Apr 110: issue of the North Shore News.

FEATURE MADE POSSHUE THROUGH
THE SPUNSOLSHIP UP THE:

ASSOCIATION

Give Your Child
fe A POWERFUL ADVANTAGE

At Academy for Mathematics & Science our proven programs help
students learn at their own pace, continually supported by the
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Sunday. March 28, 1999 — North Shore News - 7

nomic advice

state in North America for
overall fiscal performance.

So what

Don’t dwell on the nega-
tive. Accentuate the positive.

Rack up another billion,
me buckos.

The next generation cy
pay the freight if chev don’t
have the good sense to live

their lives with a Titdle rev-
enue optimism, too.

Reality is far wimps. Give
us political positivity.

It works wonders, espe-
cially when you have a will-
ing audience that wants to
believe in it as much as vou
do.

-— trenshaw@direct.ca

oy
=n

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