=== MAIL BO ummist twisted | n abortion Go facts Dear Editor: In response to Trevor Lautens’ recent col- umn about abertion polls, | would just like to say a few thing. Let’s test your Knowledge — not your per- sonal opinion: The last thing [ ever expect to hear about in this country is iefi-wing bias in the media. All one has to do is take a look at the history of columnists hired by the North Shore News to realize that there haven't beers many leftist columnists around here, From Doug Collins, whose ranting got so bad that people took him to a tribunal to our still scribbling columnist Trevor Lautens, it is obvious that the colum- nists in at least the North Shore News favour the right side of the political spectrum. His recent article that tried to persuade us all that this country is in face heavily anti- choice is just more evidence of that. [c reminds me of Leo Knight's article trying to convince me that Stockwell Day would be prime minis- ~ ter following the next election. The whole thing is preposterous. In his column, Lautens repeatedly quotes a Mr, Walter Szetela as an authority on polling and on the issue of abortion. Yes, he’s a math- emiatics professor, I can’t claim that he doesn’t know how to count, but [also know that he eS Correction Notice In: our 8-3B ToGo/Mantles flyer, Carnival buckle boot on page 34 is late - rainchecks will be avail- abie at the store. fn our 8-3 Shopping fs Good fiyer, Liz Claiborne red shopper hand- bag on page 34 (inside front cover of yellow cover) is available in. black only. Carnival buckle bootie by Manties, and Adelphi Stretch bootie by ToGo'on page 29 (page 15 in yellow cover flyer) is late - rainchecks will be avail- able at the store. oe Sorry for any inconvenience “this may have caused... used to edit the most heavily anti-choice newsletter in the province. His interest in argu- ing against the legitimacy ofa poll done by a body of non-partisan pollsters, such as Environies isn’t that there is a flaw with the process, it's that he, and obviously Mr. Lautens, feel that there is a flaw with the opin- iow of Canadians. Sure, the left-wing lobby in] Canada may want to maintain access te abortion and the currendy pro-choice status quo, but that does not mean that a majority of Canadians dis- agree. Mr. Szetela may have “real credentials,” but that doesn’t change the facet that his real problem wasn’t with the polling, but with the fact that The Vancouver Sun flashed a headline shewing that two-thirds of Canadians are in favour of access to abortion. It’s blarane that the purpose of this article is to discredit: the idea that choice is today's popular epinion, regardless of the cute gorilla math used to try and prove the opposite. And by the way, quoting polls that are 25- years-old aren't of much use today, Trevor. Uniess you really do believe that Joe Clark will be the nest prime minister. Sam Schechter North Vancouver thesamman@hotmail.com You know what a garage sale is, well we’re holding one for boats and boat gear. Used Boat Sale & Swap October 7-15 Thunderbird Marina _call to sell your boat "991-7434 yewwi.thunderbirdmarine.com Gold medal TV selection at C.G.M. from $299. .,,13", 20", 27", 32" & 36” screen sizes! : Right Price. Right Advice. y eaves. GREEK AIRE IDG 4 ge 5 Marie Dave, Sort Vanes Wednesday. September 20, 2000 — North Shore News - 9 ted white, np, auc er aoe There has certainly been a con- siderable amount of controversy over the past year with respect to the overall value of federal grant programs. For this reason, | thought !| would share with you some of the observations contained in a backgrounder report on the economic efficiency of Human Resources Canada's job-creation grants program. The report was published this past July by the C.D. Howe institute, and the conclusions reached were not at alf surprising to me j considering my own experience in following up on so-called “job creation” projects in North Vancouver. GOOD INTENTIONS The C.D. Howe analysis points out that allhough most of the debate regarding job- creation grants has focused on the issues of accountability, political interference, and/or so-called political “pork-barreling", the key lesson to be drawn from the HRDC boondoggle is the enormous inefficiency of the program as a whole. In fact, the report provides evidence that the entire concept of Government-subsidized job-creation programs is, at the very least, problematic. : Defenders of the grants program, of course, such as the now infamous Hon. Jane Stewart, while conceding that the management and the administration of the grants could use some improvemenis, insist that the grants pregram itself is worthwhile because it creates countless jobs across Canada. Those same defenders like to argue that the social benefits reaped through Government intervention in the labour market, immeasurably outweigh the cost of the grants program itself. Nobody doubts their good intentions, but the results are not cznsistent with the claims. COSTS AND BENEFITS According to the C.D. Howe backgrounder, and in stark contrast to Jane Stewart's claims, the cost of, and the distortion to, the labour market as a result of these programs far outweighs any conceivable, social benefit. As is pointed out in the backgrounder, the reality is that “basic economic principles tell us that the income, payrol! and consumption taxes levied to pay for job programs tend to distort the labour . market". This distoriion occurs because governments have to establish higher tevels of taxation in order to fund their passion for subsidizing job "creation", which in turn leaves fess money in the pockets of employees, who. in turn spend less on consumer goods, causing a slow down in _one or more sectors of the economy. . For the purposes of example, imagine that a new gas station has opened up on Lonsdale, and the owner has received a job-creation grant amounting to several. thousand dollars to “create jobs" by hiring one or two new employees.. This new gas station would not be operating in isolation though, because there are existing stations nearby that have been in business, serving the community, and paying taxes, for many years without the assistance of federal grant dollars. It would be quite likely that, as a result of opening promotions by the new and y advertonal, Sertember 20. 2000 EMOTE aes JOB CREATION GRANTS DO THEY WORK? subsidized gas station, a significant amount of business would be lost from the well established stations. This would probably result in some employees being jaid off, lower remuneration for the owners, and smalier profits, or even fosses, for those stations. The Government, in turn would collect fess in taxes for its ill advised interference in the marketplace, and may even have to begin making El payments to the laid off employees. In the above example, Government interference in the marketplace in the form of job-creation grants is not only unproductive, but actually ends up contributing to a loss in jobs that had previously been created as a result of the economics of supply and demand. The fact is, in a free market economy the number of jobs created, or lost, depends entirely on the economic principle of supply and demand. Therefore, any so-called Government job creation usually ends up distorting and § disrupting the job market rather than. | improving it. CONCLUSIONS - In the C.D. Howe. backgrounder, researcher Cherniavsky concludes that, "If Ottawa insists on playing a role in the labour market, it should use the tax system rather than trying to determine who most deserves a grant". | fully agree with Cherniavsky’s observation. The Government should be giving us lower taxes, not trying to pick. winners and losers in business using your . hard earned tax dollars. Quite apart from the issue of taxation, and based on my own past experience as the owner of a private business, | do not believe for a moment that business: owners are going to hire staf’ ey do not need. As a result, | am very skeptical that Government wage subsidies to the private sector actually create any new jobs. They : .simply end up subsidizing jobs that would: | have been created anyway if the need for: the additional products or services j- existed. in addition, the evidence strongly. [- suggests that subsidies to both the private - and public sectors, in the form of job- creation grants, simply encourage the” transfer of jobs from one organization to : another, by. providing a cost advantag arid a competitive edge to the recipient of the grant. : oe As is suggested in the C.D. Howe’ report, the Government would likely be a lot more successful at obtaining its goals, © ‘and could positively influence. the labour” market, if it concentrated on tax relief as - an incentive for business owners’. to expand their operations and. hire more. staff. A tax incentive based program would -be open to every’ business owner, would be less subject to political ‘ intervention and manipulation, and would” produce more jobs, at less cost.to you, : the taxpayer. The bottom line - a dolla left in the hands of an employee or. ar entrepreneur is going to be spent a lot: more wisely, and will produce. a_ lo! more in terms of economic growth and. job creation, than a dollar left in. the. Every Sunday featuring great ~~ health for good living. aa