BoLeko By RAVEL INSIGHTS GoAL-A€Ro By FAVEL EROM. NEWS VIEWPOINT Tax breaks EARTY applause should go out to North Vancouver District aldermen for voluntarily pushing themselves away from the public trough. In a 4-3 vote on Monday night, ‘district council members turned down a 5.4% ‘ And while the salary for the district’s mayer - was still raised 5.4% and the amount of money involved for the aldermen was largely insignificant, the gesture should be 2 pleasant surprise for district residents and all other long-suffer- ing taxpayers. Politicians voting against more money for themselves, no matter how small the amount, is a move that should be en- thusiastically encouraged. But more than encouraged, it should put taxpsyer minds to. work on. where else government spending can be cut and bring pressure to bear on all levels of govern- ment to push themselves away from the public trough. Spending cuts in the last federal budget were a start, but the federal deficit is still $31.4 billion and will still be at least $27.5 billion in 1993. Taxes, bureaucracies, inefficiencies, greed and political poltrooneries are sapp- ing the energy and vision from this coun- try. Canadians, British Columbians and North Shore residents need to come up with more and better ways to cut spending by governments, so that taxpayers will -have some money to spend on things other | than ill-conceived government largesse and endless political boondoggles. NEWS QUOTES OF THE WEEK “It was pretty well split evenly be- tween getting the finger and thumbs up.”” | Corner store owner Harry Bloy, on reaction to his protest against the sale of discount cigarettes from a ‘smoke shop_ operated at the Squamish Band Mission Reserve in North Vancouver. ‘Being a natural boss, J] needed people to bos:. around.”’ North Vancouver conductor .Lars Kaario, on leading the choir at Capilano College to previously Publisher Managing Editor . Associate Editor Advertising Director . Comptrolier Peter Speck . . Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright . .Linda Stewart Doug Foot unattained levels of success. “It’s utter, complete, total chaos. The council of the District of North Vancouver in their in- competence have just put the nail in the livability of the District of North Vancouver. North Vancouver District Ald. Ernie Crist, on district council’s decision against extending the program to register illegal suites in the district. “*What we've been doing is charg- Display Advertising 980-0511 Real Estate Advertising 985-6992 Newsroom 985-2131 Distribution Subscriptions Classified Advertising 986-6222 Fax Administration ing a nickel for a dollar’s worth of water.’’ North Vancouver District Mayor Murray Dykeman, on the real costs of trying to ensure local water quality. - “If we do have to make cuts, children and youth should take priority over the old and grey.”’ William Webber, associate vice-president and professor of anatomy at UBC, on making cuts to health care costs shouldered by the provincial government. North Shore managed 986-1337 Ga, 986-1337 985-3227 985-2131 North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualilied under Schedule 711, Paragraph It of the Excise Tax Act, is published ‘each We ednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885. Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year, Mailing rates available on-.request: . Submissions are welcome but we cannot accept tesponsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts- and pictures which should accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope. V7M 2H4 north shore Higey BUNDAY « WEDNESDAY © FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, | North Vancouver, B.C. MEMBER 1 ok VAN] peseearen ets a Ea SDA DIVISION 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Vriday & Sunday) Entire contents © 1992 North Shore Free Press itd. Ail rights reserved. Dream on about Mike facing up to shareholders “SUBSTANCE ABUSE” is constant news nowadays, yet one of the most costly forms never bears that label. The substance is other people’s money. The abusers ave gov- ermments and their agencies — just as hooked - i their ad- diction as any needle-wielding Skid Road junkie. .. Shrieking examples have recent- ly been revealed in the survey of Socred mismanagement of B.C.’s finances carried out for the NDP government by a private accoun- ting firm. The horror stories of stupid business deals, massive cost over-runs, bad debts and those 8,000 ‘‘hidden’”’ public servants could curdle a taxpayer’s blood. Not forgetting the survey itself. In order to appear squeaky clean the New Democrats paid Peat Marwick almost $1 miliion, again out of your and my pockets, for their political hatchet job. Was there any bargaining or tendering before the deal was struck? Was an outside audit really essential at all, given the army of highly paid civil servants available to do,the job? And if Finance Minister Glen Clark didn’t trust them to tell him the truth, why are we continuing to pay them at all to look after our affairs? The audit revealed, among other things, that public sector wages alone consume 53% of all our B.C. taxes --- including five years of pay hikes that have con- sistently topped those of the . private sector. In recession-wracked 1991, while private sector raises averag- ed less than 4%, teachers and health care workers grabbed better than 7%. If the publicly paid boys and girls don’t get their demands, we have last Monday’s mayhem by striking UBC workers. The taxpayer who foots the bill is also stopped from going about his lawful business. ICBC raises premiums by 19%. At the time stories emerge of it paying repair shops twice the sum quoted to a private customer for . the same work. No matter. The public picks up the tab, not ICBC. One can continue until ex- hausted with similar examples at every level of government — especially in the heaith care, education and public works areas. The causes: imcompetence, em- pire-building, vote-catching, placating noisy minorities and union strong-arming. All of it due to the immunity of governments from the discipline of the marketplace — where every private business must provide its goods or services at a price the consumer will pay. So its very life - depends on producing them in the most efficient and economical way. ; GLEN CLARK... aides be trusted? Noe! Wright HITHER AND YON - - What happy taxpayers we'd be, if we could ever devise a form of © government that kicked this ruin- ous type of ‘‘substance abuse’’ and copied the free enterprise system to which they all pay lip service. Dream on, this Sunday after- noon, about Mike Harcourt trying to explain to a shareholders: ~ meeting why they lost their shirts to him!’ ees WRAP-UP: Talent from every » part of the United Commonwealth ~— former Soviet Union — is... 2°: - featured Monday, March 16,>~'_: °: when the Druzhba (Russian for: ‘‘iriendship”’). Folk Dancers’ per. form in the North Shore Com-. munity Concerts series at the Cen- tennial Theatre. For info on 1992-93 NSCC membership ‘ renewals ($50) and new applica- © tions call 988-8696"... Today, __- March 15, a 95-candle birthday. salute to Hilda Greenwood of.) Kiwanis Lynn Manor — aged four when Queen Victoria died.....-. 0...” Many happy returns of tomorrow, March 16, to North Van’s Alan. . Hassell and Jeanne Wintemitte ... And it’s gift-of-life time again. a tomorrow and Tuesday at the : : 2;30-8 p.m. LGH blood d nor, clinic. eee WRIGHT OR WRONG: Bé nice to everyone until you make your. . first million. After that, they'll be nice to you. : MIKE HARCOURT... free enterprise lip service. :