6 — Friday, January 7 7, 1994 ~ North Shore News

WO... Hold DO You
PRONOUNCE Z-H-1-R-
I-N-O-V-S-K-Y ?...

ead

— OGICAL DECISIONS continue to
e most of the governing political

parties.”

hey prefer instead to’ blunder on to the’

cial stage upon which they have no busi-
“ness. or te. steamroll into free enterprise mar-
ketplaces' to’ outfit. entrepreneurs with strait-
jackets of red tape and other. boneheaded
government guidelines. .:
When ne coud be of some genuine use,

Take bic le helmets, for example.
‘The B.C ‘government<continues to debate
what street-level folk might call. “a no-brain-
should British Columbians under the
‘age. of 18 be. required. to wear safety helmets
‘when riding bicycles?
Faced with research indicating that, bike
helmets. can cut the risk of brain:injury by
-alm ist 90% and, that. hundreds of B.C. chil-

dren are hospitalized annually suffering from

brain injuries’ received in bicycle accidents,
timid politicians continue to dither.

Cases

’ Never mind that states such as California
and New Jersey and other Canadian

provinces, such as Ontaria, have enacted .
bicycle helmet bylaws; the indecision contin-/

ues.
Some cyclists argue that wearing protec:
tive head gear should be voluntary. They pre-

sumably trot out the same non- -arguments

that motorcycle groups used and continue to

use when opposing the use of protective head

gear for motorcyclists: the freedom to crack
one’s skull open in sudden tragic accidents. |

“Others might argue that policing of such a
bicyele bylaw might be impossible. i

For conventional law enforcement groups
it may be, but why not leave the policing up
to parents?

Anybody who valucs what resides j in the

_heads of their offspring would surely | volun-

teer. :

Protective helmets simply make good
sense, which is why governments can’ 4 decide
on the issue. Good sense is an issue with
which they have tittle experience,

“Dear Editor:
™ Recently we had the prime min-
“ister and all provincial premiers

getting together in’ an attempt to.

reduce the deficit, and in particular
tocut government spending.

L However, -you, sir, in your edito-
rial of Ditc. 19, produced the most

inane stateniient ‘of 1993; when you '

actually suggested the government
(ie. taxpayer) lay down $1 billion to

increase the width of the Sqimish

° Highway to four Janes. and further

added that it would be “a necessary
investment.”

For whom? The ski lift operators
and hoteliers at Whistler, and a new
golf club at Furry Creck?

If these people really need a
four-lane racetrack to attract
tourists then let them find private
fi unds and d charge.

A billion dollars would provide
19 first-class hospitals for small
towns around B.C., and pay for the
doctors and aurses to stiff them.

Let's get our priorities right. If
there's any money for highways on
the North Shore, it should be spent

on the new tunnel across the:

Burrard inlet.
S. Ward

- West Vancouver

CAN CANADA save herself
from bankruptcy in the
same way business corpora-
tions sometimes save them-
selves — by converting debt
to equity? (By selling shares
in “Canada Inc.” on the
stock market.)

According to Ross Heaty and
Enrico Sgromo of The Soivency
Analysis Corporation in Toronto
the answer is yes, Their scheme —
the “2% Solution”. for paying off
the net federal debt in 30 years —
was described this week in The
Financial Post by editor Diane
Francis.

Although the total federal debt
hit $500 billion tast Tuesday,
Healy and Sgromo worked ona
net figure of $370 billion — leav-
ing the balance owed in unfunded
pension liabilities ($90-100 bil-
lion) and similar less-pressing
items to be worried about later.

Their plan is to launch a mas-

“sive worldwide underwriting of

$370 billion in participating pre-
ferred shares of a corporation
called “Canada,” to be listed on
every stock exchange on the globe.
‘The return to shareholders
would come from Canada distrib-
uting to them in cash each year
just over 2% of the gross national

product — the total annual value
“of all the goods and services we

produce.

Assuming an annual 3.5%
growth rate in the GNP over the
next 30 years, the Solvency
Analysis boys reckon shareholders
in Canada Inc. would get an aver-
age 4.5% annual return on their
investment, plus any capital gains.
from an increased share value,

_ True, this is appreciably less
than the return from other blué-
chip stocks. But dividends and
capital gains would be tax-free,
and the former, subject only to:
fluctuations in the annual GNP,
would be guaraniced by Ouawa .. °
with its Triple-A credit rating. |

As well, the boost to the econo-
my from eliminating the debt .
could bring better-than-average
dividends as a result of higher than
expected GNPs.

Allin all, say the promoters,
the process could pay off the entire
$370 billion net debt by the year
2024,

Or could it? As columnist

' Francis asks, how much tax rev-

enue would Ottawa LOSE on this

HITHER AND YON

huge volume of tax-free shares?

Would so many Canadians take".
advantage of the tax- -Free opportu ;
nity that they starved the private’
sector of investment dollars —
thus slowing down private sector
growth? Would solving the deficit _
problem cause the dollar to soar
and hurt Canadian exporters?

But there's one far more impor-
tant question: What doés the ‘
scheme do to teach governments”
the most vital lesson of all — how
to stop reckless overspending
caused by waste,’ extravagance, and
vote-buying? .”

Good try, ‘Messrs. Healy and
Sgromo. But until Ottawa icarns ,.’
THAT lesson, even your brain:
wave won't drag Canada out of the a
glue. ; . .

"WRAP-UP: Advice from the. -
moneynian awaits Tiddlycove™
business types Tuesday, Jan. 11,

& when Brad Lambert, Royal Bank -
veepee-of corporate: banking, tatks ts
to the 7:30. a.m. West Van oo. -:
Chamber of Cominerce breakfiist
at Pat's Restaurant,'131h and’
Marine,— call 926-6614 TODAY °
{0 reserve ... Opening today at ~"<
Suite 302, 1200 Lynn Valley Rd
is North Van MP. Ted White's
constiluency office (666-0585) —
manned 9 a.m, to 5 pam. Mondays
through Fridays ... Meanwhile, ,
525 West Van Air Cadets offer.”
boys and girls 12 =18 years.old
opportunities to fly, ski, camp and
many other interests call
Dawne, 980-2430, regarding their.
8:30 p.m. Tuesday meetings. |. 5:

Display Advertising 980-0511 Distribution. 986-1337 wc

Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Subsériptions 986-1237 feM
Classified Advertising 986-6222 Fax 985-3227 §
Newsroom 985-2131 Administration 985-2131 8

ee, MEMBER

’,..,Peter Speck
Timothy Renshaw’
; Noel Wright

Publisher

Wanaging Editor .
‘Associate Editor
Sales & Marketing Diractor..Linda Stewart
Comptroller Doug Foot

North Shore News, jounded in 1969 as an
independent suburban newspaper and qualitied
under Schedule til, Paragraph Ill of the Excise
Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and
‘Sunday by North Shore Free Cress Ltd. and
distributed to every coor on ihe Nosih Shore,
Canada Post Canadian Pubtications Mail Sales
Product Agreement No. 0087238. Maiting rales -
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bis newspaper
contains
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ae NEWS. phato Cindy Goodman .

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1139 Lonsdale Avenue,
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WATERPROOF WHEELCHAIR for elderly ond disabled at Karen :
Magnussen ‘wave pool, donated by Lyin Valley Lions, is pre-
sented to (left to right) Rec Centre programmer Nicole Liddell:.
and Rec Commission chairman Peter Bell by. Conway Clark and
David Grace, Lions president and vice-president. :

SDA DIViS IN

j 64, $82 (average circulation, Weanessay-? Firmay & Sunday)

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