jarcourt’s dot-to-dot g ALTHCUGH HIS budget was welcomed with affection not witnessed since the advent of Kosemary’s Baby, Finance Minister Glen Clark was not apologizing to anyone. We had a chat not long after he left the legislature. The adrenaline was still pumping within him as he responded to a long list of criti- cisms. The budget raises $1.4 billion in new revenues. 8.C.’s is the only government in Canada that has not launched an assault on expen- ditures. Clark disputes this. He said that the 5.6% increase in spending is entirely as a result of debt servic- ing and population growth. There are more new people than there are new jobs. Welfare will cost 18% more. The finance minister argues that the most crucial priority is to wrestle down the deficit. He says that if revenues and ~ expenditures carried on unchecked at the levels of the current fiscal year, the shortfall would reach $3.4 billion. He says that the combination of restraint and new revenue measures in h’s budget will reduce that to $1.5 billion. While medical doctors continue to be ignored, and the business community pleads for measures to stimulate investment, all govern- ment unions have settled for com- fortable increases iz job security. it is said that all of the “friends"’ of the New Democratic Party have been paid off. The deal with the nurses and hospital employees guarantecing job pro- tection and a 36-hour weck is emerging as a critical error, a benchmark for every group, negotiating with the government. With only rare exceptions, every appointment made by the NDP . OPEN LINES since taking office has been to the party faithful. In most cases, the wage-benefit package is greater than anything these people have ever made in thcir lives. Finance ministers used to de- fend the sales tax by saying it really clobbers those who buy luxury items. Now we see the NDP finding that this is not enough — the tax on luxury cars has been elevated to 10%. Glen Clark is hammering home a principle here: this is a tax on success. It is no longer enough to tax profit: no mater how you spend after-tax income, jou will be hit with & series of luxury taxes. The Social Credit government recognized that land values in ur- ban areas had soared to such an extent that any property tax based on those values would mean that The designer quality you've come to expect from JAROT Window Designs now has an added bonus, our lowest price guarantee. Shop March 29th to April 17th and your purchase will be protected. Sheuld you find the same product advertised elsewhere for lessJABOFwill refund the difference. Blinds, draperies, upholstery treatments, anything you buy ‘from JABOT Window Designs is covered, even the Hunter Douglas window fashions we specialize in! Shop now with confidence! 4& Silhouettes (exclusive to Hunter Douglas) 4 Duettes 4 1/2" & 1" Venetians ¥#* 1" & 2" Woods %#* Verticals % Pleated Shades 4 Innovative skylight systems Lowest Prices Guaranteed March 29th to April 17th Call now to book a no-obligation "creative" consultation: 922-4668 JABOT Located near you at 2413 Marine Drive, West Vancouver DUNDARAVE owners would be paying a wildly unfair portion of province-wide education costs. Why should a Vancouver parent — facing higher costs in every aspect of daily life — pay three and four times as much to educate a youngster than a similar parent in Prince George? This is the case if you live on valuable land. The Socreds offset this blatant discrimination with a supplementary homeowner's grant. Last year, the NDP did away with this, effectively imposing a tax of several hundred dollars on most North Shore homes. This year, a high percentage of North Shore housing will be fur- ther slammed, for no additional benefit. The moncy will be spent elsewhere in B.C. In every tax and fee surcharge — hundreds of them in just two years — the NDP government has more mercilessly assaulted the North Shore municipalities than anywhere else in B.C., other than the similarly targeted west side of Vancouver. The gross debt of British Col- umbia when the NDP assumed power was $18.5 billion. This in- cludes all municipal borrowing and Crown corporations. By mid-1994 it will stand at $26.4 billion. The bottom line is: 30 months, $8 billion debt. It is repeatedly heard in downtown circles that the Mike Harcourt government is precisely the same as the Dave Barrett ad- ministration, and that it too, will be given an ignominious boot at the first possible opportunity. The “boot’’ part may come to ov t Sunday, April 4, 1993 - North Shore News - 9 xing pass, but no two governments could be more unlike. The Barrett team was burdened by dogma and a compulsion to experiment with a vast array of theories. Harcourt determinedly seeks the middie. The 1972-75 government was adventurous; this era’s group —- obsessed with political correctness — wou.an’t dance the ballet ‘unless there was a safety net, The old NDP was astonishingly — even dangerously — produc- tive. This gang has done absolute- ly nothing but increase fees and taxes, spout cliches on modern issues, and attempt to suppress the budget under the weight of Of- ficial Worry. Barrett was exciting, entertain- ing, aggravating and calamitous. Harcourt and his government are expensive and boring. In 1975, Dave Barrett prayed for another chance. There were‘ two catastrophic mistakes that would never be repeated. He inherited the slimmest and least sophisticated public service in ‘Canada when he succeeded W.A.C. Bennett. His government then proceeded «with one of the largest and most complicated legislative programs ever devised in this country: ICBC, a Royal Commission on Family and Children’s Law, en- vironment policies, nationalization of several businesses, a labor code, consumer legislation, a tailcar plant at Squamish, Com- munity Resource Boards, SeaBus, Pharmacare, the Agriculture Land Reserve, new ships for the ferries and a redesign of BC Hydro and BC Railway capital projects. No area of B.C. life was Success spared. History has proved that the preponderance of these measures were excellent. The political errcr was simply too much, too soon. It was a 10- ton load on a one-ton truck, This was one mistake. The second fatal error was the management of labor. Under far less sophisticated leadership than what exists today, labor viewed the NDP as Christmas. Limitless greed was invariably met in Victoria by weak-kneed leadership. Until 1975, govern- ment capitulated to all pressure. In the fall of 1975 the province was paralyzed by a forest shut- down, a Teamsters walkout on Vancouver Island and an emo- tional Vancouver supermarket strike. Barrett was applauded when he called the legislature back into session to order everyone back to work. But it was not enough. He would never get his second chance at government. When his policies matured into full bloom under Socred management, he was a mere spectator. Dave Barrett and his team were imaginative and creative. They should sue for defamation any in- dividual who compares them to the lifeless mob in government today. Barrett was an artist. Harcourt draws in his dot-to-dot book, connecting the environment, with women, with ethnics, with aboriginals, with social engincers and other acceptable good works. As we learned this week, Har- court’s personal stairway to heaven is an expensive process. PRE INVeNTORY SALE FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY, MONDAY! Browse through our 2 Thomasville Galleries and you'll discover the ultimate in quality bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, accent tables, welll systems and entertainment centers, you'll also find an exciting selection of Thomasville furnishings - sofas, loveseats and chairs, While everything in our Galleries may not be shown in both stores, everything is available at both !scations and at Inventory Sale prices. Delivery extra on all 50% and 70% merchandise. 4240 Manor Street, Burnaby {1/2 block west of Vita Shertaton Hotel), HOUKS: ° Monday to Saturday - 9 to 5 p.m. Sunday - noon to 5 p.m. LESAN BDI TEE ACT NRT TT ES CITY 435-5566 9 THOMASVILLE GALLERY eC meee TF . 1080 Mainland Street Vancouver, B.C. Main Floor The Yale Town Galleria Bldg. § 685-8414 Ft”