Tis the time of the year that Big Brother is letting us know of the many gifts it is giving us, to which we should be eternally thankful for.
Locally, we now have an extremely over-budget running track that we can enjoy nightly as the real expensive lights seem to stay on forever.
Don’t even take into account the change rooms that were conveniently forgotten while the track was being built.
Another gift we can look forward to is an upgrade to our water meters so they may look pretty as they bleed more money from us poor schmucks.
The cost of getting that extra two cents from us will be well into the millions.
This is akin to an annoyed redneck that uses an AK-47 to kill flies that are polluting the carcass of an illegally harvested doe-eyed deer hanging in his backyard.
Remember when they were first installed? They were supposed to last 50 years. So who will pay for this mismanagement?
The biggest gift, however, is that our property taxes will only be going up a mere 3.4 per cent.
Of course, the new arena’s cost over-runs haven’t been taken into account yet, so hang on.
Provincially, our B.C. Medical premiums will be going up 3.5 per cent.
If you are retired, no doubt, you are looking forward to that nice, fat cost-of-living increase coming to us at the end of January.
The rumour is that we may get one per cent. I wonder where I can spend that $14?
Speaking of that one per cent, how come we have to follow that mantra while the Spendthrift twins, Willy and Nilly are free to ignore that wisdom?
Remember, that we have had instilled in us, from a young age, that it is better to give than to receive.
It’s too bad our politicians are taking that phrase literally.
R.J. Johnston
Vernon
