“You want it all but you can’t have it…”
–Epic, Faith No More
This thing was a cluster of screw ups right from the beginning.
The HST went down in defeat Friday with a final vote of Yes 54.73 per cent and No 45.27 per cent.
Not even counting the debacle as to how the harmonized sales tax was introduced, this thing didn’t stand a chance.
Misinformation, contradicting views, some voting against to prove a point, others spoiling their ballots on purpose, the referendum question itself proving a joke on its own.
The whole thing seems to have been scripted by The Three Stooges.
A farce without the funny.
But it’s over.
Let’s all say that out loud: “The HST debate is over.”
The people have spoken, good or bad and now government has the obligation to listen and act.
And that’s how democracy is supposed to work.
Neat, isn’t it?
But this is where we all need to take a deep breath, look at our province, what it stands for, what we think we can live with and live without, what needs improvement and what’s a waste of money.
MLA Simpson is right: We simply cannot expect top-notch public services without putting our money where our mouths are.
In order to ensure surgery wait times are low, quality senior care, small class sizes, highways, funding for (oh, I don’t know sport and culture facilities) is in place, we need to realize our taxes might go up.
Otherwise it just cannot happen.
We simply cannot afford to improve these essential services without forking over some
cash.
So what’s it gonna be?
