Merrit Mansion

Abandoned farm house and barn west of Merrit

We saw yesterday that the city of Toronto has elected a new mayor. What has that to do with us out here in the west? I think it is a bit a sign of things to come. Newly elected Rob Ford is what the media are describing as "right leaning". There has been a very left leaning and free spending mayor and council in Toronto for the last four years and the citizens are aching for a change. No matter what your political leanings are, you sit up and take notice when your taxes rise dramatically and there is evidence that those tax dollars are being misspent. For example, the heavily unionized Toronto civil employees are being paid $15.00 per hour higher than their private sector counterparts. 

Government sector workers on both sides of the 49th parallel are enjoying similar benefits and those of us who are paying for this entitlement are fed up. There seems to be a conservative backlash to this type of governance and we will see more lavish spending being curtailed as more elections take place in the future. This whole situation will be exacerbated by the inflation which is sure to come, while wages will not keep up. Standard of living will fall for all but the government workers and there will be nasty fallout from this.