Meantime back at 'more of the same', on the other side of the same street ...

It's amazing to me, that we currently have approximately 50% of the population, considering placing their vote with the NDP. No one seems to know what the party stands for -- there really has been NO policy announced of any kind.

Well actually they stand on the side of NO resource development (so how do you get good union paying jobs created with that as your policy?) 

Oh and they want to increase the tax on business.  While that sounds good for the righteous folks that blame business for all the ills of the world, at least a few people know what the result will be.

That tax increase will of course get passed to each of us in higher prices we'll end up paying for the good and services we purchase.  Things like the food we buy ... the clothes our children need ... electronics ... building supplies for home renovations and building projects ... the list goes on and on.

That tax will of course also stifle job creation!

Now today comes this news storyfrom the Provinces newspaper:
"Unions across BC are in "extensive" pre-election talks WITH the NDP, and the party's labour platform is being developed WITH the BC Federation of Labour."

Reality Check.

For those who are NOT staunch NDP supporters, is this REALLY a party you want to consider casting a vote for?

Meantime back at more of the same, on the other side of the same street, comes this news:

Just recently from Finance Minister Mike de Jong comes these words: “There is virtually no room for any kind of big-time pre-election spending extravaganza”

A story in the Globe and Mail however provides this information of how realistic spending restraint, Liberal style, really is:

Jobs Minister Pat Bell didn’t get the memo ... spending $11-million this year telling people, AGAIN, that his government has a jobs strategy ...

Ben Stewart, Minister of Citizens Services ... spending $1.5-million on Family Day celebrations just a few weeks ahead of the next provincial election ...

Premier Christy Clark appointed a cadre of communications people to her office ... amid a government hiring freeze it sends a discordant message about her government’s priorities ...

I was confused, and maybe you are too, with how Christy Clark and the BC Liberals define, "There is virtually no room for any kind of big-time pre-election spending extravaganza" until a friend offered this clarity to those words:

You are missing the operative words 'virtually' and 'extravaganza'. It's why Bill Clinton spent so much time defining the word 'is'. Let me see if I can fix this for you:

"There is virtually no room for any kind of big-time pre-election spending extravaganza. That's why we're only spending money on those things which will buy us votes, with a billion here and a billion there. Certainly not an extravaganza ..."

REAL change, common sense change is what the BC Conservative Party is offering ... and they are laying out their policy and platform for all to see.

The choice is becoming clearer and clearer:

1. more of the same (BC Liberals)
2. the other side of the same street (BC NDP)
3. smaller government resulting in more liberty and personal property rights, the encouragement of new enterprise and individual achievement striving towards excellence and prosperity (BC Conservative Party)

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops ... with the thoughts of one conservative ... the floor is now open to you.

Merritt Home to First BC Conservative Candidate to Declare in the running for the Fraser Nicola Riding

BC Conservative Party members, from across the Fraser Nicola electoral district, gathered this afternoon in the Cache Creek community hall.

"Today's event was to officially bring in to existence the BC Conservative Party Constituency Association for Fraser Nicola ... and secondly to hear the announcement of the first person who has declared they will seek the nod of members to run in next Mays provincial election", declared Regional Director Alan Forseth.

New Constituency Association President Dan
Cummins (L)  talks with Board Director Ted Lund

Elected to the first board were Dan Cummings of Savona, Wayne Ferguson of Seton Portage, Ted Lund of Merritt, Patrick Mulldoon of Logan Lake, Shaun Freeman of Savona, as well as Michael Beauclair of Merritt.

Following the election of the board members, Forseth then went on to announce the first person approved to seek the nomination for Fraser Nicola.

"It is my pleasure today to introduce you to an individual who is married, has two children, and who lives in the community of Merritt. He has worked with timber for over 24 years, and has scale and graded our provinces most precious natural resource for 17 years on the Coast and the Interior."

"That individual is Michael Beauclair"

Mr. Beauclair spoke for several minutes, talking the time to let members know a bit about himself, and the things that are, and will be, important to voters in the riding in the next election.

The six year old is only a child playing a game -- the fiscal well-being of our province however, is NOT child's play

I caught news at top of hour this morning (10am - Nov 28th) on the LATEST increases to BC's provincial deficit.

Sadly, none of this should have been news to Christy Clark and the BC Liberals.

Right after the news update, CKNW's Bill Good then asked what people thought of the increase ... and if they were concerned.

THEY SHOULD BE!

IF the media made it clear (if they themselves even understand it) people would indeed be VERY concerned, with the long term results, of these ever increasing annual budget deficits!  The DEBT is ballooning, and it has to get paid at some point.  We cannot simply keep on borrowing.

People don't understand what these deficits mean, and are doing, and that is a shame.  I also think that is what the government is counting on. 

Hundreds of millions more is being added to the provincial debt, by Christy Clark and the BC Liberals.  That's much the same -- no it's actually identical -- to what was happening with the NDP government who held power before them.

The result of that is millions and millions of dollars, EACH DAY, that are NOT available to provide services to British Columbians. Instead, those dollars ($6.5 million daily!) go to make interest payments on that debt -- payments to foreign countries and financial institutions.

Let's look at it this way.

Christy Clark can say her Liberal government is being fiscally responsible, and accountable, with taxpayer dollars.  

 

A six year old can also claim to be a rocket scientist.

Neither is true ... but at least the six year old is only a child playing a game.  The fiscal well-being of our province however, is NOT child's play.

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts of one conservative.

TAXES ... they often are a knee jerk reaction to financial distress governments in most cases have created themselves

A couple of weeks ago I posted a quote by Winston Churchill on my Facebook page; the quote was, "There is no such thing as a good tax."  Boy did that ever generate a LOT of comment.

C.S. Except when that tax pays for things that benefit society, that help people who need help, that makes sure our children are educated and that people receive medical treatment, that helps to make sure that everyone is taken care of.......etc etc.

ME: True ... but look at the wording ... "good" tax

There really is NO good tax as taxes inherently impact the 'total' population to unequal degrees. That being the case, ALL taxes should be carefully thought out, and planned, to get maximum benefit, and to be applied across the board as fairly possible.

A good example (to me) is the Carbon Tax which is very much unequally applied across the province -- hitting those in the interior and north far more than those to the south and in the larger cities.

We have the same thing now with tolls.  Some area that have had transportation infrastructure already completed, are seeing people driving free and clear of tolls -- however, people in other areas are now being targeted for tolls as new projects are completed.

Churchill is right ... There is no such thing as a good tax

C.S.  I disagree. Taxes are not good or bad. They are a necessary part of any society that believes that some things are a collective responsibility.

ME:  Necessary? -- yes I agree -- but again the trouble in most cases, I believe, is they are not well thought out.  They often are a knee jerk reaction to financial distress governments in most cases have created themselves.

Personally I am in favor of a flat tax, that would apply equally to all across the board, to all above 'above' a set income level

E.W. -- in reply to CS ... "To make sure everyone is taken care of . . ." Therein lies the problem - everyone - rather than those in genuine need due to circumstances beyond their control. Having everything "free" to all who demand is what has caused many of the problems we endure today. A little more self-reliance and personal responsibility would go a long way.

L.M. Therein lies the difference between a Liberal Democrat and a Conservative....makes the world go around...slowly, but around.

C.S.  Our systems are wholly inadequate, and mismanaged - I agree. I don't support the concept of a flat tax, however. What's the statistic.....90 percent of the wealth is held by 10 percent of the population? The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. A flat tax does nothing to address that - in fact, it makes it worse.  Unless ALL tax breaks and write-offs were eliminated.

M.U.  That's the theory behind a flat tax - although it could contain a Minimum base level so nobody under a certain income would pay taxes. That could really be set at any standard that governments chose. With no other deductions, "the rich" would pay a percentage of their total income with no other deductions. That would make it fair.  Hopefully, that would eliminate the income tax claw-back for old pharts like me who live on CPP. Sounds fair to me.

C.S.  And the corporate tax structure would need to be looked at, as well. This race to the bottom on corporations paying their share is not working. We cannot and should not try to compete with countries that are not on a level playing field when it comes to environmental, labour and other laws and standards that we consider important as a society, and that do not have the social systems in place that our taxes pay for. Unfettered free trade does NOT work.

S.B.  You would have loved Peter Pockington who campaigned on a flat tax of 10%, but really he was only gathering support and votes for Mulroney to be leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. Their scheme worked. Mulroney became our Prime Minister. Peter "Puck" went his merry way into bankruptcy and other schemes that brought him trouble.  I don't know why the flat tax idea won't fly among those who get in power...

ME:  Personally??? I think it's because a Flat Tax is too simple, and can't really be manipulated.

Stayed tuned Mel .. we'll continue to roll things out in the weeks and months ahead

The Armchair Mayor, Mel Rothenburger

Well know newspaper man, and former Kamloops Mayor Mel Rothenburger, penned his latest Armchair Mayor column on the weekend.  It was entitled, "Sorting out facts from BS not easy".

It was a good editorial, although I did mention to Mel that I did not agree with his opinion John Cummins was not taking a stand on issues. 

I told him that John has indeed been very clear on a number of issues, of great importance to the people of BC.  He will continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead leading to next May's general election.

Armchair Mayor Mel responded by stating to that he had:"

"... listened to Mr. Cummins' AGM speech, all 39 minutes-plus of it, and pretty much all he did was rehash old news stories about the Liberals and be very clear that the B.C. Conservatives would do things differently.  How? Good question.  Ajax? He's "not ready to weigh in on that."  Kamloops? As next spring's provincial election draws ever nearer, still no Conservative candidates for our two ridings, no one wanting the nomination, and no policies on local issues."

Normally I would have said we hadn’t heard the same speech; however I have it good authority that we both did (me in person -- and Mel via the internet). 

Regardless, I was there and heard it live .. and it was powerful and it was moving.

John Cummins pointed out some serious concerns we as BC Conservatives have with how the Liberals are governing -- and we are not the only ones having those concerns ... not by a long shot.

Big spending -- big government -- big deficits and BIGGER debts!  They all top most lists.

Government crown corporations and agencies with out of control management ... and need we mention Community Living BC again ... there's rising fees that we have no say in (I challenge you to look at the amount Medical Services Plan rates have increased over the past decade).

The stench of the BC Rail sale has never cleared, and no amount of Febreze is going to help ... Christy Clark is desperately tryng to straddle both sides of the Enbridge pipeline proposal, while at the same time 'playing politics' with the Alberta government in a phony game of hardball.

BC Conservatives in Kamloops set to announce first nominee candidate

Hello again friends .. today I pass on the media release which went out yesterday to radio, newspaper, and TV in Kamloops:

Monday.  That's when Kamloops South Thompson BC Conservative Party members will find out the name of the first person, who will be seeking the nomination to run as their candidate, in next May's provincial general election.

"We have spoken to a number of people over the past few months about running for the party", said Regional Director Alan Forseth.

Forseth continued, "This individual does have previous political experience, and will be well known to the people of Kamloops."

"We also expect they will be the first of several, to put their name forward, which is why we will continue to speak with other interested men and women."

"Anyone who believes in open and accountable government, and truly representing the people who have elected them, are welcome to seek the nomination", Forseth concluded.

Monday's announcement will be made at 12 noon in Gaglardi Square, on Seymour Street, in Downtown Kamloops. 

Kamloops South Thompson BC Conservative members will vote, to elect their candidate, early in the new year.

I'm looking forward to Monday -- hope you can join us for the announcement.

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops. 

As Peter Pan said, “All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.”

An opinion piece ran in the Tuesday November 20th edition of 24hrs Vancouver entitled, "Liberals could win next provincial election"

It read in part:
... Premier Christy Clark gave what was, by all accounts, a rousing speech .. a clarion call to arms leading up to the election next spring. Indeed, there wasn’t a defeatist tone in the speech or mood in the house...

Soon to be BC Liberal candidate John Martin sharing his
thoughts of Premier Christy Clark on CKNW (03 / 28 / 12)

"Not even the most devoted Liberal supporter could

argue with a straight face that this government has

earned a fourth mandate. Theirs is a legacy of deceit,

incompetence, and financial mismanagement."

... recent polling has the governing Liberals deader than the proverbial doornail that would seem to be more than a little strange. But the premier is nothing if not a fighter ... it seems likely at this point that Adrian Dix and the New Democratic Party will form the next government, it is by no means a fait accompli.

... BC  politics has been about big government and unions versus free enterprise ... when the NDP got into power in 1973 and 1991, it was because the free enterprise party was in tatters. I’m not sure that can be said now — especially with an energized and feisty premier.

... if Clark can frame this election in the traditional left-right terms of free enterprise versus big government and big labour, plus play down the battered Liberal brand, she might just have a chance.

Seriously.

My response?  Well I certainly had one, and so I wrote:
Sorry but you are writing off the BC Conservative Party wayyyyyy to soon -- and yes I am a member of the party.

I think you, and many others, are going to be surprised at who ends up going to the legislature in Victoria next May. Seriously!

That led to Collin Rogers taking a moment to suggest: