Too much
There are more expensive places to live in Ontario—but not many. The average tax burden for a household in Prince Edward County was $5,405 in 2020, according to BMA Management Consulting in its annual comparative review of Ontario municipalities. (The tax burden is measured by adding the average property tax bill to the average waterworks […]
Scale
Humans aren’t good with big numbers. Or really small ones. We know that millions, billions and trillions are big numbers, but it is hard for our brains to process the difference between them. When US president Joe Biden presses lawmakers to pass a $5 trillion, $3 trillion or $1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill, he […]
Who decides?
Andreas Bolik has no business making decisions about your waterworks. No more than you should be telling him how to run his water and septic systems. Councillor Bolik—and indeed most of his Council colleagues—has no stake in the County’s waterworks. None. It matters not at all to them if water rates rise, fall or the […]
The last parade
Everyone loves a parade. Or, rather, we used to. The days of emerging from our homes, lining along County streets, shivering in the cold and sipping frantically on piping hot chocolate seems to have come to an end. A relic of a bygone era. A casualty of a fixation with safety. Of managing risk. These […]
Bystanders
There is nothing to be done. Council conceded last week it is powerless to change the trajectory of the housing market in Prince Edward County. Even as it approved five despairingly modest proposals meant to spur the development of more affordable homes, it acknowledged—begrudgingly— that none of it will see the light of day until […]
It’s cold outside
Living indoors has rarely been harder, for so many. House prices in Prince Edward County increased 79 per cent last year. The cost of housing rose faster last year in the County than in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. A one-bedroom apartment now fetches $1,448 per month. To afford this apartment, you must earn at least […]
Not your money
Taxation without representation is tyranny. The British learned this the hard way in the American colonies. So did the French royalty, eventually queuing up before the guillotine to pay for their arrogance. Indeed, many of the best history altering revolutions trace their origins to a ruling class that believed it had a divine right to […]
Abracadabra
Keep your eye on the bouncing ball. The common principle of both magic and marketing is misdirection. Look here, not there. Get your audience to look away from the grift, and they will be convinced the impossible is real. It’s magic. And marketing. Among the most common misdirection tricks is to change the denominator. Your […]
To clarify
Last week I wrote that Council was set to require municipal employees and contract staff to be fully vaccinated by November 15 unless exempted by a physician or nurse practitioner. Council approved the policy at its meeting on Tuesday. I also wrote that the County policy would be “flexible” insomuch as it would accommodate those […]
Il-considered
I don’t understand the argument. I don’t know why some folks choose not to be vaccinated against Covid. I understand reluctance. I understand some instinctive resistance. I also get the I’m-young-and healthy-so-the-virus-won’t-kill-me thinking. I think it is wrong on the available evidence— but I understand the motivating idea. What I don’t understand is whether they […]