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Mayor Rob Ford may just be the worst thing to happen to Toronto in decades. "Crazy" Mel Lastman may seem like a wise old sage in comparison.

Who is Rob Ford the man?
Although he claims to be champion of the "self-made man," Rob Ford is not much of one himself. He was born to a wealthy family that owned a successful label-making company and has inherited his wealth and a share of that business, where he still assits his older brother Doug, who actually runs the company. Rob dropped out of Carelton University after his first year. Later, he took 6 "continuing education" classes at York University. And that is the extent of his higher learning.

The "Respect for Taxpayers" myth
Much of Rob Ford's political success has been attributable to his reputation as a "tax fighter". But so far his record in office suggests otherwise. After the Province gave the City of Toronto $8 Billion for 4 light rail surface transit lines, and work had already commenced, Rob Ford came to office and inisted that all $8 Bn be spent on just one underground line and that the other 3 lines be cancelled. Ford is an overweight suburbanite, who rarely travels more than a few metres without his car, and most of his supporters are car-centric suburbanites as well. Ford therefore insisted that transit lines not interfere with cars and no price was too high to advance his motorist agenda. It's one thing to spend "a little extra" to reshape a project to a new agenda, but for the same $8 billion price tag, Rob Ford's transit line will only move a fraction of the people. There is no way anyone can call that "Respect for Taxpayers". As work had already started on other lines and construction contracts had been signed, Rob Ford and the City of Toronto are on the hook to pay $150 Million in cancellation fees. Ford recently announced his intention to remove, relocate or modify several recently-built downtown bike lanes, at a cost of tens of millions, for the same reason that city people communiting on bikes interfere with fat suburbanites driving through the core in their cars. For a city that is supposed to be in a "budgetary crisis," Rob Ford clearly has no concerns about spending tax payer money when it comes to advancing trivial items of his ideological agenda. The Province also was to employ - at its own expense- 2 new public health nurses to Toronto, to work with controlling disease and health issues among immigrant and low-income communities. Ford refused the offer without explanation even though it had no impact on city finances. Ford has often voiced his contempt for "free" services for low income families and this was purely an ideological move on his part. When you turn down services to the public that cost you and the tax payer nothing, you are not finding value for taxpayers.

Welcome to Mogadishu, Ontario
After spending another $3 Million for a KPMG study on how to gut the city's core public services, KPMG conlcuded in one report that "“The vast majority, 96 per cent, of services that report through the public works committee are core municipal services”. Among possible services that Ford could implement to meet his budget reduction targets, the report suggested that the city plow and sweep its streets less, stop putting fluoride in drinking water, send more waste to the landfill (instead of recycling), and eliminate garbage pick-up for small businesses. The city should also eliminate the 4 free bags of excess curbside garbage per year that residents are currently allowed, and should begin charging residents for each and every bag of garbage that does not fit in the city-issued garbage bin.

In fact, one of the only cuts that the Mayor's office confirmed would likely not be on the table is pure gravy. Toronto is one of the only communities in Ontario that will clear the snowbanks caused by snowplows from residents' driveways. However, this service is extremely popular in Ford's car-centric suburban base and "unlikely" to be cut. Subesquent reports from KPMG have suggested closing libraries, public health centres, programs for seniors and so on. The city's fire chief says Rob Ford's budget cuts will force him to eliminate 22 Fire Trucks and 300 (thats THREE HUNDRED) firefighters at a time when the department is already below nationally established readiness standards. So to confirm: Rob Ford's "Gravy Train" to be drastically cut includes transit, fire fighters, flouridated drinking water, streetsweeping, public health and recycling BUT plowing private driveways is an essential service.

Rob Ford does not fundamentally understand that tax-payer want services that deliver value for money, instead he believes tax payers dont want any services and would rather keep their money. Why wouldn't he? Rob Ford is wealthy and can afford to pay for his own private services - some of which he can get tax breaks for. He doesnt understand people of average income or people who actually work for a living because he has never been either.

The Tea Party Idiot
In a recent interview on right-wing radio, Rob Ford's brother, City Councillor and Right-hand man Doug proposed closing public libraries in Toronto: "We have more libraries per person than any other city in the world. I've got more libraries in my area than I have Tim Hortons."

Fact-checkers were of course quick to de-bunk this claim, noting that Toronto has 3.9 libraries per 100,000 people, the same as Vancouver. This is less than Halifax's 4.3 libraries per 100,000 people or the State of Vermont average 30 (yes thirty) libraries per 100,000 people - 7.5 times the library density of Toronto. In Doug's area, there are 13 library branches (less than the overall average for Toronto)and 39 Tim Horton's. City-wide, the ratio of Timmy's to libraries is about 3:1.

And here is the problem - while traditionally, politicians have manipulated or cherry-picked the facts, the brothers Ford and their ilk don't even know what the facts are. Doug Ford likely beleives there are more libraries in Toronto than anywhere in the world and that there more branches than Timmys outlets, simply because it suits his idelology. Like we've seen from their Tea-Party counterparts in the US, this new breed of politicians just makes up facts as they go along, and assumes that their ideology is SO right, that whatever claim they conjure to justify must automatically be a reasonable approximation of the truth.

Toronto will surely be a different place under a Rob Ford regime, but fortunately there is good reason to beleive his reign of incompetence will be mercifully brief. After all, the voter's main taxpayer expense - property taxes - is not set to reduce under Ford and may in fact increase. Most Provincial and Federal taxpayers exaggerate the amount of tax deducted from their pay and under-estimate the amount they receive back in the form of tax credits and "invisible" public services (e.g. they dont know the dollar value "public schooling" or "public transportation" their family is consuming) and therefore the "overtaxed" mantra continues regardless of reality. But cuts to municipal services such as fire, police and street sweeping are easily observable to the naked eye and the property tax bill, which most residents see and pay monthly, will not change. Combined with new downloaded user fees and Rob Ford's clumsy handling of voter demographics such as immigrants, gay and lesbians, downtown residents, etc. suggests that a united suburban "Ford Nation," if it exists, might not be able to save him from the next election. We had better hope so, lest this city become known as the Mogadishu of North America.

   

Wow, what a load that was. I need a shovel!

   

No kidding. What a POS article. Unless, since I was there last year Toronto has changed into this:


The writer should put his keyboard down and bash himself in the head with it.

   

The OP as well.

   

I just wish he'd learn to spell "believe" properly. If yer too lazy to use spell check, yer probably too lazy to bother with checking the facts too. Hence, the amount of rhetoric to cover up the lack of real facts.

   

Yep, the whiny Lefties in Toronto just can't handle the fact that their focal point of hatred and disdain got voted in.

I guess they will just have to carry on reading the anti-Ford drivel daily in the Toronto Star and Globe.

   

I like how he says that:

while he compares Toronto to an anarchist civil-war-torn city of one of the worst country on Earth.

   

I think some of these nancy-boy reporters/bloggers should pay a visit to a Third-World country like Somalia or Wales and see what a shit-hole really looks like instead of watching it on youtube.

   

I'll 2nd that!!

Quite an insult to the people that have to live in Mogadishu or have had to go there.

   

   

It may an exaggeration but not by much. You have a Clown for mayor who doesn't know his a** from a hole in the ground eg claiming 80% of the City budget is taken up by wages & benefits. Makes a fool of himself eg drunken behaviour at a Maple Leafs game.
Threatens newspaper reporters (see youtube). Makes wild promises of "no service cuts", "no property tax increase" (lately he's been waxing on radio of 3% a increase for 2012) ,a White Elephant of a subway to be built with private funds for Sheppard, the nonsenscial 8.2B subterrarean LRT project for Eglinton at the cost of loosing Jane, Don Mills & Finch LRT's all because of his misguded dislike of "street cars". I could go on with this ode to stupidity however that enough to give an idea.

   

You sound exactly like the kind of person EB was talking about.

Sounds like a plane ticket is in order.

   

I'd chip in for that.

   

I'll gladly take it as long as the ticket is refundable & I can pocket the ducats. Much appreciated.

   

Sure, it's QUITE AS WORSE than Mogadishu....

Did you write that 'op-ed' ?

   

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