Whenever I hear David Miller making his periodic sound bites or read an article in which he is interviewed, I get a feeling of dread, not unlike that associated with a loud-mouthed uncle who's had too much to drink wanting to make a speech at a wedding. I know this sounds unreasonable, but just think of some of the inane things Miller has said and done.
Somehow he managed to convince a majority of Toronto voters that a fixed link to the Toronto Islands was the equivalent of the world coming to an end and as a result got himself elected over a candidate that would have made a far superior mayor. Then he proceeded to defend the status quo with a vehemence that would make most reactionaries green with envy.
He made sure that city employees made a "decent wage", which resulted in property taxes escalating and the quality and quantity of services declining. But then, Miller's idea of a "decent wage" is paying someone $17.50 per hour to rake leaves or $20 per hour to vacuum offices. In the private sector this type of work is worth a lot less, which would indicate that Miller's loyalties lie not with the voters, but with the unions.
Then there is Miller's constant nattering at the federal and provincial governments for handouts. It's almost like he's been taking lessons from the numerous aggressive panhandlers plying their trade on the streets of Toronto. With the amount of money that the city of Toronto collects in taxes every year, Miller should not be having to ask other levels of governments for spare change, provided that he and his council manage their finances the same way taxpayers have to manage theirs.
Crime was a big issue during the last mayoral campaign, although you wouldn't know it by listening to any of Miller's speeches. I seem to recall Miller talking about how the crime rate is declining and there really was no need for additional cops on the streets of Toronto. I think he chanted this mantra right up to last fall, when the problem could no longer be ignored because of the media's focus on all the shootings on the streets of Toronto. Of course then Miller changed his tune. Yes, he agreed, there definitely was more violent crime in Toronto. But it had nothing to do with law enforcement. It was all the fault of the americans and their lax gun laws. I'm surprised he couldn't somehow blame it all on George W. Bush or even Karl Rove.
He was actually talking about getting the americans to change their gun laws in order to forestall further gun crime in Canada. Duh!
as for solutions, Miller thought that black youth were shooting each other to death because they felt "excluded" from society. He believed the only way to resolve the problem was to "invest" (that's socialistese for spending more money) in community-based programs. It wasn't until recently that he came around and warmed to the idea of actually incarcerating the perpetrators of gun crimes.
When Miller took over as Mayor the city had a problem with trash. Today, the problem has turned into an epidemic. There are parts of Toronto that look a lot worse than some of the worst parts of Buffalo. Wouldn't it be possible to get some of those $17.50 per hour park employees to actually pick up some of the garbage littering the streets or is this going too far with expectations?
The homeless and poverty industries have flourished since Miller took office. Yet it's still difficult to get a grip on just how many homeless people are helped with the nearly $300 million the city devotes to that cause each year. Miller's council has finally agreed that it might be a good idea to actually count the homeless, so that a cost/benefit analysis might ensue. However, my guess is that this count will never see the light of day as when the amount of money spent per homeless person becomes public, the burghers of Toronto are likely to revolt and torch City Hall.
It's hard to determine just how smart Miller really is. On the one hand he claims to be a graduate of Harvard, yet on the other he acts so, um, blond. I never thought I'd say this, but right now Mel Lastman looks like a pretty good mayor.
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