The city of Toronto recently announced an increase in user fees in some of the city’s recreational programs. Never being satisfied to resort to half measures when it comes to parting residents from their hard earned money, councillors will raise fees this year by a whopping 21 per cent. These fees will then be increased a further 10 per cent per year for the next six years.
Apparently Toronto recovers less of the costs of these programs than other municipalities and there is something to be said about requiring those who use these programs pay for them; to pay their “fair share” as those on the left are fond of saying. But like a lot of things that the city mothers do, there’s a catch. Some of the revenue taken in from these higher fees; that which will not needed to keep the councillors in the style to which they have grown accustomed will be used to provide free programs to more lower income Torontonians. Brenda Librecz, the general manager of the city’s recreational department referred to this idea as “revolutionary”. Yeah right, although in fairness to Ms. Librecz it probably was revolutionary when Karl Marx thought it up.
Naturally the greatest impact of this move will be on those families whose incomes place them just above the cut-off to get the programs for free. Families who have just enough money to be able to afford to have their kids participate in recreational programs will now find the huge increases an impossible burden to meet.
An interesting article appeared in the Toronto Sun where McMaster University professor Gina Browne was interviewed. Browne had completed a five year study on social assistance and according to her findings, the more comprehensive programs that are given to single mothers, the more free time they have away from their children and the more time they have to look for work. By Browne’s analysis, the cost of providing all families with free recreational programs is more than offset by savings that are seen by the decreasing numbers of people on the social assistance rolls. Browne is quoted as saying, “I don’t understand why they are charging more”?
Will all due respect to Professor Browne, it is easy to understand why Toronto City Council wants to increase these costs and is charging more. It’s what they do. The current crop of left wing councillors really don’t care about getting people off of social assistance. The more people that are dependent upon their government in order to live their lives, the better they feel. Council wants as many Torontonians as possible dependent upon government in order for them to carry out their social engineering experiments. These fee increases are really nothing more than a plan to redistribute wealth from those who can afford to pay for those programs to those who cannot. It’s a classic Marxist inspired ploy despite Brenda Librecz’s characterizing it as “revolutionary”. From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.
To bring in policy that would be consistent with Gina Browne’s findings would be to act in a businesslike fashion which this council never would because they hate business. They have no interest in controlling their own spending which goes to such necessities as watering their office plants. All this council does is increase fees, increase taxes, bring in new taxes (thank you Dalton!) and beg other levels of governments for more and more money. And they think that we should all be grateful to them because they manage to keep the subways running, at least most of the time.
City council doesn’t want more people to free themselves from their dependence upon social assistance. And they don’t give a damn about those people that do not qualify for free recreational programs but now cannot afford the added cost. More importantly, they do not have any interest in making decisions that brings an economic benefit to the city. When Professor Browne understands this, then she’ll be able to understand why the city has decided to charge more.
