At this point the only way anyone could justify supporting Rob Ford or any of his brainless, spineless minions is to literally shut oneself off in a cave somewhere and simply ignore reality.

First off there’s the budget surplus which seems to be growing by tens of millions per day, which runs exactly opposite to the claims that Rob Ford made about a budget deficit which, if they’re to be believed, is also growing ($382 million last February, $774 at present). I use the word “believed” because only a few short months earlier, Toronto was running a healthy surplus. What happened? Rob Ford got elected, that’s what.

The astute reader may say, “but we’re talking about the operating budget here”, to which there’s a simple reply: that’s the proposed budget — the one Rob Ford pulled out of his ass with the help of his overpaid buddies at KPGM, at the start of his term to support his idiotic cuts like the Vehicle Registration Tax. Yes, idiotic, because when you crunch the numbers, the savings for a small household are so tiny compared to all the outrageous cuts that are being proposed that, frankly, anyone who believes that an extra $0.16 per day in your pocket is “respect” has much bigger issues on their plate.

It’s simple: $60 saved on the VRT comes out to $0.16 per day, or $1.12 a week. Oooooh — big money! Now, with an increase in TTC fare hikes, assuming one person in the household takes transit only a couple of times a week (-$0.20), you’re now only saving $0.13 per day. Add to that an additional $5 (on average), for a Toronto Hydro rate hike which Ford could’ve helped to offset, you’re down an additional $0.08 a day.

So, really, you have roughly $0.03 more in your pocket thanks to Rob Ford’s cuts — but only if you drive a car. In exchange, everything else is being cut. And if you’re claiming that $10.95 a year is worth it to you in light of all this austerity (let’s call it by its real name), I feel genuinely sorry for you and your situation — you must be living in the most abject poverty imaginable.

But it doesn’t end there.

It was revealed today that the cost of Ford’s anti-bicycle campaign, which resulted in the ripping up of the Jarvis Street bike lane, cost around $272,000 which for some bizarre reason is more than twice as much as it did to put in under David Miller. So much for “efficiencies”. Oh, and in case you were wondering, had Ford not put his hatred of bikes into practice, it would’ve saved each and every Toronto taxpayer about $0.05 — or just shy of half of the stupendous VRT money that only drivers pocket (I’m assuming a population of 5 million for this calculation). Add to this the cost of the KPMG report at $3 million dollars and everyone could’ve had an additional $0.06.

Put all this together and it’s plain as day that Ford is costing taxpayers money, not saving it:

Saving for drivers: $0.03
Cost to everyone: $0.11
Average gain per taxpayer: -$0.08

And, of course, this doesn’t take into account the fact that services are on the chopping block which, if they’re necessary for some residents, could add a much larger chunk to expenditures. And for the home owners out there who think Ford’s other stroke of brilliance, removing the Land Transfer Tax, think they’re going to see more money every year, are sadly mistaken as well. At an estimated $300 million per year, and assuming that only half of Toronto residents are home owners, it averages out to about $0.32 of extra cash in the pocket of each household, or $0.17 per taxpayer. Except that’s a full elimination of the tax which Ford said he wouldn’t do. Instead, he’s pledging to reduce this by about 25% per year, which makes the real number close to $0.04 per taxpayer.

The revised numbers, sadly, are still in the red:

Average gain per taxpayer: -$0.08
LRT saving: $0.04
Average gain per taxpayer: -$0.04

Even under ideal conditions — no VRT, no LRT, etc. — taxpayers will be forking over an additional $0.04 this year, not saving it. And keep in mind this only applies if you drive a car or own a home — for everyone else it’ll be worse. So when Rob Ford then pronounces that we need to cut services in order to make up the shortfall that he created, that’s not “respect for the taxpayer”, that’s a slap to the face of every hard-working citizen of the city.

According to Ford, the theme in Toronto for 2012 is “CUT CUT CUT!”, even though it looks like there’s going to be a healthy budget surplus from 2011.

According to Ford, we can’t depend on one-time surpluses to balance the books, even though that’s exactly what he did with the money left over after Miller left office.

According to Ford, there’s way too much “gravy” at City Hall, even though after a full year of wandering around with a ladle and a forlorn expression, none has been found.

According to Ford Ford, unlike every other mayor we’ve had he just just can’t seem to find any additional funding sources (fuck events like Pride).

If you’re a Ford supporter and you can look at these four statements and claim that any of this isn’t absolute and complete bullshit, that this scumbag isn’t ripping up our city solely because he can, that he has a brain cell to share between him and his brother, that he didn’t produce one broken election promise after another, that Ford is a nice and courteous guy who’s focus is to build and support the city of Toronto, that Ford is being accountable and open like he vehemently swore he would, that most of Ford’s promises don’t sound like they were slapped together by a mildly retarded 6-year-old child (promise to cut Council in half by having Councillors vote to fire themselves, for example), well, you need serious psychiatric help, my friend.

If you live with your eyes open and even half a brain in your head then it’s time to throw some major opposition under the fat man’s train. I admit, I’ve been patient and sometimes even defensive of Ford, sometimes to the chagrin of my girl who rails against Ford on a daily basis, but with the austerity-loving politicians (criminals) forking over all taxpayers’ money to mega-banks because “we’re in debt!”, it’s clear that unless people start taking some major action globally (including here in this city), we will be raped blind by the crony capitalists and left with a shambles.

At this point, “respect for taxpayers” means tossing Ford’s sorry ass on the street and maybe re-invigorating some of those charges that the cops outright refuse to follow up on –dangerous driving, beating his wife, repeated abuse of 911 dispatch, etc. It’d be a start, at least.

Froz’n Motion / Cameron MacMaster has added a photo to the pool:

Reflected in the puddle from Nathan Phillips Square
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Become a fan of the cool Froz’n Motion Facebook page at FACEBOOK or visit www.froznmotion.com

An astute twiterrer noticed a motion by Councillor Adam Vaughan to not ban press or journalists from City Hall. The full text of the motion reads:

No media conference, no media event or news release by The City of Toronto and/or any agency, board or commission of the City, and/or any staff, hired consultant or elected official of the City of Toronto shall exclude by name any individual journalist or news organization.

The twiterrer in question alludes to this “ban” referring to the Toronto Star which has been quite critical of Mayor Rob Ford — as have many people and organizations. And Robbie doesn’t hide his disdain for the paper so this is certainly believable.

Here’s what I find extremely troubling; freedom of press and freedom of expression are ensconced in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [section 2 (6)]. For Councillor Vaughan to have to pass a motion to guarantee this freedom at City Hall suggests a very troubling trend of silencing dissent, criticism, and opinions that are not directly shared by Ford and his cronies.

If this motion does indeed turn out to be a response to Ford’s attempt to exclude the Star from reporting on City Hall, his claim that the paper is “openly working against the democractic process” would be beyond hypocritical. Criminal, even. And again, this isn’t unimaginable — Ford has been accused of backroom dealings in things like the Port Lands redevelopment project; even some of his hand-picked Executive Committee are distancing themselves because of the public outcry.

The vote on this motion is supposed to take place next week on September 21 and 22. I’m sure many Torontonians would love to hear the details of why Vaughan thought it was necessary to make the motion. It may turn out to be a simple case of political grandstanding so passing judgement is definitely premature. However, I wouldn’t put it past Robbie to be trying to silence his critics, and if this is the case then we’ve got a serious problem at City Hall.

Jack Layton’s casket at City Hall being viewed by the public on Friday evening, one of the last chances that the general public had to pay their respects before the funeral on Saturday.

Jack Layton, former Toronto Councillor and deputy mayor (and most recently leader of the NDP), lying in state at City Hall on Friday night was surrounded by an outpouring of support.

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