OT: Sens Lounge LXXV | Future Thread

[StefanW]

I feel as though the PC's are borrowing American political strategies (ie: hiring American political strategists) without really having a firm grasp of the voting demographics.

Funny enough, things like a Census help with those sorts of problems. Ironic.

True. Any perceived threat to health care, for example, may get the dogs salivating in the US, but it tends to fall flat here.

When I first heard Hudak present his main platform it also reminded me of what you would expect to see in an Alberta election. A lot of the blue in Ontario are actually civil servants and their families, so focusing on economic issues and strategies other than laying off civil servants would have been a wiser choice.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

I totally hear you on that one. Problem is, none of the three parties will really ever help you with that, in their current incarnations.

Libs policies will keep your salary steady(ish), but raise taxes
Cons policies will keep/ push your salary low (assuming you don't own a business), but tax low.
NDP will be best for your salaries (assuming you don't own a business), but tax sky-high.

In the aggregate, on average, they're all the same. It's depressing.

Wow. That is depressing. It makes you wish Libertarianism were a valid option. But with half the candidates sounding like the extremist right-wing reactionary redneck hicks that populate the US's Tea Party, they're not liable to be taken seriously any time soon.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I totally hear you on that one. Problem is, none of the three parties will really ever help you with that, in their current incarnations.

Libs policies will keep your salary steady(ish), but raise taxes
Cons policies will keep/ push your salary low (assuming you don't own a business), but tax low.
NDP will be best for your salaries (assuming you don't own a business), but tax sky-high.

In the aggregate, on average, they're all the same. It's depressing.

It is, it really is.

I don't know how these political elite expect the rest of society to live.

 

[StefanW]

Not just hydro, but all the costs. Property taxes, hydro, water rates...everything going up faster than my pay. The problem with big government is they think it's nothing to raise rates by 5, 10 percent, but it adds up over the years when the paycheque only goes up 1-2%.

I've been losing buying power steadily over the last decade. There's not really any wiggle room left.

I feel for you. I make far more than I did when we moved here 5.5 years ago, but my buying power is less. I find increases in gas to be a huge factor because I fill up my tank 1-2 times per week, but the household utilities have jumped like crazy. Caring for a sick daughter does not help either.

 

[Caeldan]

True. Any perceived threat to health care, for example, may get the dogs salivating in the US, but it tends to fall flat here.

When I first heard Hudak present his main platform it also reminded me of what you would expect to see in an Alberta election. A lot of the blue in Ontario are actually civil servants and their families, so focusing on economic issues and strategies other than laying off civil servants would have been a wiser choice.

Example of how badly Hudak screwed up:
The riding I'm in, has been blue since 1995. The incumbent won with 37% in 2011 - 2000 votes. He lost to a Liberal by 2000 votes (so far) this time around.

 

[BonkTastic]

I find increases in gas to be a huge factor because I fill up my tank 1-2 times per week

I feel bad for y'all, because I'm currently living in a country where I pay $0.60/ litre, because fuel here is heavily subsidized by the government.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

I feel bad for y'all, because I'm currently living in a country where I pay $0.60/ litre, because fuel here is heavily subsidized by the government.

Ya but you have to watch hockey games at weird hours, nerd.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

Wynne is getting way too much credit by the news right now. Hudak lost this election, Wynne didn't win it.

 

[StefanW]

I feel bad for y'all, because I'm currently living in a country where I pay $0.60/ litre, because fuel here is heavily subsidized by the government.

That's a sweet deal! Our price is now over 1.30, which is well over double what it was 5 years ago. Brutal.

And don't even get me started on Internet/Phone/TV.

 

[Caeldan]

That's a sweet deal! Our price is now over 1.30, which is well over double what it was 5 years ago. Brutal.

And don't even get me started on Internet/Phone/TV.

TV, what's that?
Actually my phone (Virgin) and internet (Teksavvy) isn't too bad...

Though I'm now restricting myself to 250MB of data a month until I can figure out how to convince Wind to give me their 39/mo promo plan, without charging me 25 for the sim and giving me their BYOD device credit of $250 for roaming costs.

I want to give Wind a trial run, since about the only times I'd get nailed on roaming is driving down to my parents place (well that and any time I'm going somewhere I don't know since I almost always use the GPS).

I miss having up to 1GB of data available to use on a plan that only cost me 50 after taxes.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

Hudak steps down.

 

[Caeldan]

Hudak steps down.

Only a campaign too late unfortunately.

 

[StefanW]

TV, what's that?
Actually my phone (Virgin) and internet (Teksavvy) isn't too bad...

Though I'm now restricting myself to 250MB of data a month until I can figure out how to convince Wind to give me their 39/mo promo plan, without charging me 25 for the sim and giving me their BYOD device credit of $250 for roaming costs.

Switching to Teksavvy was the best move I made. The TV is what tends to kill me. The worst part is that services that added up to 65 bucks a month in Manitoba cost us 130 bucks when we moved here, and then continued to climb like crazy. I switched the Internet about a year ago after I got sick of being killed by overage fees.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

Only a campaign too late unfortunately.

Yep. They have four years now to select a proper leader and run on a sane platform, should be interesting to see what they do.

 

[BonkTastic]

Hudak steps down.

He either stepped down, or was forced out.

It was an inevitability.

 

[StefanW]

Hudak steps down.

No surprise there. It will be interesting to see if Horwath stays on, considering the party got only a small boost (23% to 27% of popular vote) after triggering the election.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

He either stepped down, or was forced out.

It was an inevitability.

I'll bet anything the next leader is either Lisa Raitt or my own MP, Lisa MacLeod.

 

[BonkTastic]

No surprise there. It will be interesting to see if Horwath stays on, considering the party got only a small boost (23% to 27% of popular vote) after triggering the election.

Horvath cost the NDP's an election win, IMO. She should be gone as well.






... in fact, if we could get Wynne to step down too, we'd have all our bases covered.

 

[StefanW]

Horvath cost the NDP's an election win, IMO. She should be gone as well.






... in fact, if we could get Wynne to step down too, we'd have all our bases covered.

Now you're getting greedy.

 

[BonkTastic]

I'll bet anything the next leader is either Lisa Raitt or my own MP, Lisa MacLeod.

Ugh.

Thanks, but no thanks.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Ugh.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Amen.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

Yep, not sure what Horwath brings to the table. She shot herself in the foot by calling the election and couldn't take advantage of the other leaders' incompetence. Time for change.

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

Ugh.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Amen.

co-signed.

 

[StefanW]

This is the best election comment I've seen on Twitter so far:

Allen Panzeri ‏@allenpanzeri2 · 5m
Tim Hudak's legacy will be running two idiotic campaigns in elections he could have won. #onpoli #threestooges

 

[DrakeAndJosh]

This is the best election comment I've seen on Twitter so far:

*should have won.