Were we Fooled Twice?

You know what they say... "Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, SHAME ON ME."

Of course, not on me personally, but on ALL OF US, the entire province of Ontario, collectively... or at least those who actually believed and voted for Mr. McGuinty when he said that this time, he really, really, REALLY, wouldn't raise our taxes.

Well guess what?  Queen's Park is looking to add on an extra set of "fees" on to the cost of computers, laptops, and TV's.  You could call it a "Technology Premium"... sorta like a "Health Premium", I guess.

Translation?  TAX INCREASE.

"Recycling fees of $10 for TVs and up to $13 for computers would be charged on all new sales under the proposal being given to Ontario's environment minister for approval today."

Hey Ontario, guess what?  Yep, looks like we're gonna get hosed... AGAIN.  Did we actually believed that they would keep their word THIS TIME?  I didn't, and many of us didn't, but no one would listen.  Some of us said that they'd find a way to do it, and guess what... looks like they have.

For the record, I don't care how little the increase is, and this isn't likely going to cost me a penny for the next few years, but it's the principle that I'm talking about... they said that this time, we could really trust them, that they weren't going to raise taxes if they were re-elected.

It's a tax... yet another tax folks, and you know what?  It's quite possible that they knew this was coming down the pipes when they once again made their promises not to raise taxes this time... I quote again from the Toronto Star article...

"Last year, the province asked Waste Diversion Ontario to come up with a way to reduce the tens of thousands of tonnes of electronics being dumped in landfills every year, which wastes valuable resources and unsafely disposes of toxic components."

Last year?  When, exactly, was that?  Was that before the last election?  One would assume that a report of this nature took some time to develop... so it's very likely that it was initiated prior to last October's provincial election... the election where he promised again not to raise our taxes.

So stop and think about it, just for a second... don't you think that it's likely that the Ontario Liberals would have at least considered that the folks at Waste Diversion Ontario might recommend some sort of fee or levy on consumer goods?

My read on this?  I'm thinking that they intentionally handed off this decision to Waste Diversion Ontario before the last election, in an effort to duck the decision and to give them some political cover once the recommendation came in to impose these levies.

Which would make this whole thing somewhat deceptive, at best.  At worst?  You decide, because I'm not going to go there.