» Opinion Well, what’s to be made of it all? And what’s to be done? A month or so ago Mr. Wilson said he’d been a very successful financial executive for the past six years and, as proof, assured us that he was reasonably sure he wouldn’t be going in the hole quite as much as in the past. He said a $30 billion deficit was pretty good all things considered. He promised, with our help, to do much better in the years ahead. Trust me, he said, as he thrust yet another tax knife in up to the hilt. By now I'll bet you've had it up to here with taxes and the ‘P’ words - politicians and political pundits pontificating ponderously and piously. 1 thought you had. I don’t know what you're personally doing to unravel our country’s financial mess, aside from practicing some creative accounting in your tax returns. But, if as aresult of trying you now live in a rubber room, please be assured that I have, on your behalf, been hard at work trying to get us all out. Unfortunately, shuffling tarot cards and turning over rune stones only split my nails. An ouiya board cracked under the strain and the little messages found in fortune cookies tumed out to be a waste of paper. _ The Mount Douglas guru (Sure there’s one up there — check to the left of the tower) was silent. I have ripped through the entrails of chickens until our basement is knee deep in guts and feathers. Blue Eyes has enough chicken soup to cure all the ills in Israel. A crystal ball, when asked for help, committed suicide by rolling off the table and splitting its dome on the concrete floor. But don’t despair, I think I’m there. In a dusty comer, snuggled behind a complete collection of the works of Richard Brautigan, was a slim volume of Tao Te Ching - the source of all things. I tossed it in the air Gsn’t that what you’re The Tao of government supposed to do?) and it fell open to: ‘When the government is discriminative, the people will be dissatisfied and restless. The more restrictions and avoidances are in the country, the poorer become the people.” Yes indeed. That’s us, isn’t it? I tossed the book again. “The more laws and regulations are given, the more robbers and thieves there are.” Certainly true in Canada. Particularly as April 30th approaches. And if we think we’re a nation of tax cheaters now, wait until the GST comes in - —— if indeed we allow it to. Another toss. “The people starve because their officials take heavy taxes from them. The people are hard to rule because their officials meddle with affairs.” See what I mean? This Tao stuff was written zillions of years ago in China but it has correctly pegged Canada’s problems right now in 1990. Toss. “He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know. He who is truthful is not showy; he who is showy is not truthful.” Hey, hasn’t old Tao got those pontificating politicos in Ottawa down pat? Reading those truths gave me more satisfaction than a good hemorrhoidal scratch. Well, you Say, it’s all well and good for the Tao to point out obvious problems, but what's to be done about them? Has the Tao got any solutions? Toss. “When a government is blunt and inactive the people will be happy and prosperous.” Indeed. Tao says for government to get out of the way. Let us do our own thing. We can, you know. Any final advice Tao? Toss. “Govern a great state as you would a small fish — gently.” EASTER APPROACHES — and the Victoria branch of the B.C. SPCA wants to make sure the sacred holiday doesn’t result in unkindness to animals. Every year, chicks, ducks and rabbits are given to children. Some youngsters lose interest quickly, and animals end up dead from abandon- ment or injury. Don’t color animals and don’t give them as Easter gifts, the SPCA advises. * *K A SIDNEY student of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., headed east to New York City, late last month, thanks to a special scholar- ship program for outstanding students. Gina Scollard, a senior and the daughter of Jerold and Mary Scollard, was one of nine students of the private, independent liberal arts and sciences college to tour the United Nations building, the Associated Press offices and the New York Stock Exchange; meet with alumni leaders in foreign service, media, business and law; and see a Broadway theatre performance and other enter- tainment. * kK THE WEEK OF April 15 to 21 has been proclaimed Citizenship Week in the Town of Sidney by Mayor Norma Sealey. “1 call upon all to join in the celebration and to reflect on what it means to be a Canadian,” said the mayor. * OK OK CONGRATULATIONS TO Paul Murray, deputy treasurer/collector of the District of Cen- tral Saanich, who was awarded an intermediate certificate in municipal administration recently by the Provincial Board of Examiners. Charged with issuance of certificates in municipal administra- tion to people working in local government throughout the province, the board is constituted under the Municipal Act. “Murray is to be commended on his achievement, which recog- nizes both his academic qualifications and the quality of his work in the local government field,” said chairman Christopher Woodward in a news release. The wrong way fo mark Easier VOLUNTEERING IS FOR everyone, the Vic- toria Volunteer Bureau believes. And to put that philosophy into action, the bureau is looking for ways to help special needs and disabled persons into the field of helping others, under its pilot Volunteer Access Project. FROM ALL biased listeners uncovered in its journalistic diggings, The Review has determined editor George Lee made shredded newsprint out Sid Tafler, the editor of Monday Magazine, during a live broadcast on CBC Radio, March 30. * * OX A LONG-STANDING REPUTATION as a moody poet is about to be shattered — local author Susan Musgrave is one of 10 Canadian authors nominated this year for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Award for humor. Mus- grave’s collection of columns, Great Musgrave, won her the nomination and a trip, courtesy of her publisher, to a luncheon in Toronto April 18 where the winner will be announced. “If I win, I probably won’t be able to answer the skill-testing question anyway,” Musgrave said. “It’s nice enough to be short-listed. It dispels the myth that I’m gloomy and morbid.” The Leacock medal and accompanying $3,500 will be officially presented June 2. TheReview Wednesday, April 11,1990 — A7 Continued from Page A6 taste and inaccurate. I know Terry to be a man of his word. If he says he wants to spend more time with his family, then I believe him. Mark Dickinson has shown, by. his statements, where he stands and it is not a stand in favor of party unity. As regional director, he should have kept his private opin- ion to himself. T believe that the only honorable thing for Dickinson to do now is resign as our regional director. We - need a person who can build on our strengths. E. Stockall Sidney Taxing income is the way to go Editor: As a member of the Saanich Chapter of the B.C. Property Tax Reform Committee, I was intri- gued to read in the Times- Colonist, March 16, Dr. Michael Walker, the economist, head of the Fraser Institute, advocating that British Columbia should adopt a poll tax similar to the one being set up in Britain and then to read, the following Wednesday, March 21, the editor of The Review ~ claiming that the poll tax is “an onerous tax load for the poor,” (Poll tax: The British test). Both Dr. Walker and the Review editor must have given the subject a lot of thought, done their “homework” so to speak, before making such statements. So where has the British government gone wrong? As a follower of events since Margaret Thatcher started in 1974 — prior to becoming a prime minister — that “there ought to be a better way of financing local governments but still giving local autonomy,” I would suggest three main reasons: 1) Her government Continued on Page A8 LEGENDARY COUNTRY DINING at Doing Business? Remember, lunch is our business. Whether it is a social or business lunch we are open for your enjoyment every day except Saturday. DINNER 7 DAYS A WEEK 2328 HARBOUR ROAD SIDNEY, B.C. 656-6622 al —| i—| COMMERCIAL INSURANCE SEABOARD PROPERTIES LID: Small Business Packages Commercial Property & Liability Contractors Equipment Contract Bonding 652-1141 7173 W. Saanich Rd. 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