GG Spending

[Blackadder1916]

The topic of the in-flight catering bill was on the agenda for a Commons committee today. OGGO - Expenditures Related to the Office of the Governor General's Secretary

The Comd RCAF was one of the witnesses. Don't know if or how often he may have been before committee in the past, but he didn't come across as very comfortable. LGen Kenny's presentation begins around 16:16:25 and a lot of the questions following were directed to him.

The minutes and evidence (transcript) are not yet available but the video is at

OGGO Meeting No. 28

Meeting No. 28 OGGO - Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates

parlvu.parl.gc.ca

 

[FJAG]

I presume where, at 16:19:48, the closed captioning transcript said "fornicatoring" Kenny actually said something more like "for catering".

 

[OldSolduer]

The topic of the in-flight catering bill was on the agenda for a Commons committee today. OGGO - Expenditures Related to the Office of the Governor General's Secretary

The Comd RCAF was one of the witnesses. Don't know if or how often he may have been before committee in the past, but he didn't come across as very comfortable. LGen Kenny's presentation begins around 16:16:25 and a lot of the questions following were directed to him.

The minutes and evidence (transcript) are not yet available but the video is at

OGGO Meeting No. 28

Meeting No. 28 OGGO - Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates

parlvu.parl.gc.ca

Can we talk about the billions of dollars deficit the GoC has rolled up in the last two years? Hell no

Low hanging fruit.

 

[Lumber]

Can we talk about the billions of dollars deficit the GoC has rolled up in the last two years? Hell no

Low hanging fruit.

Are you saying that the GG's spending/the RCAF's procurement and accounting practices is not worthy of our scrutiny?

We can do both.

Also, you're comparing apples to oranges. The deficit is approved spending. This is an investigation into unapproved spending.

 

[captloadie]

Almost every GG goes through this at least once. If you were to do a google search you would find that the same questions get asked at various levels of government, and by various news outlets. Are the expenses considered excessive by the average Joe, yes. Are they so out of place for an individual who represents the Head of State, even if in a figure head capacity? Maybe not. At least this is happening early in the tenures of the GG, and the Comd RCAF, so they can be forgotten by next week, and life will move on.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Almost every GG goes through this at least once. If you were to do a google search you would find that the same questions get asked at various levels of government, and by various news outlets. Are the expenses considered excessive by the average Joe, yes. Are they so out of place for an individual who represents the Head of State, even if in a figure head capacity? Maybe not. At least this is happening early in the tenures of the GG, and the Comd RCAF, so they can be forgotten by next week, and life will move on.

I think the average Joe is having trouble seeing their wages get sucked up but more taxes and higher costs for commodities while our masters continue to live, what is seen as, high on the hog.

A little solidarity would probably go a long way here.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

The Frazer Institute says we're paying 43% of our wages to taxes now, and only 36% on food, shelter and necessities. I actually think that may higher. When you can only afford to gas up this week, but now must wait till next week to buy groceries, is a blowup just waiting to happen. That's a paycheck away from not being able to provide for themselves. My wife picked up the German habit of shopping daily for only what is needed, which seems to work for saving. Even though we aren't hurting, personally.

Taxes versus the Necessities of Life: The Canadian Consumer Tax Index 2022 edition

www.fraserinstitute.org

 

[Lumber]

So we're in agreement, we should scrutinize the GG's spending, yes?

 

[dimsum]

The Frazer Institute says we're paying 43% of our wages to taxes now, and only 36% on food, shelter and necessities. I actually think that may higher. When you can only afford to gas up this week, but now must wait till next week to buy groceries, is a blowup just waiting to happen. That's a paycheck away from not being able to provide for themselves. My wife picked up the German habit of shopping daily for only what is needed, which seems to work for saving. Even though we aren't hurting, personally.

A friend of mine is posted to the Netherlands.

They recently posted that it's about 0.8 euro per kWh for energy. Not sure what it exactly translates to here but apparently it's mind-blowing even for the Dutch.

Also, income tax rate there is 48% for over 60k, and HST is 21%.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

A friend of mine is posted to the Netherlands.

They recently posted that it's about 0.8 euro per kWh for energy. Not sure what it exactly translates to here but apparently it's mind-blowing even for the Dutch.

Also, income tax rate there is 48% for over 60k, and HST is 21%.

So much for the pragmatic and gelt hoarding Dutch. Good thing they like bicycles so much.

 

[dimsum]

So much for the pragmatic and gelt hoarding Dutch. Good thing they like bicycles so much.

Paying more in taxes for more social services, if that's the case, seems pretty pragmatic.

But some would call it "socialist".

 

[Halifax Tar]

Paying more in taxes for more social services, if that's the case, seems pretty pragmatic.

But some would call it "socialist".

I don't think many people are against paying for social services. The problem most have is the ROI is pretty shit right now.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Paying more in taxes for more social services, if that's the case, seems pretty pragmatic.

But some would call it "socialist".

The problem with your socialist outlook is that eventually you'll run out of other people's money. Stop looking at the superior, non specific, surface bullshit and get into the weeds of how much damage this bullshit actually causes. All the arguments, in most cases, cause nothing but schoolyard bully bad feelings. If you're not willing to get down in the dirt, do a full intell assessment and consider all the knock on effects, your opinion is not worth addressing. Not knocking anything previous, but the truth sucks. No more phrases, woke adjectives or long, useless diatrabes. Nobody that wants to really understand what is really going on listens to the MSM. It takes research, determination, and having idiots complain that your dream is useless.

 

[dimsum]

The problem with your socialist outlook is that eventually you'll run out of other people's money. Stop looking at the superior, non specific, surface bullshit and get into the weeds of how much damage this bullshit actually causes. All the arguments, in most cases, cause nothing but schoolyard bully bad feelings. If you're not willing to get down in the dirt, do a full intell assessment and consider all the knock on effects, your opinion is not worth addressing. Not knocking anything previous, but the truth sucks. No more phrases, woke adjectives or long, useless diatrabes. Nobody that wants to really understand what is really going on listens to the MSM. It takes research, determination, and having idiots complain that your dream is useless.

Ok. So, your solution is...less social services to lower taxes? No social services?

Who pays for health care, fire, police, roads...armed forces....?

 

[GK .Dundas]

Ok. So, your solution is...less social services to lower taxes? No social services?

Who pays for health care, fire, police, roads...armed forces....?

The Libertarian dream , we'll just contract all that out.

 

[lenaitch]

The problem with discussing social - or state provided - programs, is they have the same word root as socialism, and too many people conflate the two. True socialism, as a political/economic theory, has the means of wealth, production and distribution in the hands of the State. Even the 'cradle-to-grave' Scandinavians don't do that, and we certainly don't either.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Ok. So, your solution is...less social services to lower taxes? No social services?

Who pays for health care, fire, police, roads...armed forces....?

OK, I'll play your exaggerated hypotheticals again.
Exactly. Who IS going to pay for it? Crack that egg and you will be famous for making socialism work for the very first time. Not Democratic Socialism, like Sweden, Norway and Denmark, but real, true socialism

It doesn't matter, like I said, sooner or later you're going to run out of money. Start giving out a living wage and everything else for free, it won't be long before people stop working and going on the dole. Why work when you're getting enough free shit? Now, who is going to pay to sustain it? Socialism has never worked and never will. It is unsustainable. Then guess what happens to all your free programs .
You're already seeing it in the service industries where they are pleading for workers but have no takers, even though there's millions of people available, because those people are cared for enough, they don't have to work. The creep is already here and accelerating.

I worked hard for fifty years, was paying income tax starting at fifteen, busted my ass. Everything I own is paid for and mine. I'm financially solvent. I've been paying for health care, CPP, OAS, etc from the beginning and still have no problem paying for that social contract. I continue to pay into that stuff even though I'm retired. But I'll be damned, if I pay my income to some lazy Gen Xr so he doesn't have to work or contribute. How about you? Are you happy handing your hard earned pay to someone who can work, but just doesn't want to? Where's your cutoff point 50% taxes, 60%, 70%? What are you willing to give up so people don't have to work to receive your hard,earned money?

 

[dimsum]

OK, I'll play your exaggerated hypotheticals again.
Exactly. Who IS going to pay for it? Crack that egg and you will be famous for making socialism work for the very first time. Not Democratic Socialism, like Sweden, Norway and Denmark, but real, true socialism

It doesn't matter, like I said, sooner or later you're going to run out of money. Start giving out a living wage and everything else for free, it won't be long before people stop working and going on the dole. Why work when you're getting enough free shit? Now, who is going to pay to sustain it? Socialism has never worked and never will. It is unsustainable. Then guess what happens to all your free programs .
You're already seeing it in the service industries where they are pleading for workers but have no takers, even though there's millions of people available, because those people are cared for enough, they don't have to work. The creep is already here and accelerating.

I worked hard for fifty years, was paying income tax starting at fifteen, busted my ass. Everything I own is paid for and mine. I'm financially solvent. I've been paying for health care, CPP, OAS, etc from the beginning and still have no problem paying for that social contract. I continue to pay into that stuff even though I'm retired. But I'll be damned, if I pay my income to some lazy Gen Xr so he doesn't have to work or contribute. How about you? Are you happy handing your hard earned pay to someone who can work, but just doesn't want to? Where's your cutoff point 50% taxes, 60%, 70%? What are you willing to give up so people don't have to work to receive your hard,earned money?

You don't "give" out a living wage. By definition you work for a wage.

Also, they did try Universal Basic Income in the 70s in MB, and later in ON. It worked out, until Conservative governments shut it down.

Canada’s forgotten universal basic income experiment

Amid wide unemployment during Covid-19, basic income schemes have gained fresh relevance. A successful Canadian scheme that's over four decades old could provide a road map for others.

www.bbc.com

Also, nice generalization on the "lazy Gen X'er". Not all of them don't want to work - if anything, they're working several job to try and make ends meet and get out of living in their parents' basement.

...and no, I'm not one of them. I'm practically a "boomer" myself.

 

[Remius]

So a lot of people who left the service industry went to other better jobs or retrained to do something else. They aren’t all just sitting at home.

Also note. most genXers are working and and likely mostly employed.

A cohort of millennials were screwed over by the baby boomers who lived awesome so yeah, they aren’t too happy. So yeah they are paying for it now, and so are the boomers who have their part in this but likely will never admit it.

 

[mariomike]

Sounds like a race to the bottom. Do your job. Live your life. Simple as that.