Mark it down folks; August 14th, 2007. Today is the day that I find myself agreeing with Mel Lastman. Even though the increasing decrepitude of the city is partially his fault, he is correct in stating that the first place that the city should have cut costs was in Councillor expenses and the Nathan Phillips Square renovation. Of course, doing all that would only get Toronto to about %5 of where it needs to be in terms of savings (construction costs can be amortized), but it was a logical place to start; not because it makes a big difference but because it makes the REAL savings (decreased services or increased taxes) easier to swallow. In short, it would have demonstrated leadership.
Now, I have vigorously opposed this sort of talk up to this point… not because I disagreed with it so much but because people in this province are looking for someone to blame for their problems instead of conceding the realities of the situation (we got fucked by the province, and municipal leaders stalled hoping that Dalton would undo the damage.) I’ll admit, I was playing defense: making those cutbacks would distract from the true source of the problem… but it’s clear now that that approach has failed. Whether it’s because the ignorant masses just like to hate TOronto, or they just don’t care, the facts have gone out the window and there is no point trying to salvage a reasonable response from the electorate.
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