Jump to content

      



























Photo

Christy Clark - BC Premier


  • Please log in to reply
320 replies to this topic

#41 Bingo

Bingo
  • Member
  • 16,666 posts

Posted 27 February 2011 - 01:24 PM

The best possible candidate won this, the one that will keep the NDP out.


I wouldn't count on it.

#42 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 27 February 2011 - 01:50 PM

I wouldn't count on it.


Well, polls say she can win over any of the NDP candidates. A lot of it will depend on how she handles the HST and the election date.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#43 dirtydeeds

dirtydeeds
  • Member
  • 214 posts

Posted 27 February 2011 - 02:47 PM

The best possible candidate won this, the one that will keep the NDP out.

How she handles the HST will decide if she keeps the NDP out

#44 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 27 February 2011 - 02:56 PM

How she handles the HST will decide if she keeps the NDP out


I think she might call an election, along with a binding HST vote at the same poll. That would be smart.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#45 spanky123

spanky123
  • Member
  • 20,971 posts

Posted 27 February 2011 - 03:57 PM

I think she might call an election, along with a binding HST vote at the same poll. That would be smart.


The reason why fixed election dates were legislated into law was to avoid this type of opportunism in calling elections. I don't think that she will gain too many supporters overturning the law and going back to the old system.

Having said that, her biggest challenge if she waits 26 months until the next election will be demonstrating that she actually did anything!

#46 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 27 February 2011 - 04:01 PM

The reason why fixed election dates were legislated into law was to avoid this type of opportunism in calling elections. I don't think that she will gain too many supporters overturning the law and going back to the old system.

Having said that, her biggest challenge if she waits 26 months until the next election will be demonstrating that she actually did anything!


She has already stated that she will call an earlier election, saying that BCers deserve a chance to approve or reject her.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#47 Bob Fugger

Bob Fugger

    Chief Factor

  • Member
  • 3,190 posts
  • LocationSouth Central CSV

Posted 27 February 2011 - 04:50 PM

The reason why fixed election dates were legislated into law was to avoid this type of opportunism in calling elections. I don't think that she will gain too many supporters overturning the law and going back to the old system.

Having said that, her biggest challenge if she waits 26 months until the next election will be demonstrating that she actually did anything!


Fixed election dates don't take into account a mid-term leadership change for the governing party. Clearly, this is an extra-ordinary situation.

I think that tying a snap election to an HST referendum is a ballsy move. If you lose the referendum, the same sentiment will likely spill over and boot the government out. The government needs to do a WAY better job of convincing the citizenry that a value added tax (like HST) is much smarter tax policy than a consumption tax on every transaction (like the old PST).

If I was Christy, I would propose keeping the HST and re-introducing certain exemptions that really rankled citizens (i.e., restaurant meals, hydro, gym memberships).

#48 spanky123

spanky123
  • Member
  • 20,971 posts

Posted 27 February 2011 - 06:54 PM

The HST is a federal tax. Provinces don't have the option of removing products or services at will.

#49 Bob Fugger

Bob Fugger

    Chief Factor

  • Member
  • 3,190 posts
  • LocationSouth Central CSV

Posted 27 February 2011 - 07:01 PM

The HST is a federal tax. Provinces don't have the option of removing products or services at will.


I never said at will - but it can be done. The tax is based on a bilateral memorandum of understanding administered by the federal government. It is not a federal tax. Exemptions from either both or just the provincial portion are negotiable between both parties.

#50 VicHockeyFan

VicHockeyFan
  • Suspended User
  • 52,121 posts

Posted 27 February 2011 - 07:06 PM

The HST is a federal tax. Provinces don't have the option of removing products or services at will.


They do. They can exempt a certain proportion of expected revenues from the HST.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#51 Bingo

Bingo
  • Member
  • 16,666 posts

Posted 01 March 2011 - 07:45 AM

Murray Langdon's Comment

It hasn’t turned out to be a complete disaster, but the BC Liberals butchery of their leadership vote did absolutely no favours for progressing toward a more advanced way of voting.

read more;
http://www.cfax1070....ials&Itemid=115

#52 Bernard

Bernard
  • Member
  • 5,056 posts
  • LocationVictoria BC

Posted 01 March 2011 - 08:32 AM

Only one country has adopted internet voting for general elections - Estonia. It is working very well for them, but then they are the most technologically advanced society around and not a backward place like BC.

For comparison, Estonia is about the same size as Vancouver Island and has a population of 1,340,000 versus 750,000 for the island.

#53 spanky123

spanky123
  • Member
  • 20,971 posts

Posted 01 March 2011 - 09:50 AM

Only one country has adopted internet voting for general elections - Estonia. It is working very well for them, but then they are the most technologically advanced society around and not a backward place like BC.

For comparison, Estonia is about the same size as Vancouver Island and has a population of 1,340,000 versus 750,000 for the island.


Although the technology exists, the simple fact is that many people don't trust it. A PIN and user id sent to you in the mail is hardly a secure way of validating the identity of the person casting the vote.

Statisticians will argue that fraudsters will cheat the system evenly amoungst candidates so it can be averaged out of the equation, but that is hardly comforting knowing that many elections are decided based on a few percentage points spread between candidates.

#54 Bernard

Bernard
  • Member
  • 5,056 posts
  • LocationVictoria BC

Posted 01 March 2011 - 02:32 PM

Fraud can happen in our current system, I can swear in a dozen people to vote with whatever name we would like to use. These people could all have voted already in a different polling station.

Frankly, it is much easier to mess with our current system than you could with the sort of system they use in Estonia.

#55 spanky123

spanky123
  • Member
  • 20,971 posts

Posted 01 March 2011 - 05:29 PM

Fraud can happen in our current system, I can swear in a dozen people to vote with whatever name we would like to use. These people could all have voted already in a different polling station.

Frankly, it is much easier to mess with our current system than you could with the sort of system they use in Estonia.


Hey they cross reference those voter lists ya know!

While you can swear in a dozen people in a day, a computer system can generate thousands of fraudulent votes in a fraction of a second.

#56 Bernard

Bernard
  • Member
  • 5,056 posts
  • LocationVictoria BC

Posted 01 March 2011 - 06:18 PM

Hey they cross reference those voter lists ya know!

While you can swear in a dozen people in a day, a computer system can generate thousands of fraudulent votes in a fraction of a second.


Actually it can not because each vote is connect to a unique identifier, it would be really obvious if it happened at all.

The level of security around the issuance of PINs for the Liberals leadership race is such that the only way you commit fraud is to get people to give you their PIN.

Frankly if you can commit fraud on an computer electoral system through cracking the security, you would not waste your time on it because you could still billions and billions from credit cards.

Online voting systems are many more times secure than the in person system we use now. Basically the use of an online system would move fraud in elections to almost nothing, you can never get to zero because someone might give away their access.

#57 Schnook

Schnook
  • Member
  • 202 posts

Posted 06 March 2011 - 04:34 PM

The situation in the U.S. is making people very nervous, and anger lingers over the "Harmony" and "Carbon" taxes. A platform that backtracks on both, reduces debt and moves forward on meaningful projects with cost recovery would get my vote. New spending puts taxpayers deeper into the hole, which ought to be a major point of contention in the current climate.

Re: internet voting / PIN mailout - The expense of mailouts is considerable. I heard that production and postage for Campbell's first cheque mailout cost considerably more than the cheques themselves. And numerous cheques went to people who were deceased or left the province.

Electronic options lose the human element. That is important, to me at least.

#58 Bernard

Bernard
  • Member
  • 5,056 posts
  • LocationVictoria BC

Posted 07 March 2011 - 08:49 AM

Re: internet voting / PIN mailout - The expense of mailouts is considerable. I heard that production and postage for Campbell's first cheque mailout cost considerably more than the cheques themselves. And numerous cheques went to people who were deceased or left the province.

Electronic options lose the human element. That is important, to me at least.


That seems unrealistic, bulk mailings tend to cost between $1 and $2 if you farm out the whole operation to a private company, it can be done for as little as $0.60. For the province I would find it hard to see how it could have cost them even a $1 per cheque mailed out as the province has all the systems in place and does not need to contract anything out.

#59 Sparky

Sparky

    GET OFF MY LAWN

  • Moderator
  • 13,115 posts

Posted 07 March 2011 - 08:57 AM

^ Perhaps they are factoring in the manpower that it takes to decide who gets a cheque and for how much. It could have been a little like the gun registry.

Somebody had to program the computer to decide not to mail me a cheque.

#60 Bernard

Bernard
  • Member
  • 5,056 posts
  • LocationVictoria BC

Posted 07 March 2011 - 09:47 AM

^ Perhaps they are factoring in the manpower that it takes to decide who gets a cheque and for how much. It could have been a little like the gun registry.

Somebody had to program the computer to decide not to mail me a cheque.


The government already has the data in place and it would be a trivial amount for staff time in the overall context of the money sent out.

You're not quite at the end of this discussion topic!

Use the page links at the lower-left to go to the next page to read additional posts.
 



0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users