Forget the Grammys -- watch the Teddys

From Liquor Control Board of Ontario folk knocking back pricey bottles of wine at chi-chi restaurants, to councillors expensing chipmunk or bunny suits to school board trustees charging back trips to the Dominican Republic to taxpayers, it's no wonder why many MTV Generationers view City Hall as being one big phat court, filled with too many jesters. Silly season.

While forking out dough to rent Dalmation outfits for the public good might seem noble at the time, these acts are making city councillor Rob Ford look like a Steve Jobs-like genius – which is not an easy thing to do (the same Ford who got loaded at a Leafs game and started a scene, who once proclaimed that “Oriental people are slowly taking over”, and that "AIDS is very preventable,” and that “if you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn't get AIDS probably”). Ford, who routinely bills taxpayers for nothing, strikes me as someone who might actually spend money out of his own pocket to rent polar bear suits.

What I’m suggesting to my MTV Generationers (and to those select, tapped-in Baby Boomers who understand that Tim Deegan is not the name of a doughnut franchise) is that it’s time to forget about the Grammys and the BET Awards (pure and utter sacrilege, I know).

Sorry, but it should be all about the Teddy Awards now. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation dole out Teddy awards to those who’ve wasted tax dollars. And a big congratulations is in order for Toronto, which won this year’s municipal Teddy for inane activities like paying people $100 to pretend to be living on the streets, for tallying homeless count purposes.

What I’m suggesting as a means to wade through these questionable tax dollar expenditures is to develop an easy-to-understand website -- that even Much Music watchers can understand -- that analyzes data so that people can influence how their tax dollars are spent.

When your local area city councillor is busy burning your taxpayer cash on giraffe (or chipmunk) suits, it's time to take action. Now.

While voter apathy is nauseating and counter-productive (what, you like them bear suits that you unknowingly paid for?), being an armchair critic that hurls objects at CP24’s Stephen LeDrew is getting you nowhere. It’s time to call, fax, write and email City Hall. Meet with your elected officials. Write letters to the editor. Spend some time scrutinizing all of this publicly available info that is up on the City of Toronto website. Everything from your mayor’s and local area city councillor’s salary, to their detailed office expense reports are up there. Sitting on your duff will do nothing to advance the cause of stifling your local area councillor’s penchant for bunny rabbit suits and House of Lancaster lunches. All of which you’ve paid for, Tony (or Tonya) Taxpayer.

About Dalton Higgins

Comments

[peter CLARKE]

Get real, the time to call, write, incumbent councillors of the past 13 plus years would be a further waste of taxpayers time and energy.

It is time for the people of Toronto to give these incumbent councillors what they truly deserve.

Give them their long over due walking papers. So VOTE, Do It on October 25, 2010, You Will Like It,

THANKS Peter CLARKE!