Taxes and Income

My latest Brandon Sun column Our Citizenship, Paid For By Our Taxes was on different tax rates for Manitoba and its closest neigboring provinces. Although taxes can be important, other issues - such as availability of jobs and overall quality of life in different places -are often more crucial.

One interesting point that I didn’t have space for in the column is the real difference in the income levels of married people as compared to single people. Looking at Statistics Canada data, one can see why some say that families headed by a single mom are the main impoverished group in Canada.

At first glace, this would seem to be obvious: two earners would make more income than one. As well, anyone who is part of a married couple can relate how economically advantageous this can be, for example, one can be going to school while the other works – thus raising the income potential of both for the long-term, and so on.

But the statistics show that even more seems to be going on: two earner families with children make much more than the expected twice as much as one earner families. (Income is 2005 “market” income, such as employment, and excludes government transfers.) Single mom families make an average of $30,900 per year. Two parent families make on average much more than twice as much: $83,900 annually. Even when there is only one earner in a two parent family, they have an income of $56,600 – much more than the single mom family. (One last statistic: single dad families have an income of $58,300.) See Statistics Canada.

Some Brandon History

I had some fun writing recently about the Palliser Expedition which explored the Canadian Prairies from 1857 to 1860. I found the topic so interesting that it extended to three columns. The first one of the series was titled Is It Time For A New “Palliser Expedition”?

I wrote about this subject about 20 years ago in a piece for the Winnipeg Free Press. I was always interested in history and studied it in University, and it is great to be able to still indulge in this interest. I re-read the book The Palliser Expedition: An Account of John Palliser’s British North American Exploring Expedition 1857 – 1860 by Irene M. Spry (Macmillan, 1963), which I borrowed from the Brandon Public Library. Spry’s book is well written and makes one feel that one is going on the original expedition. And, now there is the web to do even more research on such topics.

Now is a excellent time to re-visit the Palliser Expedition, as we are at the 150th anniversary of its start. Plus, it isn’t every day that I get to use the word "sesquicentennial"!

Also fun writing the column Proud History of Looking Forward for the special edition of the Brandon Sun marking the 125th anniversary of Brandon’s beginning as city. Brandon grew so quickly at the start, it began as a city - never having had time to be a village or town.

Interesting to compare the two concepts: what our region was like around 1860 to what Brandon was like in the 1880s. When John Palliser explored the area, the railway had not reached here. He travelled by horse-drawn Red River cart and by walking (using snowshoes in the winter). Other modes of transport were canoe and dog sled. The only permanent settlements west of what is now Winnipeg were Hudson Bay fur trading forts.

There was quite a difference between what Palliser saw to what residents of the new City of Brandon experienced in the 1880s. By then, they were connected to the wider world by the railway; there were daily stock market quotes by telegraph. They also had the telephone and electricity.

When I reflect on those changes, I think that people living in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century often saw more technological changes than we see today. For example, going from the telephone to the Internet is less of change than going from nothing to the telephone or to having electricity.

One other observation: even in Palliser’s time, “globalization” was important. Even though there was no railway then, the residents of the Prairies – both Europeans and First Nations peoples – were tied into a global economy. Of course, Brandon's start was even more a result of globalization - it was created only because the railway linked it to world markets.

AGLOCO August Update

AGLOCO (“Get your share of the Internet”) has been online now for three months and I’m quite used to the Viewbar at the bottom of my computer screen. AGLOCO seems to have upgraded their systems, for example one can now get quickly onto their website. And the space for ads in the Viewbar now seems to be filled, although they don’t seem to be particularly relevant to my surfing.

AGLOCO is non intrusive - there are no emails bothering us members. In fact, so non intrusive, we are left wondering how things are going!

AGLOCO is sort of like "Air Miles" for the Internet – except that it is owned by the members and you don’t have to buy anything to benefit. If you would like to know more, you can check out my earlier post or click on my referral link here.

Labyrinth of Peace

Brandon has a nice network of walking / bicycling paths that we try to use every day. From behind our house we can walk down along the river in just a few minutes. Great for that daily exercise regime.

Meg and I like to take a circular bicycles route sometimes and we did that this weekend. The route is interrupted by the construction of the new bridges over the Assiniboine River, but the consolation there is that the new bridges will have better bicycling and walking facilities than the current bridge does now.

This time, we looped around by the "Labyrinth of Peace." This is an area developed to show that all religions are different paths to one God, and that all lead to peace. A descriptive plaque explains the concept and 10 concrete posts show the different religions. A colorful picture on top of each post shows each religion. In the centre is a representation in limestone of Manitoba with a sheaf of wheat. The centre illustrates that Brandon, Manitoba is a place where different religions co-exist in peace.

The Labyrinth is only a few years old, but unfortunately, almost all of the religious pictures are gone, whether removed by vandalism or the weather. The bare posts which remain are actually quite ugly.

Meg and I remarked to each other that the Labyrinth now illustrates perhaps a greater truth: that religions - while appearing bright and shiny in theory - are often unworkable in practice.

The Cult of the Amateur?

I am enjoying reading the excerpts in the National Post from The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing our Cultureby Andrew Keen. Now I just saw the author interviewed on The Colbert Report.

I always like a good argument, and Keen knows a lot and is articulate. However, he was a bit humourless on Colbert - lighten up, it is supposed to be a comedy show! His comments about blogs and other information on the Internet does merit some consideration, but I thought he was off base with some points.

Keen, for example, asked Colbert if he believed there were WMDs in Iraq, as though anyone who thought that there were was duped by the ramblings on the Internet. Colbert, in character, said he believed that there were WMDs because President Bush said there were, and that was that. But surely Keen has to agree that this example actually proves the worth of the Internet. It was the word of the US Administration, often backed up by the conventional media, that made the case for the invasion of Iraq. It is the blogging and other postings on the Internet that challenge these standard assumptions.

Obituary Guide Now Online

The Obituary Guide is now online. I have been long intrigued by obituaries. On and off during the past year, I have been working on a concise guide for people who need to write an obituary for a family member or friend, or who want to get started on their own. As well, I am offering my services as a writer to help others: by proofreading their efforts, helping with suggestions, or actually writing one.

Few people are famous enough or fortunate enough to have a news obituary written about them, and this is where my website comes in. In my searching on the Internet, I have not seen a resource quite like this, so I am hoping to fill a niche. It feels great to actually have it completed and online.

Crime and Punishment

A few days ago a letter to the editor appeared in the Brandon Sun about youth crime. Entitled “Labour and the Lash,” it was about punishing young offenders with either forced work or the cane.

I think we are going to see more reactions like this one to crime. Even though some crime stats are down, it is still a public concern. One excerpt from the letter: “. . .auto theft has become part of the youth culture. What an indictment of the youth justice system!”

But, it is more than government policy that affects youth culture. In an earlier post, I commented on both the high auto theft rate in Manitoba and crime and youth culture.

These will be continuing topics of debate, especially in Manitoba, and I plan more columns and posts about these ideas in the future.

Nice Slow Days in the Turtle Mountains

Spent a couple of relaxing days in the Turtle Mountains over the long weekend. Great camping at Adam Lake, and visits to the Peace Garden and the Town of Boissevain.

Turtle Mountain Provincial Park has many amenities, such as nature trails of varying lengths, including ones where one can bicycle - which we did. You can even bring your horse for some of them.

The International Peace Garden, on the Canada - U.S. border, is a gem in our part of the world. Perhaps it is more appreciated in the U.S. than in Canada - the North Dakota licence plate has "Peace Garden" right on it. Interesting how September 11th has made an impact at the Garden, including a memorial made out of girders from the World Trade Center.

The Town of Boissevain is an international "Communities in Bloom" winner, and the visitor can see why. Plantings and flowers are everywhere, with much community spirit on display. The town also features many murals on its buildings. A small park called "Arts Park" is alive with the color of flowers, and appears to be maintained by different companies and families. A"Winnie the Pooh" corner is especially creative.

Are You Ready Skeedaddy?

Great fun now that CNBC has put Jim Cramer's Sound Board from TV onto the Internet. I wrote about Cramer's stock pick TV show "Mad Money" in an earlier post. If you want to learn about stocks and the economy in general, watch the show. If you want some fun, go to the Sound Bound and try it at home!