I Can't Believe You Warmington

I don't think your bartender would be too happy if you were throwing money away on hookers but not paying down your bar tab. Keep in mind the reason we are in so much trouble was that was the way the liberals played the game and when push came to shove, no more free booze, they decimated the transfer payments to the "have" provinces who in turn had to dump it on the property owners.

The Harper feds have a $14.2-billion surplus and you, the taxpayer, are going to get a whopping 15 bucks of it

By JOE WARMINGTON

Mayor David Miller must have upchucked when he heard this news.

The Harper government has a $14.2-billion surplus and not only can Miller not have any of it, it's going straight onto the national debt which, since the Conservatives have been in Ottawa, is down to $467.3-billion from its peak of $562.9-billion.

But is this the right approach? There are varying views. Heaven knows this $14.2 billion could operate a lot of outdoor hockey rinks and community centres. Hell, we could build a wicked subway train system with that kind of scratch and maybe actually become an environmental leader in eliminating gridlock and smog.

Just $500 million of that surplus would be a lifejacket for a drowning Miller. But this is Prime Minister Stephen Harper we are talking about it. He's going to do the mature thing and throw this so-called tax surplus (I call it our money) on our national debt (which I call our national hangover).

"It used to be inevitable in life there was death and taxes," Harper said as he greeted a room full of equally boring suits at the Revenue Canada office on Front St. yesterday. "Today it's debt and taxes."

The guy is a barrel of laughs. His nickname from now on should be Chuckles. I have had more fun at funerals. Isn't there an advertising firm somewhere in Quebec you couldn't give some to.