# 121 Dave

Yes, I think BC probably lost money on the Expo Lands deal.

That said, it may have been a watershed moment that set the tone for what we see today.

Real Estate prices rose dramatically , it kept many BC residents out of the market, or stuck buying leaky condos.

My recollection was that RE was still quite affordable prior to Expo, as we just had an RE correction in the early 1980's

One is left to wonder what might have been if Expo 86 never happened…did we really benefit from it in the long term ?

In hindsight, I think not, as we have increasingly relied on its as our economic engine with few other options.

Geez Dave, you're on a roll with lots of positive votes. Unfortunately Politicians love legacies, and moroseo towards the end of their careers. They love their names on brass plaques etc. However, The last few Premiers have left little if anything to be proud of. Like Patrioz alluded to, it seems like VanderZalm was into destruction mode,perhaps settling old scores etc. and settting the stage for future problems in BC.(ie teachers right to strike etc.) Expo site could have been subdivided and sold off. My suspicion back then was that Li Kai Shings purchase of the Expo lands effectively blessed BC as an investment an that the flood of expatriate Honk Kong citizens soon followed. VanderZalm's "$20,000 in a brown bag" meeting with Faye Leung was reported as based on his envy at all the Hong Kong cash floating around… Read more »

Anonymous93. I agree that HST is a good way to raise tax dollars as it encourages saving and investment. I would be glad to see HST go to 25% and income taxes at 10%.

However, you won't get the break you thought you would on used cars. The gov't included this spoiler in their September budget update:

"Tax on Private Sales of Used Vehicles

The province will retain a provincial sales tax on

the private sale of used vehicles, aircraft and boats.

These sales are currently subject to PST but not

subject to GST and will therefore not be subject to

HST. The provincial sales tax on these items will

maintain current tax treatment."

"In hindsight I really can’t think of much Vander Zalm did that was of much benefit."

He was/is a pompous, blithering A-hole.

Not FAN-tastic at all. (As he used to say…)

Patriotz;

Good memory:

He did allow the teachers the right to strike….I remember back then that all this would do would lead to strike action which the BCTF has taken advantage of.

I aso recall VanderZalm also allowed the sale of BC Gas. He also "privatized" the Highways Dept…which in essence retained the unionized employees which private road contractors had to keep if they won the maintenance bid. I recall this was a useful for Gov't accounting.

In hindsight I really can't think of much Vander Zalm did that was of much benefit. I wonder if he was simply a neo-con plant that simply stripped BC of its public assets to benefit a few, much like our current Premier.

95 X Anonymous Says: Reply to this comment

September 13th, 2009 at 9:55 am

HST is the best thing since slice bread. People should pay tax on purchases. We need to support the HST. Get government to lower income tax. We should tax spending and not tax working. Simple logic. If we work more and spend less, we won’t be in such a big mess.

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sure, nice in theory. However, the Libs have offered no income tax cut measures. hence we are simply back at a tax grab again.

the tsawassen homes debacle is a pissing match gone from bad to worse. common sense the lines should have been buried underground. the government is continuing with a moral hazard by engaging in a "buyer beware" sale.

Those Tsawassen homes… If you recall, Campbell forced BC Hydro to buy over 100 homes which had those high-voltage power lines running adjacent to their back yards. This buy-out cost almost $60 million. Now, as per typical of Gov't they had them appraised, have surveillance, etc and have had Re Max as their listing agents. They will sell them in 20 home packages so as not to flood the market and anticipate this will take 3 years to sell the all . By buying these homes, it sure never bought the LIEberals the election, Wally Oppal lost, it did the opposite..the damage was done. Campbell has no credibilty in that riding. Apparently the sales agreements do not contain a waiver for the buyers. If I was a Tsawassen resident, I'd be pissed due to the fact that BC Gov't used… Read more »

Girlbear: Higher sales taxes, lower income taxes. Maybe that way we can actually collect SOME taxes from the multi-billion dollar illegal drug industry that is currently not paying into the pot!