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WMMrY FRIEE PRS, WEDNESDAY, MAROH 15, 1989, PAGE 7 PAGE SE YEN Paying the Rent The bugaboo of rent controls was raised again at Regional Council last week. The conventional wisdom is that the lack of rentai units is due to rent controîs but the arguments don't hold Up. Rentai units are stili being buit. Why? Because the builders are making money. It follows that if some builders can make money at it, then any builder can. So why don't they? Because they make more money building bouses. So if you really want more apartments bujît, you have to take some of the profit out of bouse building. House price controls? It may come. Removing rent controls would merely extend the speculative price-gouging bouse market to apartments. I don't really think tbat's what we want. The Abortion Sidestep The decision of the Supreme Court to dodge the issue of fetal rigbts puts the issue right back where it belongs - in Parliament. Our courts should neyer be expected to play God - that's a role that politicians do much better. My first reaction to the Law Reform Commission's recommendation to create a separate section of the Criminal Code for crimes against a fetus was that it was a typically Canadian compromise. However, it may have menit. By defining a fetus as something which is neither a separate human being nor a mere appendage of its mother, we can create a middle ground that has neyer existed in the abortion debate. Who's Minding the Store We are about ta get clobbered by a deficit-reducing budget based on the conventional wisdom that we're way too far in debt and were spending our children's legacies, etc, etc. The last few weeks have seen a number of strategically released trial balloons by government officiais and lobbyists that suggest tbat tbe goverament may once again try ta cut some of our social prograins. Against this backdrop there was an interesting analysis in the Globe a couple of weeks ago by William Forward, a political scientist, and Frank Longo, an economist. Their analysis was based not on the size of tbe national debt but on its ratio ta tbe Gross Domestic Product. This eliminates factors sucb as population increases and inflation. The most recent figures (wbicb are about a year old - does that tell you something?) put the accumulated national debt at about 53% of the GDP. The authors note that this figure is about average for this country and cites as examples ratios in 1927 of 46%; 1937, 67%; 1942, 48%: and the extreme case following tbe last war wben it bit 107% in 1947. They further cite tbat even witb continued deficits in the $29 billion range, tbe ratio will actually start to decine after 1991 because the GDP is growng faster than the debt. Their concern is that any drastic deficit reduction program migbt put us into a recession, reduce the GDP and tbereby increase the debt to GDP ratio. Now, I'm not saying these guys know any more than any of the otber "experts" out there - I really bave little faitb in economists - but it sure is food for tbougbt, isn't it. Another thing that neyer gets mucb attention is tbat more than 80% of tbe national debt is owed to the Canadian people (that's igbt - you and me) in the form of ow. Canada Savings Bonds and Treasury Buis, etc. So tbe national debt is really our savings. No wonder economists get confused. vv -iii 75 YEARS AGO froni the Thursday, Marcb 12,1914 edition of the WHITBY GAZETFE AND CHRONICLE 1%Te Irish Canadian Club of Whitby will hold its sixth annual banquet at the Windsor Hotel on March 15. *No trespassers are allowed on the Asylum property at the lake witbout permission. * Lv. Dr. John J. Hare, Principal of the Ontario Liadies' College, bas purchased the old James Holden borne on Dundas Street East for a residence. "X7 w xqý m Fighting City Hall on the Grand Scale Solidarity and the Polisb government have apparently agreed ta return Poland to full democracy within six years. This stunning revelation was buried on page 8 of last Friday's Globe and Mail, kt should have been front page. Free elections will be beld this June for a new two-house parliarnent which in turn will elect a President. There seems ta be tacit agreement that the first President will be Communist Party leader Gen. Jaruzelski, but at- the end of bis six year terni, communist rule might well come ta an end. The milestone that this represent 's is incredible. WTho says you can't fight city hall? Governments are essentially powerless witbout at least the acquiescience of their citizens. Fighting City Hall on a Smaller Seale There's a letter on the opposite page from a Whitby resident who is upset about Council's decision to give away our chance for a public waterfront. She bas gone to the extent of booking the Library for a public meeting next Thursday (the 23rd). That's the kind of spirit that keeps politicians on their toes. But the only way she will get anywhere is if enougb of the rest of us get off our fannies and get out and speak our piece. BROOBLIN PUBLIC JAND CONTINUATION SCHIO0L C. 1936 This community school opened in January 1924 at the corner ofHIighway 12 and Winchester Road. It was closed in 1970 and demolished in 1982. A school of the same design was built at Woodville, Ontario. The architect was a Mr. Hornsby of Lindsay and the contractor was T.G. Morrow of Woodville. whidUy Arddves photo 10 YEARS AGO fromi the Wednesday, March 14, 1979 ecition of the WEMY REE PRESS " A Saturday bus service ta the Iroquois Park swimming pool from north Whitby is in operation. " Canada's first lifetizne care centre for cats is operating at the Durhamn Regional Animal Shelter on Thickson Road. *TheWVhitby Fire Departmnent used the "Jaws of Life" for the first time to, free a mani trapped in bis car," on March 7. *Plans are under way ta, start Whitby's first service club for retirees, by the Kiwanis Clubs ofWVhitby and Oshawa. 25 YEARS AGO from the Thursday, March 12, 1964 edition of the WHITBY WEEKLY NEWS e Hansen Boat Works are destroyed by fine on March 10 as fire fighters were haxnpered by a fr-ozen hydrant. *Expert safecrackers stole an undetermined sum of money fi-om Anderson CVI on March 7. *Dr. Ernest Broughtan, who served at the Ontario FHospital when it was a niilitary facility during the First World War, <ied at Toronto on March 7. *Rev. R. J. Scott, a former minister of St. Mark's United Church, was guest speaker at a special congregational meeting chaired by Neil Murkar. lui