My first thought. They must have close to 100 million customers. So this works out to about ten cents per customer. Wow, that's some punitive fine! Just another example of how "capture theory" is the norm in the US these days. The FDA is captured by Big Pharma. The SEC is captured by Wall Street. And the FCC is captured by the Big Carriers.

"Otherwise, you're not rich enough to justify maintaining a holiday home as well as your own home, inherited or not." To whom do I need to 'justify' my possessions? You? Some tribunal somewhere?

Our family cottage has been in the family for 99 years now. In recent years, the property has increased in potential value because it has 220' of lake front. Developers want to buy the barely-used farm behind us (and the farmer is eager to sell), buy the cottage, and use it as a beach for the multiple homes they want to build.

My brother (titular owner) and I are both eager to maintain the cottage so that our children and ideally, our grandchildren can enjoy the same experiences we did, and our father did, when we were kids. But if he were to die in a car crash, we'd have to sell because I don't have 1/4 of a million sitting around to pay the estate taxes.

I'm so glad you believe a bunch of bureaucrats desire for moar cash so they can spend on things THEY think are important is more important than building and maintaining family traditions amongst people who are not so rich that can't "justify" owning a dinky 3-bedroom cottage along with their city home.

Just to add on: property taxes In Toronto, there were stories about people who owned homes and businesses for 40 years, but had to sell out because the land values had increased so much, the property taxes were now far beyond their ability to pay. This happens because property taxes, like inheritance taxes, don't take into account the cash flow of the person who's supposed to pay them.

I'm trying to understand your argument. If small business owners (SBO) "no longer have to take so much out of the business for themselves" - do you mean "their profits"? - "maybe they'll higher (sic) someone to help." So, if I'm an SBO, and I'm suddenly gifted with an extra $1,000 per month, I'm going to hire a new person? Here in Ontario - where the pilot program was tried - minimum wage is $14 per hour. So, $1,000 buys less than 20 hours of labour per week. And it's even less when you factor in that the employer has to pay employee health tax, employer's share of CCP and UI payments, etc. So at most, you could hire someone for about 15 hours a week. Assuming you could find someone who only wants to work 15 hours, what does that give you? Name the small business - a coffee shop? A dry cleaner? a gas station? - and tell me what who is going to hire an extra person with a $1,000 per month.

You mean the study only surveyed FOUR people?

yayaya... at my frat, when we played darts, score was not even a consideration.

The point of the game was to throw your dart into the board hard enough that the other guy had to use pliers to remove. Now, that's darts!

the "Pinty's Grand slam of curling" offers over $2 million in prize money, and there are a ton of other cash spiels and tournaments. curling is extremely popular on TV in Canada, and these guys and girls are celebrities wherever they go.

He's great.. I get to watch, er, listen to him all the time during the Brier (Canadian championship). He's able to explain stuff without seeming condescending, and he has real natural enthusiasm for it. The Vin Scully of curling!

Well, as any good Canadian will tell you, the real challenge is to do it after you've had 4 beers. Helps when you're watching, too!

that was my feeling. Girl was cute, though.

Really! Where can I buy bump stocks? Do they trade on the NYSE or the NASDAQ? What are some ticker symbols?

I mean, I missed the boat on Bitcoin, but I wanna get in on the ground floor with these bump stocks!

I used this analogy: Imagine you're at a food court that has waiters. You order from any vendor, and the waiters bring it to you. You pay the vendors separately for your food, and you pay the waiters for the trays. Some people order five trays, some people just a couple. But the waiters get paid by the tray, not for what's on it.

Imagine the waiters got together, and said "Hey, let's start charging more for people who want beluga, they can afford it." Once that was accepted, you can be sure that fairly soon boeuf bourgignogne, Bordeau, and blueberries would be extra cost as well, eventually only leaving baloney and Beef-a-roni as the "basic options".

Is this good for the vendors? No. As the price goes up for their options, their sales suffer. Is it good for the diners? No, they have to pay more to get the exact same stuff. Is it good for the waiters? Undoubtedly!

Where do you get the idea that 'taxpayers' paid for the last-mile lines? In Canada, at any rate, the last mile is put in by the telco or the cableco, or usually both. All the government gives them is the right-of-way, which costs taxpayers nothing.

Nice one, Ricky. But you forgot to say "I toadaso".

Shithawk.

"I'd prefer a deferential Oriental personality with a Black Super-size-BBW look put on it, and I'm Anglo-Saxon; does that mean I'm strange?"

Yes.