Even the West Side Type's choice for Premier..................

...........seems to have sold out the BC Taxpayer, just like Gordo.

Ha, ha, ha, Bill Boring is always promoting Carole Taylor for premier, but why? She is part of that Vancouver elitist (we are better than you because we live in Vancouver's West Side) population who think that they are best to run the province.

Carole Taylor, Gordo and the rest of the Liberal 'Iggy' crowd are too old, too corrupt, and too elitist for this day and age. Liberal sleaze, is well entrenched and well rewarded.

A most important purpose of

A most important purpose of the policies of the federal and provincial governments are post politics directorships for the anointed holy.

Mulroney's feet haven't touched the ground since he forced the FTA on Canada and whole slew of directorships are waiting for Campbell and Harper.

The funniest part is that this racket driven country, and most of them around the Earth, are still called "democracies".

There's a big police push against youth gangs, but how can these big gangsters get away with their criminal actions to enslave the whole world ?

Has the public become totally blind and stupid not to see and realize the crime wave going on ?

My biggest fear is a Harper majority that would totally ruin and sell off this country to international gangsters, but it is a serious reality, based on the ignorant public's sympathy vote.

Ed Deak.

Reeks

Dan the Socialist is right. This smells to high heaven. Why is this government so hell bent on rewarding their buddies at our expense? I could understand a little pork barreling now and again, but this is so obvious, and so bad that my nose is starting to hurt. If there is anyone in Canada that obviously doesn't need a tax break, it has to be the banks. While every other business in Canada is losing money and/or downsizing, the banks are still showing record profits. Recession? What recession?

What does this government plan to do when my income drops to zero, and there is nothing left to gouge from me?

antidote to corruption

This type of political handshake is typical, just not typically reported, let alone critically appraised, by mainstream media. Remember they are all in it together folks - recall the recent senate appointment of Linda Frum Sokolowski from The National Post? How about CBC's Pamela Wallin? Round, round we go....... Notice how these mainstream journalists are so cozy with Harper? The only antidote to this corruption is to turn off your TV news, cancel your subscriptions to corporate newspapers and subscribe to online news networks like the The Tyee, Public Eye Online, Real News Network and so on.

Why did Taylor do it?

"The question remains: why did Taylor repeal a tax that had been in existence since 1973?"

Because she was told to.

Would today's NDP do this?

" In his first budget speech on April 1992, NDP Finance Minister Glen Clark said he was expanding the levy so that it would apply to all corporations -- not just financial institutions -- with paid-up capital in excess of $1 billion.

As was intended, corporation capital tax receipts soared under the New Democrats, leaping to between $350 million and $400 million annually for most of the 1990s. By the NDP's last three years in power, the yearly revenues had skyrocketed to about $460 million.

Those NDP actions, and many others, such as preserving BC Hydro, BC Rail, the BC Building Corporation, the attempt to create a ship building manufacturing sector in BC to build ferries rather than import them, was a democratic socialist policy that advanced the interets of ordinary working class citizens over the interets of banks and major corporations - would today's BC NDP do this? Would ordinary working class people support a return to those policies?

The Province's finances are in shambles due to privatization of assets, due to the dismantlement of a genuinely progressive income tax regieme, due to economic mismangement on a grand scale obfuscated by billions of dollars of federal transfer payments and now we see the cuts, just like in 2001/2002 levied primarily against the poor and working people, coupled with a continued neoliberal capitalist privatization agenda. Yes, today's NDP are against the cuts, against the HST, but what are they for, what is the positive message, if any, they are sending to citizens whose interests are not large Capital's interests? How would they do things differently, what is their social democratic vision for this Province?

Grumpy

I am not an Ignatieff supporter but I must point out that the B.C. Liberal Party is not affiliated with the federal party. Gordon Campbell and his crowd have reached a whole new level of sleaze which is more in line with the actions of the Federal Conservatives.

Parasite Chick Taylor

There is an ongoing countrywide trend to "ease the pain" for big corporations, with the hope that they in return will stay in the province that allows them the greatest benefit.
In other words we are being played one area against the other.
Taylors action is exactly the same feeeble attempt at cozying up to big business!
She benefitted but did the province benefit? NO!
We are so brainwashed that we keep electing such parasites to office.

The darling of the Canwest media...

...has been snuffling at the trough since her arrival. For any of those Campbell liberals this is a sign that she has the right stuff. You can make all the money you want by whatever means but if you get away with it, you are Grade A Quality right-wing material. Let the rest eat cake! Are we really surprised?

Make the switch

Take your banking business to a credit union. As an automatic shareholder, you'll get the rewards of the tax cut as well. And you'll also keep the profits of banking in your community!

US has bailout $ - Canada has Carol Taylor and others

Is this why our 6 banks are considered so healthy today by international standards. My sense is that our business community condones this type of giveaway. Carol Taylor has been pimping for us and that's the problem with a system that allows her to accept these obvious "thank you rewards". Their value is less than 1/100th of those no longer available corporate taxes. So she took a cut of our corporate "forgiven" bank taxes (less than 1%) as a job kickback and left the balance (more than 99%) of our taxes on the table for the Canadian banks to scoop up. Maybe now the banks will leave some cake (crumbs more likely) on that table for us.

Recession What stinkin' Recession

Kind of makes you wonder. A provincial government that professes a seismic shift in revenue, yet in reality the anticipated revenue for 2009/10 is only 700M$ less than 2008/09, yet the deficit is supposed to be 2.8 B$. Banks that are recording profits in the Billions. Income tax reductions that in reality lead to a net tax increase.
A government that covers up its lack of expertise by pleading incompetence.
And in the end who pays through lose of income, livelihood and increased medical costs; the very people who put their trust, belief and faith in the people we elect to govern in our best interests.
We should all be allowed to run up our debt say we thought we were going to make more and then plead ignorance that we did not know what we were doing. The go to the mega-profit banks and say please give us more we will try harder trust us.
It appears the "recession is only a reality for you and I while government and big banks chant, in unison "let them eat cake"

Taylor

I remember her as a minor Toronto media personality who met and married Art Phillips, former Liberal Mayor of Vancouver. Taylor has no administrative background, or skills in governance. We have to be cynical, and view her as a useful tool for corporate elitists.

Re bank profits: since last years collapse of Lehman Brothers/Merrill Lynch, American financial institutions have been colluding on writedowns of debt. By paying zero interest to bank account holders, they use money for free, while raking in revenues that cover both loan losses and (from junk holdings like Collateralized Debt Obligations/Credit Default Swaps) and profits. Said collusion allowed each and every bailed out banking institution to pay back bailout money. In fact, many large institutional investors have re-incorporated as banks, so that they can stick their noses in the latest trough. As for Canadian banks, at last count my GICs were paying 0.25% interest. And our banks don't have the write-down problem of US banks. They get money for nothing here, and they lend it out for huge profits. Carole Taylor's job will be to ensure that taxes on same are low.

See links to articles on the anniversary of the US financial collapse.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/?state=noad

Remember when...

...a Vancouver radio station offered Glen Clark a radio talk show on his retirement from politics. It was a job he was amply qualified. The right-wing went nuts at the prospect of having a former NDP Premier talking politics in a Campbell Liberal world. The world would come to an end as we knew it. Even our own Rafe did his thing getting exorcised that Clark was getting a job similar to his. The end result was that the offer was withdrawn and the rest is history.

For those on the right there is no such problem. No matter how they use their positions to ingratiate themselves to the corporate interests they always get paid back with directorships and positions for which they rarely have qualifications. Qualifications have nothing to do with it. It is payback. The oldest form of passing benefit to the friends who benefit you.

Just imagine the outcry if any NDPer on those rare ocassions even got a job with a labour Union which he/she might have been a member of before he was elected to office. Oh the horror of it.

Payoffs for those on the right are just based on merit. Yeah and pigs get to snuffle at both troughs.

@ Peter Dimitrov

When the corporaton capital tax was substantially re-introduced in the 1990's, Premier Harcourt also went on the record as noted here:

http://www.boardoftrade.com/vbot_page.asp?pageid=748

And Manitoba's New Democrat goverment is also eliminating the corporate capital tax:

was eliminated on July 1, 2008, for corporations that use more than 50% of their labour and capital in Manitoba in M&P activities; and will be eliminated after 2010 for other corporations.

http://www.pwc.com/ca/en/tax/budgets/2009/manitoba.jhtml

So to answer your question - YES.

The real question is WHY??!

Trickle down economics

Connect the dots. Follow the money. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Insert your favorite relevant cliche here.

The wealthy look after their collective interests while using anti-government rhetoric and "competitive pressures" arguments for cover. Unless and until Joe Average out there wises up and figures out what's going on, expect more of the same.

Coming out of the closet.... (again) :

One pair of ruby red Gucci heels.

Matt T

"the tax would be eliminated when the budget was balanced"

And is the budget balanced? No. Whose paying to balance it this time? We (Joe and Jane Average) are through the HST and carbon tax and increased fees. It sure isn't the banks.

Who gets rewarded? Carole Taylor the person who repealed the corporate capital tax.

Would the NDP do this? Would their former finance minister be hired by the very banks who profited? Yeah when pigs fly.

It works for you does it?

Time to constrain publicly elected officials.

Just a suggestion --- maybe officials (and their spouses) who are elected to public office should be prevented from holding a position on the board of directors of corporations that do business in Canada, for at least 5-10 years after they leave office. This could also be imposed for Senate appointments as well. I'm not sure how we would handle the situation where an ex-official could direct his own business, but I'm sure there are ways. It just seems to me that if abuses are occurring and it appears that they could be, then it is time legislation is produced to stop the practice.

Who to blame?

Those welfare bums are killing this province!
You know she only has to show up once a year to vote on her own pay raise, other than that she can just phone in her prescripted vote on raising interest charges on the rest of us. Prime rate 0.25% my car payment 13.5% and I was told I was a lucky guy to have such a low rate.
BC the greatest place on earth if you don't live here!!!

Just call them "BANKSTERS"!

PWB, that's a food suggestion!

It seems that political office is a way to get a great job, should you "pass" laws that help. It is clear what has and is happening! Corporations are so in bed with politicians (of the pro-business type) that it is getting really sleazy! Before the election, parties get money (with taxation benefits, surprise, surprise) and, after, they get jobs. When they are on those boards, they can call their political friends! It is a perfect circle of friends.

We live in an oligarchy!

BC Liberal Party Hardy Club

"It appears the "recession is only a reality for you and I while government and big banks chant, in unison "let them eat cake"

You hit the nail on the head there, RC.

It's been intentionally "custom-designed" that way.

We pay.

They party.

Trent said: "Take your

Trent said: "Take your banking business to a credit union. As an automatic shareholder, you'll get the rewards of the tax cut as well."

Can someone tell me more about this! My "income tax" package never indicated this to me!

BTW, I meant to write "good" not "food" in my previous post.

What is most shocking with reading all the great comments here is that politicians such as Taylor are being used and using Corporations. She was a journalist before and she was the finance minister. Isn't it time that we get to know the credentials of those people and that no one with no credentials like her can get jobs like she does? How can this woman be of any use for TD except to be a well paid lobbyist, if indeed she is lacking in credentials (education/degree)?

Great article! Keep them coming!

We need more mud to be flying for the general public to know.

Gucci Girl all the way!

Great piece Will - the Gucci Girl delivers for the Gucci Government once again!

corporate whoredom

Today I sold every share I owned of the TD Bank.
In BC you can receive $136,000 per annum in dividend income as a couple and pay exactly zero dollars in tax if you have no other income. Why? The guys who work at hourly wages are taxed at higher levels than people who have accumulated capital assets and can afford to not work anymore. How do I know? Because I can do it and it makes me sick. Trickle down economics is a great falsehood. When you drop corporate taxes and reduce taxes paid on dividends you take away my incentive to own a company and grow. If you return the tax levels to 2001, corporations are not going to leave BC and Vancouver in droves, neither are wealthy individuals who have jobs such as dentists, doctors and business owners. Resources that are owned by the people will also be used when prices are high enough to cover costs. Don't listen to the Campbell nonsense that we have to reduce corporate taxes or royalties on gas drilling. It is simply not true. They are doing exactly what Harper is doing (and I went to university in economics with that jackass)and that is bowing to their corporate masters. This appointment is more feathering of ones own nest.

@ used to live in...

"When you drop corporate taxes and reduce taxes paid on dividends you take away my incentive to own a company and grow."

You must be a business/economics prof at one of our local universities. NOT!

Yes, but Carole Taylor looks good in TD Green

Why worry about the optics? Carole Taylor is crying all the way to the bank. The Campbell government are such outlandish brigands that you have to laugh. I am only worried that Carole may need a second job to make ends meet. All that nail polish and those shoes are expensive.

More left wing X-Files...

You guys are weaving conspiracy webs based on pure fantasy. I think TD made Taylor a director based on her contacts and profile. The reward for saving them corporate capital tax (a board appointment and some options) is a mere pittance for the amount saved. But, let's clarify the argument.

A minimum corporate tax based on paid up share capital is simply punitive and ill conceived. Taxes should be based on profit. To charge loss making companies, which employ BC people, a capital tax only worsens matters. It's only purpose is to make left wing politicians feel better, chasing evil corporations. It drives away investment in BC and we sorely need private sector jobs.

Then, what's wrong with her taking private sector appointments? Glen Clark works for Jimmy Pattison- who must be the left's arch villain. In fact, Pattison saved Clark's livelihood because I don't remember any of BC's cherished unions offering Clark anything.

MonopolyMadness

ReeferMadness

You mention the "competitive pressures" argument. Canadian prime rates are always higher than US, because regulators fear a capital flow to the bigger market. Thus, the money-for-nothing benefit enjoyed by banks, is much higher here. My bank posted loan/interest rates on a chalkboard display for 30 years; it it now gonzo! Why? There is a huge differential between same.

Collusion is now brazen in the US. The four biggest banks now control 60% of all bank deposits in the US (in the State of Georgia, Big Money is grabbing 1 bank every 2 weeks). How do they finance purchases of these fire sale bargains? Collusion: they have made themselves immune from bankruptcy, by setting "floor" operational costs. That is: they are joining together to write-off bad loans,through secret deals on write-downs. If they - and the FOUR control 90% of Derivatives - write-down 10% per year, then they have joint FLOOR costs, and they can pretend that the rest of their operations are Free Market. Of course, monopoly reaches the CEILING.

Speculative? No. The FOUR beat Obama's regulative initiative by announcing joint operation of a "Clearinghouse" for Derivative junk (CDOs/CDS). They will get away with this monopoly, because our American friends prefer no-cost (they WILL pay indirectly) private schemes over government intervention. And last weekend's right-wing protests reveal there are lots of sheeple for Big Money to manipulate.

http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2009/09/aig_fed_jpmorgan_goldman_bac_citigroup_derivatives.php

Alexa monitoring reports that one-quarter of page-views here are by Americans. Ergo: some should post their views on the anniversary of Lehman/Merrill Lynch catastrophe.

Clark

Wiped out the NDP for three elections in a row so far. I'd say he's the best thing that every happened to Big Business in BC. He deserves a most excellent reward - even better than Taylor's.

I think Carole James should be up there for one as well. By hanging on as long as she has and refusing to do the honorable, she's kept the Clark snowball rolling. I think Humongous Bank should send something her way if the NDP ever grows a set of balls and gives the boot.

@reality_check

You want to know how you would benefit by being a credit union member?

Who owns the controlling share of your local credit union? What's required to get membership in your local credit union?

seth

If Clark hurt the NDP then why has Campbell won 3 elections when he's made Clark look like a genius?

As for James, the enviros wanted a carbon tax and didn't give a rat's ass about salmon, forest rangers, mining, forestry giveaways, oil pipelines or anything else.

Campbell is their baby.

Optics

The optics of this appointment can make one suspicious as to how or why she got it. I doubt we will ever know. First of all, we don't know if she had carte blanche to run her ministry or whether she was just the spokesman for Gordon Campbell and his advisors. I would suspect it is the latter as Campbell does not strike me the type that would relinquish control, no matter who or what their reputation may be.

To me the bigger concern is the BC Liberal Party's penchant to keep on shifting more and more of the tax burden onto the backs of the general public.

I am much more concerned about the finances of the province today. Pre-election we were assured that the deficit would not be any more than $495 million. Post election we are informed by Colin Hansen that revenues are projected to have fallen by $2 billion. The updated budget he brought down on September 1 only reflects a drop of $720 million compared to the February budget. Then why is the deficit projected to have risen from $495 million to $2.8 billion. Where is the other $1.6 billion? I suggest that the February budget was doctored to aid in the Liberals campaign and now they had no choice but to project more realistic projections. Add to that the government is now cutting back on lottery grants to all kinds of charities and non-profit organizations and redirecting a large portion of lottery monies to areas that were previously funded out of general revenue and you have a perfect example of a government in total fiscal disarray. Add the proposed HST to the mix and the citizens of BC can look forward to some very difficult times.

Bobby

I'm with you on the conspiracy. After what hubby Art earned on the partial sale of his company to RBC, $300 large a year is chicken feed for the aforementioned Guccis, with maybe enough to renovate the closet.

But you've got me laughing here:
"A minimum corporate tax based on paid up share capital is simply punitive and ill-conceived...."

It's actually exceedingly well-conceived as it's the most representative way of estimating a bank's earnings - by using the market's estimate. Considering the lack of real economic value produced by firms that focus their business solely on expanding the money supply in a monopoly situation, it's a remarkably fair tax as well. I think brokerages should be added to the list, with no lower limits on capital.

And despite what the Fraser Institution would have you believe, economists, especially ones who actually study the real world, not the imaginary mathematical one, are not at all agreed that capital taxes cause money to flow out of an economy.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2007/06/should_we_tax_income_at_the_bu.cfm

"Taxes should be based on profit."

I'm in. You can tax me on my profit last year - which I estimate at about $600. Hell, you can tax me 100% on my profit if you leave my income alone. My income was a helluva lot more, but by the time I spent my hard-earned money on taxes and fees, purchasing services that I was required to have, not to mention ones necessary for life and health, plus a little ordinary stuff like mortgage and food and a couple of bottles of wine (surely these would be expensible, and not even Pouilly-Fusse!), I found myself with just enough money for a nice weekend on the Island with the wife.

Tax that, ya bugger, and leave me my income! After all, if income is supposed to be a societal good, just like corporate profits, why the hell do we tax them so much?

This is the kind of corruption that politicians legislate their

This is just another example of a politician being rewarded for work done on behalf of the people that benefits no one but the entity that hires the politician into a position where they can benefit fully from the legislation they tabled before leaving office.It's not as outright fraudulent as Patrick Kinsella's machinations but it's pretty sleazy.Carole Taylor always was smarter than the average hack but I had her as my MLA for her entire term and she only made my situation worse.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥"There she goes Miss Tooorrronttoooo"(1964)♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I've followed Ms Taylor's career without really trying over the years, as she's flit from well paid job to even better paying job. Don't let that vacant stare fool you, she knows where she's at. I don't think it's money that interests CT anymore but she does enjoy the trappings that today's executive expect, beautifully appointed office, the prestige of having that all important title, the honoury degrees, etc.
Oh by the by she accepted an appointment to sit on a Federal Ministry of Finance advisory panel after which she resigned from the BC Leg. So she's off again now to the TD Bank. Wonder what's next for our Carole??

Hermans Hermit

When corporate taxes and personal taxes are reduced to obscenely low levels, more money simply passes into the owners pocket. There is less reason to take risk, since gains are assured. At some point, there is enough money not to continue. You sell your company and live off the capital proceeds. Much of the sale price is sheltered under the small business deduction tax break. Those capital proceeds are then invested in shares of Canadian companies that pay tax advantaged dividends. Our current tax system is a race to the bottom. The fairness in taxation is long gone. Trickle down economic theory or Reagonomics is dead. And in B.C. and Canada in general, corporations and wealthy individuals are taxed at such obscenely low rates that the salaried and hourly workers must continuously shoulder more of the tax burden. Social programs must then be cut and corporations can then offer to provide some of those services at a profit. See the circle we are creating? As far as university, that economics degree was not worth the paper it was written on. Samuelson was wrong and there are very few free markets. Try reading The Predator State by James Galbraith and Deep Economy by Bill McKibben. Cheers.

Bobby Peru

Did you really write this "Then, what's wrong with her taking private sector appointments? Glen Clark works for Jimmy Pattison- who must be the left's arch villain. In fact, Pattison saved Clark's livelihood because I don't remember any of BC's cherished unions offering Clark anything."

Clark as Premier never id anything to increase Jimmy Pattison's profit margin. Pattison got no tax breaks for his corporations from the Clark government and Clark was never offered a union job. That compared to Carole Taylor who gets a job from a bank which directly benefited from her actions. Wow! I REST MY CASE.

Now I also notice that Realisticman has been conspicuously absent from this discussion but he's very active on another concerning a silly Canwest/Ipso poll. I wonder why?

Conspiracy Theory

You people from BC think successful people should display an 'Aw shucks', I'm just a regular dude attitude and should dress in flannel and Roots shoes. Well, if you go to London, New York, Washington DC, senior executives and politicians should appear 'well turned out'. Nothing wrong with that, in fact, I want our senior politicians to behave and appear professional. Not like some of these firebrand unionists that the NDP love to place in power, unionists who forget to leave their union hall tactics behind when they are in power.

Carol Taylor would have been branded if she accepted a job with any corporation with a presence in BC that benefited from the repeal of corporate capital tax. Anyone who know anything about banks can tell you that paid up capital has little to do with a banks profitability or income. The reason is that banks leverage on their capital and asset base to make loans and invest.

As I said, you're stretching your imagination if you think $350,000 is a payoff to CT for helping TD Bank. That's peanuts. If you think $350,000 is alot of money then you're deluded.

CT isn't the only person who has the skill, luck and charisma to skip from job to job. One thing you socialists always fail to understand is that life is not fair. And whatever you do to level the playing field will only may life worse for everyone. All humans aren't created equal and some people have more talent than others. Or more luck. Accept it and you'll have lower blood pressure.

Be grateful that our Canadian banks were strong and well regulated enough to avoid and survive the financial crisis. And that the Canadian economy hasn't suffered as much as the US economy. Breaking up our banks would only weaken the system.

The Carol haters here are displaying a typical Canadian trait: the culture of envy. Hating success is a sport in BC.

How old is Carole Taylor?

How rich is Carole Taylor?

How much more money does Carole Taylor need?

Why doesn't she just retire and look after her aged husband?

She managed to do the job of Finance Minister without ever reading and understanding the laws she shepherded through the house - the fact she's being paid now to sign her name to the annual reports of the TD Bank really isn't much different than what she's done for the rest of her career.

Look pretty and smile when they take her picture.

If corporations need 'that' sore of thing, so be it - but pretending the lady who 'reads' the news ought to be the one 'making' it is a pretty scary notion in any area.

This is a cynosure - plain and simple - just like the 'rest' of her so-called career.

That doesn't mean one hates the woman - it's simply an acknowledgment that she's no more than a superannuated beauty queen.

Same old, same old. To me it's not much of a success to marry a rich man and smile all the time - but, for those who are impressed with that sort of thing - you're welcome to her....SHE ALWAYS DOES AS SHE'S TOLD - and that's important in a woman - apparently.

Bobby Peru Who Are You?

"unionists who forget to leave their union hall tactics behind when they are in power". Hmm do I see a double standard here? The unionists and NDP should leave all their connections and ways of doing business behind while the corporate elite shouldn't? Let me say this having been involved in unions for many, many years; a union is more democratic that a Multi-national corp could ever be. BP until you have walked in a unionist shoes perhaps you should join one and find out for yourself. I might add, a corporate elite couldn't last a minute in a union meeting, he would be found out for what he stood for in a matter of minutes and drummed out.

As for Carol Taylor, that is really a blank stare and I might add, suits her!

A Banana Republic

This is so blatant. Has she no shame? I never trusted her since I saw her in Vancouver politics in the 90's. Does anyone have her e-mail address? No point in whining about it here. She's not likely to read it. The ruling elite in Canada are irredeemably corrupt!

You want another reason why

You want another reason why TD picked Taylor to be on the board? It very simple; if you know your history, Campbell and Taylor were in Vancouver politics together and they were "connected", which the whole staff at city hall knew about. To put it simply the TD a has a direct link to Campbell thru Taylor.

Credit Union?

OK it sound good to belong to a Credit Union BUT!
One of our local schools has a Bank Acct with about $2,000 the interest rate is 0.010% I gag every time I see this acct generating .02 cents per month. The unions, credit cards also suck as the interest rates start at 5% more the my scotia VISA card.
You have to admit bank rates are all make believe, and payday loans interest rates makes the Mafia's loans look good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@Bob Watts

Bob, your credit union can't lend the money if it's in a chequing account, so they can't collect any interest on it. Put it in a cashable GIC and you should be able to get about 1% instead. It's not much, but it's better than nothing considering that lenders are getting as little as 2.5% on new mortgages these days.

The credit card is another story. Simple answer, don't carry debt on them...they're meant for making purchases, not long term loans. The interest rate is so high to offset the cost of people that walk away from paying the debt. Card companies make their real revenue from charging merchants.

I agree about the payday loans. The worst part about them is that the true costs are hidden in fees.

Well done!

Good on you, McMartin! And thank heavens for The Tyee, because, as Nechakogal so rightly points out, "This type of political handshake is typical, just not typically reported, let alone critically appraised, by mainstream media."