 July 22, 2011, at 12:02 pm  EthanI read the news today that the City of Toronto is considering deep cuts in its services like Riverdale Farm, Hyde Park Zoo, Library cuts and closures, and even the late night bus services. I know many of us, including many of my close friends, are upset over it. Meanwhile, many of us including I are desperate for increased infrastructure, obviously seeing a big need for more transit, repaved roads, and fixing our watermains. Also, we are hoping that Toronto would become a beautiful city, with parks, beautiful waterfront, and more recreational spaces. Cyclists want more bike lanes. Drivers want better roads. Our wants are limitless for the city.
But, there’s a huge deficit in our city. All of our city services, like police and fire, TTC and parks, social grants and welfare grants… they all require cash, and Toronto is a cash-strapped city. Most of the city’s revenues are funded by property taxes, land transfer tax, and usage fees. Our property taxes are high, and I know the last time I bought my house, land transfer taxes make up a significant portion of the cash needed to buy my house. Toronto gets very little money from the federal government, unlike other major cities in the US.
There’s a well-known Macroeconomic issue called free-rider problem; many people in the GTA and Canada reap the benefit of Toronto services without properly paying for it. Every economies in this world, municipal and national, has this issue. While I may not agree with Ford’s initiatives, he is, at the end of the day, trying to tighten this free-rider problem in this city. I don’t have data to back this up, but I suspect Toronto’s free-rider problem is greater than other major cities. Think about the subway, as an issue. Finch and Kipling stations are a major hubs for suburbans from GTA to commute to their work. A lot of that traffic congests our TTC capacity. Many who resides in Oakville and Burlington drive in to Toronto, causing morning and night traffic havoc during AM and PM rush hours. Many travel from afar to enjoy our parks and facilities. All those who enjoy the benefits of living near Toronto don’t pay for it. (Those working in the Toronto core living in Oakville don’t pay for the services in Toronto). Free-rider problem s are not easy to fix. We can’t ask Oakville and Vaughn to pay Toronto anything, though arguably, most suburbs in GTA wouldn’t exist without Toronto. Legislatively, Toronto can’t tax anyone in any way except by property taxes (and maybe sales tax, though sales tax would again be taxing on those living in Toronto rather than fixing the free-rider issue).
At the end of the day, the question is supply and demand. What level of service can we demand that won’t break our bank? Late night bus system, waterfront, parks and petting zoos are services that we use regularly. I can’t say that they are waste of money. But, how do we fund them? Taxing the portion of Toronto that have long invested in the prosperity of the city isn’t the right answer. Eliminating these services aren’t the answer either. But, something must be done to reduce our spending and find additional means of revenue that this city can continue to develop as world class city that it aspires to be.
October 16, 2010, at 11:47 am JanetteA couple weeks back I started writing a post and I just deleted it. We had started sleep training Bailey and she was really taking to it. And so because I was so proud of ourselves, I was trying to think through the next thing, which in my head was how to move beyond just surviving the first few weeks – what would it look like to actually thrive, enjoy, embrace, not just walk around like a zombie. So I started writing….and then I got my butt kicked….by a 10 pounder.
She’s doing amazing during the night (most nights, everyone out there in the blogosphere you better go find some wood to knock on when you read this!) but the days, well some days, this whiny/fussy/no napping crazy comes out to play. And with the new addition this week of Ethan working away from home for long hours, neighbours may have heard me crying right along with the baby – sometimes louder than her I’m sure.
But then there was Thursday and Friday, oh blessed Friday! Great days in the life of Bailey and consequently, me. Why do I ramble so? Well, because I think through this I’m learning what it means to embrace what is given to me in the present. I can not say, “from this day forward, I will thrive as a mom! We have conquered sleeping and now I will move on!” It just doesn’t work that way. Some days I feel like we’re doing well and other days it’s like we’re back to square one. So on the days that are good days, I am learning to embrace that and enjoy the time I’m given. And on the whiny days, I’m also learning to embrace what I’m given – even if that is the classic 10 minute “nap” that should be 1 1/2 hours – and to be patient, knowing that probably pretty soon, this too will change.
So down with my pride and ability to conquer. And cheers to patience and enjoying in the present.
September 27, 2010, at 8:08 pm EthanIt was a long night last night. Bailey wouldn’t fall asleep unless she gets rocked in our arms, and every time we put her down to the crib, she would realize the change in her environment and end up waking up again. Imagine this happening from 8 at night till 1 in the morning. I missed essentially the entire Jets-Dolphins game last night. It got so frustrating at one point, that I got her in the car seat, put her in the car, and we drove around Toronto for 40 minutes to help her sleep. Again, the same thing– she fell asleep and then at the end of the 40-minute car ride, she was up and crying again.
 We had taken her to the Toronto FC game on Saturday, and from 3 to 8, she essentially slept in a carrier, all warm and cozy. Whenever she got fussy in that evening, we picked her up and rocked her to sleep. I think she now prefers warm and cozy place to fall asleep, and when she is left in her crib, she fights it like crazy.
We have been recording every minute of her wake time and her sleep time. I’ve analyzed it, tried to find patterns on it, and I’ve even run basic statistical analysis on her patterns. Nothing. She’s completely random.I did make this fancy chart, and this chart proves only one thing– I’m the biggest nerd of all time.
So, as of tonight, we are going to sleep train her.
We don’t have any clue what that means. We know that we want to accomplish– we want her to be able to fall asleep on her own and have a bit of consistency in her life. This will help J and myself get a bit more sleep during the night, and maybe we can even anticipate when her feed will be and when she’s going to get fussy.
We’ve been thinking about the pros and cons of training Bailey and putting her on a schedule. In one way, sleep training helps her because we can anticipate on her needs. We now know what she needs and what she prefers. Some of her preferences and her expectation from us need to be controlled. Every parent whom I’ve talked to says that we need to show them who is in control. Well, here we are Bailey. No more of you controlling us when to hold you and when to feed you. However, sleep training has its own drawbacks– we have to change our agenda and our schedule to meet her needs. We love her and care for her enough to adjust our social schedule, say no to things we want to be a part of, and spend some of our evenings for her sake.
As we were pondering on this decision, it made me think about God who adjusted his agenda for humanity– by sending his own son for our sake. He foresaked himself for us. I know, it’s a fairly mundane statement, yet, when we are faced with a decision for someone so dependent on us, we realize how difficult of a decision it is.
Anyways, wish us luck. Maybe she’ll sleep on her own.
September 7, 2010, at 2:16 pm EthanHere’s something light for the blog world.
This past weekend, I went to kiss Bailey. She responded by throwing up breast milk right into my mouth. I got half-digested breast milk in my mouth because of it.
Sick.
September 6, 2010, at 11:14 pm EthanI feel like a lot of my blogs get deeper, reflective, and cam come across negative. I apologize if this is too somber. By using this blog as my creative and emotional outlet, I guess it’s inevitable to have a more serious undertone. Really, I assure you, we are fine and have been thoroughly enjoying the first 3 weeks of parenting. Trust me. Funny things will be written too.
I’m now lying in bed after taking turns with J soothing and holding Bailey. It seems that something in her milk didn’t sit right with her, and she was having either really bad gas or some indigestion.
I don’t know if you have ever seen a baby in pain. It’s excruciatingly painful. Their face gets so red and passionate. They may look tiny and fragile– but boy, their cries can easily be heard all over the neighborhood. And all we could do is temporarily distract her or sooth her as we hold her and she endures the pain. As we hold her, I can only interpret her cries as, “c’mon you guys, you make me feel comfortable after my pee and poop and you satisfy me when I feel hunger. Now, can you get this pain to go away?”
As her cries go louder and louder, all I hear is, “mommy/daddy, why are you ignoring me? You’ve forsaken me.”
I tease Bailey now, telling her that she will soon seek my approval, and that is what she will seek for the first bit of her life. I also imagine how she’ll see me as an invincible and powerful person. I used to think that my mom was so powerful because she could press the buttons on the elevators. This is a great reminder– no, Bailey, I’m not invincible or powerful. I can’t get rid of your gas or your pain.
I will one day write about coddling and how the world is messed up because parents now coddle their kids. But, here, I have to admit how easy and “natural” it feels to coddle the kids. We want to keep her from experiencing pain, though probably everyone in the world has experienced some pain and we can’t always keep them from experiencing it. Knowing that pain hurts, and allowing them to feel it. It’s a whole lot more difficult than I had originally thought. I will have to toughen up for the real heartbreakers in the future.
Ugh, I’m such a sortie. I think this why I had wanted a boy initially.
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