Yay, more tax. A few decades ago, people used to joke about government imposing a tax on flatulence. Imagine that - giggle, giggle.
Today, anything seems possible.
Consider the latest contribution from our political brain trust in Metro Vancouver, who last week trotted out a $7.5-billion transit plan for the region.
Lots of bridges and stuff are included in this 30-year vision.
But hey, how to pay for it all? If you put your ear to the wind, you can still hear a faint echo from all those mayors' synaptic transmissions firing off.
The result of their impressive electric brainstorm was to pay for this stuff by introducing - get this - a mobility tax that will punish drivers for how far they drive.
One wonders if Metro Vancouver's mayors, likewise their political brothers and sisters in the provincial and federal realms, are really members of an alien race conducting a clandestine experiment to see how much taxation humans can handle.
Last week, the Fraser Institute released a study concluding that while municipal spending has "ballooned" over the past decade, poor control of spending is to blame for the civic governments' perceived financial starvation.
If taxation and fee-imposition continues at the same rate it is today, by the time all this hallowed road infrastructure is ready, there won't be any drivers around to use it.
Just crickets. Rather, everybody will be hiding in their basement, trying to keep their breathing and heartbeats down to an economically manageable level lest they be hit with a big bill under the latest breath and heartbeat tax.
The Now