As the August long weekend approaches, let's continue our summertime fun and reflect on life's little annoyances and quirks. And no, we're not talking about some of our tree-hugging, car-hating councillors down at city hall. We'll give them a break this week. When I speak (or is that write/type?) of such things, it's more in the spirit of the old Arsenio Hall monologue poking fun at life's puzzling ironies.

First up, the dreaded GST. Of course this tax is a fact of almost every consumption decision we make but it is really irksome that the GST is also charged on our hydro bill. Specifically the portion dealing with the retirement of billions of stranded debt courtesy of the old Ontario Hydro.

So let's get this straight. We paid taxes on hydro bills on the past and due to mismanagement, amongst other things, hydro executives saddle the former provincial utility and its ultimate shareholders (read: Us) with debt. And now as we pay it off - as Hydro Ottawa has transparently laid out for us on the new hydro bills - we are supposed to pay the GST as well.

So Ottawa pockets some $70 million a year in free GST money while Ontario consumers chip away at this debt to the tune of $1 billion a year. This is hardly a "good" or a "service" we're paying for … hmmm?

Continuing with the GST, what about the $30,000 reporting threshold? If you earn over 30K in revenue each year in your business, you have to report and remit a portion of your GST collections. If you're under 30K, no worries. Again, this threshold hasn't changed in decade even though compound inflation is up over 20%. Hmmm?

You can almost here Bessie "the GST cash cow" mooing right now.

Sticking with this taxman theme, let's turn our attention to tax credits. If you give $200 to a federal political party, you're entitled to a generous 75% tax credit. But what if you decide instead to starve our political friends give $200 to the regional Cancer Centre, CHEO, the United Way, the food bank or a shelter for battered women. Sorry Charlie, the tax credit in this scenario is a miserly 16%.

So what does this say about our society when our tax system places a greater monetary value on funding political machines than it does with respect to charitable contributions to a variety of worthy causes in the community? Hmmm?

All this talk about money reminds me of another nagging issue. Have you noticed those signs at the local gas station or convenience store telling customers that the establishment will not accept $100 bills or even $50 bills?
Apparently these establishments fear being burned because someone may knowingly (or not) try to pay them with a phoney bill.

There are times when some folks only carry fifties or larger in their billfolds or purses or they've just come from a bank machine that didn't dispense smaller denominations. Yet they are treated like pariahs by the clerk behind the counter. Contrary to urban legend, there is no law compelling a retailer to take your big bills if you have nothing else. On this issue, the Bank of Canada Act and other relevant statutes are eerily silent.

Wouldn't it be nice if retailers would just do a little homework instead of posting signs that insult customers? The Bank of Canada currency education team (go to www.bankofcanada.ca and follow the links) has done some great work in this area in teaching us how to spot fake currency.

With just a little information, even the most casual observer can pick out the differences of paper quality, raised printing, line details and proper serial numbers when it comes to money note evaluation. Or retailers can buy a relatively inexpensive fluorescent light scanner to check for the signature of authentic bills to reduce - if not eliminate - their risk of being duped.

But here's the real kicker. According to the Bank of Canada, less than a fraction of one percent of all bills in circulation are counterfeit. And the most commonly counterfeited bill is not the $50 or $100 note. Actually the most commonly forged bill is your good old, common, everyday, garden variety, staple of most wallets, smiling green QE2 $20 bill. Hmmm?

While I promised to lay off our friends at city hall, the reports of declining and worrisome low levels of O-Train ridership cannot be overlooked. This brings us back to the main question yours truly has asked from the outset of this light-rail trial debacle. Where are the modal shift studies showing the projections for how many folks will be moved from cars to light rail?

For over a year this question has been posed on no less than half a dozen separate occasions. Yet city officials (elected and staff) can't produce a single study or number in response. Just another one of those things that makes you go … hmmm?