Each of us, in our own way has the responsibility to do whatever we can to make a positive difference in our market...and in our lives.

Reality Check#1: Ontario Premier Tells Toronto City Councilors & Strikers To 'Fix It Yourself'

The last time Toronto had a civic workers strike, it lasted 16 days. At that time, the provincial government of the day ended the strike with back-to-work legislation.

This time around, after 16 days, the premier, who is the highest elected official in the province, comparable to a governor in the US, has no plans to force an end to the strike.

In referring to the two sides in the dispute, Premier McGuinty said:

"They've got themselves into this and now they have a responsibility to get themselves out of this."

As much as I dislike the disruption to most city services, I am comfortable with the premier's position.

Far too often we find ourselves in a problematic situation...that we have created or contributed to in some way and we want some one else...usually the government...to bail us out.

Yes, the municipal government and the union share the responsibility for ending the strike.

And yes, as residents of Planet Earth, we all share the responsibility for reducing the garbage we generate.

Reality Check #2: Federal Budget Watchdog Says Prime Minister Harper Got It All Wrong

From yesterday's Toronto Star:

“Canada could shed a total of 1.2 million jobs this year and next, the parliamentary budget watchdog predicts.

“Suggesting that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has vastly underestimated the impact of the economic recession, Kevin Page [independent federal budget watchdog] says the employment picture is much worse than the federal government predicted in the January budget.

“Page also says the Harper government's claim that it will be able to stop running annual budget deficits in five years cannot be believed...

“...in 2013-14, instead of balancing its books, Ottawa will still run a $16.7 billion deficit...”

For the record, in November despite the global recession then taking hold, the Canadian government was trying to reassure Canadian that we would not be seriously affected by the recession.

With a cumulative federal budget of deficit of $155.9 billion over five years, there is only one thing we can expect from the government: higher taxes and fewer services.

Since the US economy is so much larger than Canada's, the corresponding deficit over five years can be expected to be immense. I have trouble wrapping my mind around the concept of 'billions of dollars'...stretching it to think about 'trillions of dollars is next to impossible for me.

But the actual numbers don't really matter...we will all face the same two recession legacies: higher taxes and fewer services from government.

In practical terms, this means, if anything needs fixing in our little corners of the world...our best...and perhaps only choice will be to fix it ourselves.

Reality Check #3: OPTOMISTIC ABOUT THE ECONOMY AND THE REAL ESTATE MARKET FOR THE NEAR FUTURE? THINK AGAIN!

This is Lenn Harley's  blog from earlier in the week.

If you have not yet read Lenn's post, do it as soon as you can...preferably after you finish my post.

What I find interesting is Lenn's conclusion:

“...there are another 1.4 million consumers who are now OUT OF THE REAL ESTATE MARKET FOR 2-4 YEARS...”

Lenn's blog tells me that the real estate market is badly broken...more so in the US, but also here in Canada.

Unfortunately, looking to any government...whether US or Canadian, state or province...to fix a broken real estate market is little more than wishful thinking.

Although we may, or may not, have contributed to our own broken real estate markets, we simply cannot expect to have some one else...i.e. Government...fix the problem for us.

Each of us, in our own way has the responsibility to do whatever we can to make a positive difference in our markets, our lives and the lives of those who are important to us.

For the next few years...no government can do much for us.