So I'm watching cable TV here in Canada, and I notice quite a few advertisements for "Pardon Services Canada". They're quite amusing, with a hapless man trying to have fun snorkeling in a fountain in downtown Toronto, or playing in the dirt of a construction site as if it were a beach.

These ads were running at least a dozen times per night on the network TV channels during prime time. I wondered, "How many people must have criminal records to make such a service be able to run these expensive ads?"

A bunch, apparently.

A full 10 % of the Canadian population has a criminal record.

I also found out that there is plenty of competition for these pardon specialists here in Canada. It's big business!

I've always heard that Canada is a mild-mannered and friendly country. Their reputation is that there is little crime in Canada - certainly little violent crime. So how the heck do 10% of the population get criminal records? I'm not sure.

That said, I do find it interesting that they have a means to "officially forgive" people of past indiscretions. In the US, there does not seem to be any such thing. Once a convict, always a convict. I know they have pardons and such in the states, but as far as I know, they're largely done by the states' governors.

And, if you have actually committed the crime you can almost certainly forget about a pardon. Pardons are primarily designed to clean up the mess left behind by a false conviction.

Federally, only the President can give you a pardon, and that always seems to go to members of current and former administration officials.

God forbid you should have committed an assault as an 18 year old in 1963. You will forever be banned from defending yourself with a firearm again. (Thanks to Frank Lautenberg), voting in most states, and so on.

Once you screw up in the States, your ass is grass.

Even though there seems to be an awful lot of criminals in Canada, they are at least able to eventually get their rights back.

That's a hell of an improvement over the situation in the States.

I think that criminal convictions should have a statute of limitations. The statute gets extended each time a new criminal conviction happens. For example, if you committed a crime in 1963 and are clean for 10 years - you should get an automagic pardon.

If you commit a crime in 1970, you have to wait until at least 1980 before you get a pardon. Let the past go. People grow up - governments should, too.

My wife is working on a database program for a friend that has a retail food store. Among other things, they need to weigh their products when they repackage them.
They were forced to buy very expensive scales with printers because in Canada, you are not allowed to give improper weight on a food label - even if it's low. You also have to be accurate in your weight down to three (!) decimal places.

The extra scales cost over $1,000 each, and he had to buy at least one per store.

The days of a baker throwing in an extra donut or bread when a customer buys a dozen are over, apparently. Accuracy at all costs -to the retailer.

Since the land fell through in Troy, it's been difficult to find a replacement. We put an offer in on a property in Eastman, NH because its close proximity to Lebanon and Hanover. Eastman is a polar opposite to what we were initially looking for, but has very interesting facilities for the children and adults for that matter.

Problem is, that Eastman has bunches of covenants. Therefore a dome is out of the question (unless it's a Timberline, perhaps). So we're looking at our options. Unfortunately, with relatively low credit scores caused by the dot.com bust, it's hard to get a building loan.

I am not deterred, naturally. I am looking at building options, anyway. I heard from two contractors that it is illegal to do my own electrical and plumbing. I wouldn't call them reliable sources, of course, so I'm investigating that myself. So far, it appears that Grafton county has no such restrictions, so that's encouraging.

Technically, the property we're looking at is in Enfield, which is actually quite nice.

What's interesting to me, is that Eastman represents a "town" that is not run through coercive taxes like every where else. Sure, it has facilities, which can be taken away if you don't pay the fees. And they can put liens on your property and stuff - just like the state.

One major difference, though, is that property owner ALWAYS have a vote on fees and such.

In every state, out of town people always get it in the neck on their income or vacation properties - because they are denied the ability to vote.

During the first American Revolution, "Taxation without representation" was a rallying cry to colonists. But that happens every single day in every single jurisdiction in the US today!

You only get to vote in one place - where your primary residence is. If you own another property outside that county - you get absolutely no influence! How would local ordinances and regulations and fees and such be different if property owners could vote as well?

That question may be useful for a series of essays, but back to Eastman.

The roads within Eastman are maintained by the Eastman Community Association ("ECA") and paid for with dues (call 'em taxes if you want). That includes sanding - but not salt, apparently. The quality of the roads is generally superior to the surrounding township & county roads.

They also have town water. Both water & road maintenance are dirt cheap. Total is $1800 per year (no matter the size of the house, I might add). If you're on the sewerage system, it's $30 per quarter, IIRC.

The association also supplies rec rooms, and other facilities for paltry sums. All owned by the association - which has a stake in their repair. One of the 10 best golf courses in NH (which is on a separate fee schedule) is in Eastman.

So we have three very large differences: no schools to support, votes for property owners no matter where they live, and property owners pay the same amount, NO MATTER THE VALUE of their house!

Of course the last is anathema to socialist "progressives" - who want to soak the rich for all their worth.

If you translated this fixed rate to the outside world, one immediate effect would be to prevent old folks from having their property taxes skyrocket - and kicking them out of their lifelong homes.

Of course, low income people would get "screwed". My understanding, is that condominium owners pay the same amount. How would apartment dwellers be treated? It gets a bit tricky at that point. Is the owner charged by the "residence" quotient or something? At least then it could be a fixed cost, passed on.

So why will our taxes in Enfield (which we still have to pay) approximate about $3,000 per year, and the Eastman only $1800 - and we get far better service with Eastman?

One reason, of course, is that a real township such as Enfield has to have "real police" and "real fire". (Eastman has security and fire services, too). Real police and fire are inevitably unionized and bloated.

The second major reason, is the town has to support public schools. This will account for 75% of the budget or more. There never seems to be a price break for large purchases, either. It's always outrageously expensive - and unionized, too.

Anyway, I intend to study Eastman as a microcosm of how the State could be replaced by private enterprise. Already, there are very interesting differences.