HST Is Everywhere, Even in Movies

Fat Man in Hat 2
The Encounter (statue of two businessmen in hats), McElcheran, Commerce Court, Toronto
Originally uploaded by fortinbras.

It's in the theatres and it's full of action. The Prince of Persia is a tale of all the usual things - kinship, love, lust, war, greed, envy, virgin princesses and more all set in the period of the Great Persian Empire. The big story is good, full of excitement, Shakespearean styled twists and is further punctuated by evil spirit warriors run by the bad guy (I'm giving no hints so I won't spoil the plot for you). So... that part is all pretty much straight up and easy to follow and worth the $12 bucks to get in.

But, what is more interesting to me is the sub-story. In it, if you hear what the characters are saying, it sounds like a story about the HST!!

In an effort to scrape out a little existence in his own corner of civilization, a simple scoundrel runs a small business, marketed as a real bad guy just to keep government from over-reaching too deeply into the pocket of his purse or that of his customers. He is really a personable scallywag who grows on you even though he does try to cash in and capture the hero for bounty. But for the most part, he just runs a little off-track-betting business with his racing ostriches. But alas, with all the corruption in governance - the bad guys (part of the government) trying to exterminate the good guys he is caught in the middle and his entire business as a race promoter is ruined. As he says, even a great promoter can't make a living with only one suicidal ostrich.

So, taxed near to death, government messing up his business and ultimately having to battle the evil spirits sent upon him by one particularly evil Persian, he becomes the adorable little comic relief. Much like Hervé Villechaize in Fantasy Island (opposite Ricardo Montalban).

____________________________________
This article was contributed by Ari Berman, a Management Consultant from Toronto, Canada, with a specialization in operations and process change. He has helped companies spanning aircraft builders to soda drink manufacturers to increase their value - finding and improving important details that never got attended to in past. His work in the construction industry includes overseeing commercial construction projects in retail shopping malls across Canada. He can be reached at 647-235-8181 or via e-mail on ari.berman@cmc-advisor.com.

link:
theprovince.com: HST could drive black market for construction contractors
Business down due to looming HST and loss of home-reno tax credit
June 06, 2010