After nearly four years in power, Ontarians are getting weary of the same old song crooned by Premier McGuinty. Everyone but him is to blame for all of Ontario's problems. Sound like leadership

Ontario's premier sees bogeymen everywhere. First it was the predecessor Progressive Conservatives who "surprisingly" left a huge deficit. In the 2003 provincial election McGuinty's Liberals shouted from the rooftops that Ernie Eves was hiding a deficit. Yet, that didn't stop Premier McGuinty from promising not to raise taxes. He even signed the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" and vowed to only raise taxes with the explicit consent of Ontarians in a province-wide referendum.

In their first budget, the Liberals introduced what may very well be the most deceptively-named tax hike since Confederation. Calling it a "health premium" it was the largest tax increase in Ontario's history, and every cent goes directly into the General Revenue Fund, like every other provincial tax.

Next, the McGuinty government blamed the federal government for its fiscal woes, loudly proclaiming the existence of a so-called "fiscal imbalance."

Is there a fiscal imbalance Absolutely. It exists between governments and taxpayers.

McGuinty's "fiscal imbalance" is simply a debate between two levels of government over who gets to squeeze more out of the same taxpayer.

The Ontario government is now using tax dollars to make its "fiscal imbalance" case. In November 2006, the government of Ontario launched the "fairness.ca" website. The website claims Ontario is "shortchanged by billions of dollars every year." It urges Ontarians to send messages to their federal representatives calling for fairness and equality, or in other words, billions more in handouts. The Ontario government even purchased ad space on Bourque.com, a popular Canadian political news site to get their message out.

Has anyone asked why the McGuinty Liberals can't balance Ontario's books Don't they have more money now thanks to the massive tax hike It is simple. The more money they have, the more they spend. Giving them more money is like giving kerosene to a pyromaniac. And taxpayers - the ones footing the bill - continue to get burned.

The McGuinty government's third budget in March 2006, (his third consecutive deficit budget) showed the Liberals were swimming in tax revenue. Since 2003-04, personal income tax revenues are up 32.2 per cent, and revenue from corporate income taxes are up nearly 50 per cent.

Spending too has been on an upward trajectory. Since first elected, spending has increased by over 20 per cent. In short, every revenue increase has been met with a corresponding spending increase.

There has been money for all sorts of politically driven projects - a billion for transit, hundreds of millions for cities, and recently, a shocking 25 per cent increase in the pay for MPPs.

Yes, that's right. Even though the province of Ontario is crying poor, there is apparently room in the coffers to bump a backbench MPP's salary from $88,771 to $110,775. Premier McGuinty will make close to $200,000 now, up from $159,166.

Do you know anyone in the private sector whose company is in the red, yet still hands out 25 per cent pay raises

Ontarians are getting shortchanged by this government. Not only are the books in deficit, there is a serious leadership vacuum. Broken promises and constantly pointing the finger elsewhere is hardly a sign of good leadership. Mr. McGuinty needs to look in the mirror before he starts checking his closets for the next scapegoat bogeyman.