It's great to see people put some effort into their arguments like this, and IMO you've put together a very good and fair analysis.
What it shows is that Ford charged less, and spent less than previous mayors, particularly Miller. Ford would yell from the top of the CN tower that it's proof he stopped the "gravy train". To me - and I believe for most people - the gravy train represents waste but these figures only illustrate the throughput of money into and out of city hall, not waste. It doesn't make any assessment of the value of the spending.
I for one have no problem with spending 2x more to get 2x more, as long as it's something that is needed. I understand that a lot of people believe ANY spending is too much spending if it goes through government hands, but that is an ideological position that doesn't stand scrutiny since a government with no money = no government.
I believe government has an important role to play in improving society, beyond just law enforcement. Yes, government policies often have the unavoidable consequence of restricting our liberties. It's a natural consequence of turning personal choices into societal choices. Transit, for example. We can't choose when we leave, how much comfort and speed we are ready to pay for, or even if we get to sit or have to stand. But we are, as a society, better off with transit than without. Many government enterprises are valid for that simple reason: they do more good than harm.
So when praising Ford's budget cuts, first of all, that is not gravy that he is cutting. It's services. And secondly if people actually want a government that costs less and does less, then fine. I won't like it but I can respect informed democracy. But then those same people shouldn't jump on the bandwagon complaining that Toronto never seems to achieve the status of "world class city". It never will if it's always cut off at the knees. We have some of the greatest maintenance, social housing, and transit backlog of any city in the region by far. And we also pay the lowest property taxes. It's not hard to put 2 and 2 together.
Whatever we defer now (city hall is running at record levels of job vacancies) we will have to pay more for later. These "savings" are simply cuts and they are no different from debt, in that they place the burden on future generations for our benefit. Except that with cuts, we don't get to benefit from the added service or infrastructure in the meantime. This is why I've felt that Ford was going to be a disaster for the city from the beginning, even without any consideration for this latest fiasco. His thuggish personality was another reason for my concern. But that's a whole other topic.
My view is, Ford's Toronto is like a used Chevy. It gets you around, and maybe it makes you happy to be able to afford to supersize your Big Mac meal every week, but that's it. Miller's Toronto is a nice sensible and classy Acura that your friends want to come over and ride in. It's a place that invites growth. Of course the conservative media portrays it like a lavish Ferrari.
Ford hasn't done anything for the city, and he won't. He's too busy setting us back several more years with cuts.
