Editor:
I did a bit of math on the smart meters. If a meter reader earns $25 an hour, works 7.5 hours a day, has benefits worth 1.2 times hourly wage, and works 200 days a year, he or she's annual income is $45,000.
There are costs associated with employment, so I added $5,000 to cover incidentals such as vehicles and administration.The smart meter program cost $1 billion - or the equivalent of 20,000 person years of employment (not counting interest on the billion dollars). There are apparently 300 meter readers in the province, almost all of whom will be thrown out of work under the new regime.
"Jobs, jobs, jobs" - the government mantra - does not seem to be in play here!
Sue Carson, Halfmoon Bay
