[Soundy]

I honestly believe a lot of The Restaurant Industry's woes with the HST are self-inflected. The minute it was announced, their spokespeople were all over the media proclaiming how this would jack prices and people would be staying away in droves, and... well... it happened a little bit.

But when's the last time they raised their prices by 7%? Did people avoid eating out then? Did the industry die a horrible death when the GST first came in at 7%? Umm... no.

Seriously, if they'd just kept their collective mouths shut, the vast majority of people would never have noticed the difference (especially if they didn't print "HST" in HUGE letters at the bottom of the bill) and they'd have seen little or NO impact.

Think about it: what did you pay for a meal out before the HST came in? Come on now, tell me quickly... can't do it? Okay, now what do you pay for the EXACT SAME MEAL at the SAME RESTAURANT today, with the HST? Can't tell that either without looking? How many people do YOU know who always order the same thing at the same place every time they eat there, and compare prices one visit to the next? You can cause more than a 7% difference in your own bill by ordering your Caesar Keg-sized instead of regular. Or by getting a salad instead of fries.

The ONLY time it's even been obvious to me was that I used to be able to get a McDouble, small fries and drink with a $5 bill... now I have to scrounge an extra 10 cents or so. Minor inconvenience.

If the Industry hadn't been bleating about how it was going to bankrupt people to eat out, NOBODY WOULD HAVE KNOWN THE DIFFERENCE, OR CARED. SELF-INFLICTED WOUND.