Senate Reform a la Harper

So, he’s moving quickly it seems, before anyone can actually look closely enough at his proposals. Like his plan to reform the Canadian Senate.

Limiting the terms is one of the proposals, which on the surface isn’t such a bad idea. ( shocked aren’t you, but by itself, a limit on terms isn’t necessarily a bad thing. )

Then we have the ‘elected component’ of the whole thing, which frankly, combined with the limited terms, makes this a true joke, and nothing more than a way to further co-opt our Government by big business.  ( didn’t take me long to switch, did it? lol)

To begin with, if you were appointing the members, I’d go along with limiting terms. Electing them with one time shot, is just a popularity gimmick, costing taxpayers millions of dollars. It does allow for business to buy itself some more solid supporters, such as perhaps when Harper gets thrown out of office, they can get him elected to the Senate.

The other aspect that I don’t like, about term limits, is that if someone is doing a good job, gets the support of the people, why should they be forced to stop serving, simply because they have served for X number of years?

Now I know the argument is that when in power, they have too much of an advantage, in campaign fund raising, than some newcomer. It is true too, but the answer isn’t in term limits, but in campaign funding reform.  Something Herr Harper will never accept, because then he wouldn’t have such full coffers.

Personally, a limit should be set on an election campaign, and it should be 100% funded from the public treasury. No contributions by anyone, should be tax deductible, or allowed. Any contributions by people, should go to a pool, that is shared among ALL parties.  And those parties, should be any who are running candidates in at least 90% of the ridings.

New political parties should be allowed to raise private funds, but every penny needs to be fully accounted for. In other words, if a new party pops up, with a ten million dollar war chest, every penny of that money needs to be verified. EVERY PENNY!   Anyone listed as contributing, needs to be contacted, and have their donation verified, nor should it be tax deductible.

The other aspect of the Senate reform, is that it doesn’t set any standards. Many complain that today’s Senate only conduct business for a few weeks. Want bang for your buck, then make them sit more often, make them actually work at their job, define it, and enforce it. Oh, and using public money, to travel and promote a political party, isn’t what I’d call part of the job, even though Herr Harper and his Senate compatriots thought so in the last election.

The reform package introduced by Herr Harper, is not reform, but simply a way to further corrupt our political system. But hey, what the fuck do I know, I am Just a Canadian

BC Liberals Should Change Their Party Name

Frankly, it isn’t just them. The political parties today have blurred the lines so much, who knows what a party actually stands for anymore.  The BC Liberals are a case in point.  Under Wilson, they offered a viable alternative to both the Social Credit & the NDP.   They gave us a THIRD OPTION.  ( sound familiar? )

Problem is, Wilson fooled around, got himself kicked out and the Conservative wing moved in lock, stock, and barrel.  They stole the Liberal Party, being dissatisified Social Credit folks, Conservative Folks, and took advantage of a crooked NDP government.

The result was a landslide win for them, but they were still being perceived as the Liberals, as Wilson portrayed them.  BOY WERE WE WRONG!

Now we have Stockwell Day, a true hater of all things Democratic, a real narrow minded bigot who is also a gun nut, supporting the BC Liberals. I mean talk about having an albatross around your neck, huh?

The BC Liberals should be renamed, to the Alliance Party.  So too should the federal Conservatives be renamed to that, given that is exactly what they are.

An Unholy Alliance of right wing nut jobs, who preach one thing, but do their worst to not accomplish any of it, but pocket big bucks for themselves, and for Godless Big Business.   They are, in fact, an alliance of religious zealots, who want US ALL to believe as they do, in every aspect of our lives. They support only one law, that of the Law of the Jungle…. where only the fit survive.

This is how party lines have been blurred, when sleazy slime take over a political party. Harper did it to the Conservatives,  Gordon Campbell to the BC Liberals.

Time for a real Name Change… 

A New Special Interest Group – The People

How the world has changed, to where our Elected Leaders all pander to one or more special interest groups. For the Harper Conservatives is appears to be Mining Companies & the Oil Industry. The NDP are tagged as being the party representing Big Labor Unions, and the Liberals, usually tagged with being supported by nameless Big Businesses.

Makes you wonder, when did Business & Labor Entities get the right to vote?

Jack Layton is out stumping these days, telling people he is going to ‘fight like hell’ for them, which seems to have made an impression.  Now, it is nice to actually hear a leader talk like that, but uh, why has that become special?

Shouldn’t every single leader be automatically a champion for us, the people?  After all, it is US who elect them, isn’t it?

Why I Will Vote for Anyone but Harper Conservatives:

• The Other Parties all have track records of supporting voters over big business interests.
• The NDP are always leading the fight for better paying jobs
• Both the NDP & LIBERALS are committed to National Health Care
• LIBERALS & GREENS support moving away from Petroleum based energy
• LIBERALS, GREENS, & NDP all support building up Canadian Business not in outsourcing to foreign interests.
• LIBERALS have a proven track record of budget restraint, that creates surpluses.
• NDP has always supported the rights of all citizens, not just the advantaged few.
• GREEN PARTY looks for alternative solutions, instead of rehashing old failed policies.

However the guiding reason is simple. With either of the other parties  ( the Bloc in Quebec, the NDP, the Green Party, & the Liberals ) I know that while special interest groups do get a hearing, do get a seat at the table, my interests are also at that very important table. It may not always be listened to, but unlike the Harper Conservatives, at least we are at the table.

After all, that is the biggest difference.  At least we, the people, irrespective of how much money we make, how much we contribute to any Political party, still gets us a seat at that table… called CANADA.

Anyone But Bought & Paid For Harper Conservatives

Media Following the Harper Worry about a Coalition?

Once again, that bugaboo  COALITION is cropping up. This time in an interview with Peter Mansbridge & Jack Layton.  Harper continues to natter away that if he gets a minority government, that the Liberals, NDP, & Bloc will join forces and defeat him, and form a coalition government.

Hey I got the solution, instead of voting for the Conservatives, VOTE FOR THE OTHER PARTIES INSTEAD.   That way, he not only doesn’t get a Minority Government, but Canada might actually get a decent Government, that will do the will of the people, not the will of Big Corporations.

I mean how low can this guy get?

To make such a suggestion, to create a sense of fear among his party faithful who might stay home, out of disgust with his antics, so they will reluctantly come out and vote for him, is well, pathetic. Honestly, either you have the policies that we want, or you don’t. Stop trying to frighten everyone with your mindless talk about separation, about coalition.  Stop the lies in your attack ads, and show some respect for those who disagree with you.

In other words, Stephen Harper,  BE A MAN!

What is galling is how the Media Gurus are all helping to push that fear. I mean honestly, has Ignatieff, Layton, or Duceppe mentioned forming a coalition if Harper was “God Forbid” get another shot at the job. I mean come on here folks, they have a vested interest in seeing Harper get re-elected.

Which other party is willing to lower the standard for truth in media advertising but Harper? Like that should boost their ad revenues, right?

The media doesn’t want a Government elected by people, because gee, they might actually have to start reporting news, instead of conjecture, spin, and out right lies.  Maybe they might actually have to report all of the news, not just what is of benefit to their advertisers?

And you know, what happens after, happens. It isn’t like Stephen Harper was so against forming a coalition, when it suited his purposes. One more reason why he should be kicked out of office.  How can a coalition be bad when it involves the Liberals, NDP, & Bloc, but is not really a coalition, or bad, if it involved HIM, the NDP, & the Bloc?

Talk about your Double Standards… something he is rapidly becoming famous for.

Anyone but Double Standard Conservatives

I’d Support a Credit Card Cap

Jack Layton is suggesting that the NDP would seek to cap the rates charged by Credit Card copanies, to 5% above the prime rate.  NOW THAT makes sense to me.

There are two big issues, in my mind, that caused the economic melt down, and is continuing to hamper any recovery.  One was ( and is ) the high price of fuel. As long as that continue to remain unregulated, and speculation is allowed, then high fuel costs will continue. 

That translates directly in raised prices for virtually everything. From food, to medicine, to law enforcement.

The second main cause, I believe is the way credit has been doled out. Every Tom, Dick, & Harriet were given credit that far exceeded their ability to pay it off in their lifetime.

Why? Simple, look at what it costs banks to get money, 1% or 2%?  Yet they can charge ( and do ) up to 29.5% for loaning you that money.   Like you will NEVER pay it off, if you can only afford the minimum payments. NEVER!

The idea to Cap the amount they can charge does two big things.

1. 1. It makes credit affordable. I mean seriously, you can actually afford to pay it off, without going bankrupt.
2. 2. Banks will stop handing out Credit like it is penny candy.

Now that will hurt some of us, because the more credit we get, the more we spend. Yet if we know that credit has to be earned, perhaps we will stop spending so much on luxuries, start saving more, and more importantly, start demanding better quality of goods.

Right now, we pay high prices for crap, that won’t last as long as the payments needed to pay for it, but we don’t care. After all, our credit limit just got upped.

Every politician talks about preventing another repeat of the economic melt down. Yet none of them offer us any reasonable method of doing just that.  One of the issues is in regulating the greed of Big Business.  The other is to control how credit is given out.

Putting a cap on what a Bank can charge for Credit, especially credit cards, will do that. It won’t be pretty either, but you know, it will work.  I know it would hurt me, but then again, I kind of want to be able to afford to drive and buy my groceries.  As long as this cycle of greed is allowed to go unchecked, that isn’t going to be easy to do.

One point for Jack Layton & the NDP