BC Legislature Adjourns for Summer

You gotta luv all these politicians who promise the moon, then quickly ditch it, once they get in. I mean Christy Clark promised she would give us an open government, unlike her predecessor. ( By the way, Gordon Campbell promised that too, when he first ran for Premier )

Now here we are, adjourned for the summer, and in the meantime, some interesting stats about the new OPEN government of Ms. Clark.

For example, our MLA’s have spent about 11.5 hours discussing the budget for Health Care. You know, that part of our budget that costs about $18 Billion.  Yet in 2000 the MLAs spent about 47 hours discussing a much smaller budget for Health.

Like how is that open government Ms. Clark?

Honestly, it really is getting to the point where we might as well just let anyone become Premier or Prime Minister, because it seems none of them are interested in keeping their promises.

But you know what I really loved out of this? They hired themselves a new Clerk for the Legislature. The present one, retired I guess, after serving 54 years.  But the kicker is, the new guy Craig James is supposedly qualified, but what I’d like to know, is how can I apply for a job like that?

After all the pay is a cool $250,000.00

The head honcho at BC Ferries gets a Million, Hydro gets something close to that, and the big shot in charge at VIHA gets a Half Million.  I mean, is it any wonder our budgets are out of whack?

You know, maybe we really don’t need to have an Open Government, nor even want one.

We Might All Die from Sticker Shock

The Census Form What A Waste of My Money

YES Mr Harper, I speak English.

YES Mr Harper, I live at the residence I have listed.

YES Mr Harper, I am 56 years old

Now can I please have back all the wasted money you have spent on that stupid excuse for a Census?

Like fucking give me a break. Two large pieces of mail, on my dime, to tell me I can call for a paper copy of the Census if I don’t have Internet or am Unwilling to fill it out online.  Like hell, you could have simply included a tissue paper, with the questions on it, and let me flush it to you, for all the damn good it will do.

Seriously, how in hell is this census going to help fund Education, Health Care, in Victoria, or anywhere for that matter?

How will it even help determine how many people are now living in this region, given how short the damn questions are. I filled mine out online, but again, like who cares?

For all the good it will do, we might just as well cancelled the entire thing. I mean the cost of it, in the Millions, won’t help answer any of the important questions, that a census is supposed to answer. Questions like how much do we earn, are we recently unemployed, how many mouths do we feed, how many of us are forced to work to make ends meet.

No questions about health, about education, or anything of importance.

So tell me Mr. Harper, just what the fuck good was this stupid broken down Census you created, supposed to do?  Let us know how many speak English or French?

Shame on you for making a mockery out of what is an important statistical gathering.

Not like you care though, do you Mr. Harper?

What Are We Afraid Of? Higher Taxes?

SO WHAT?

Our benevolant dictator, Stephen Harper, tell us that if we VOTE for the Liberals, or NDP, that we are going to be facing higher taxes, bigger debts.  IF those in Quebec vote for the Bloc, well we’ll have the country split asunder.   And only HE, the Savior of Canada, Stephen Harper can keep the nation together, can battle high taxes, and give us a strong economy.

I mean let’s think about that. I mean come on, does it really matter if the Taxes go up? I mean it isn’t like we can afford to pay our rent, our mortgage as it is. So what, taxes go up, nothing is gonna change, now is it?

Hell, we have enough trouble paying for our food, for gas to get to work, if we are lucky enough to have a job, so what if the taxes go up?

Oh wait, maybe if they do, we’ll start spending money on things like, well, more Doctors and Nurses, so when we get a cut on our finger, we don’t wait till we have blood poisoning, before we get to see a Doctor.

Maybe higher taxes will mean that hey, our food supply is actually safe, so when we eat hamburger, we don’t get food poisoning, and have to be rushed to the hospital. Oh, and not having to do that, doesn’t that save us money on Health Care?

I don’t know, having higher taxes might mean we can afford the drugs, the Doctors prescribes, assuming we can get in to see one.  So yeah, maybe a bit higher taxes, might just actually let us afford that.

Have you seen the price of drugs?

Okay, maybe you don’t need drugs, or even a Doctor because you are well, super human, never get sick.  Course, do you have a good job? How about a decent public education without going into debt for tens of thousands dollars?

Perhaps higher taxes, dedicated to letting students get funding for their education, can help. Hell, maybe it’ll also mean we’ll get MADE IN CANADA Doctors & Nurses.

Maybe higher taxes might just mean we’ll get some businesses in Canada, who actually EMPLOY CANADIANS.  I know, that is a novel idea, these last five years, but damn it, this is Canada.  Why shouldn’t Canadians be given first shot at the high paying jobs, instead of shipping them off to India, Viet Nam, China?

I know that during the last recession ( hey just two years ago, with round two coming around the corner ) the Government spent some $60 Billion, to help us out of the recession.  How can Mr Harper tell us that we won’t pay higher taxes, when that little bill comes due?

Honestly, I am not afraid of higher taxes. I just want my Country back, and yeah, I’ll pay for that right. After all, I know we get a better return than all those Billions we spent on Big Business.   Least the tax money would go to Health Care, to Education, not to the Oil Industry.  BY THE WAY, SEEN THE PRICE OF GAS TODAY?

So you know, suddenly I am just Not Afraid of Higher Taxes.  I just want someone to start spending all those Tax Payer Monies on ME, not on Exxon or Chevron.

A Curse on Attack Ads & Those Who Use Them

Two weeks to go until a choice is made, but you just know that we are going to be inundated by those Attack Ads.  The Harper Conservatives & Ignatieff Liberals have them, and I think I even heard where the NDP has one or two playing as well.

In some ways, you can’t really blame either the Liberals or the NDP for joining in, after all, the Harper Conservatives have had a monopoly on using them, for nearly five years now.

Problem with these ads, is that they simply aren’t true. They are devoid of honesty, and instead are merely cruel methods to hurt another person.  This is why I cannot support any Conservative Party, that has the likes of Stephen Harper in control.

People matter, and I remember Justin Trudeau’s eulogy for his father, where he recounted a story about him as a young man. He said his father scolded him, for making a disparaging remark about then Conservative leader Joe Clark.  He told him, you can disagree on ideology, and attack that differences but you do not make it personal.

Too bad no one told Stephen Harper that.

This style of politics confuses the real issues. I mean we have Harper claiming Ignatieff is going to raise taxes and keep on raising them. We have Ignatieff countering with Harper saying he opposes our National Health system.    What is the problem, is there is enough truth in both statements, to warrant  concern.  However it is how they deliver the messages that upsets me.

The truth is, that no responsible leader can take raising taxes off the table.  Remember what happened to George Bush and his famous  ‘read my lips’ speech?  Economies change, so to me, all Harper’s attack ads is doing is re-enforcing my disgust at him & his party.

Now Ignatieff’s Health ads, have more truth in them, but not enough. I mean come on here, part truths still isn’t the truth. Yes Harper has made numerous speeches about supporting private health care, along with National Health. He has indeed supported making Private Health available, at the risk of lowering the standard of care under National Health.

So why use a quote he didn’t make?  I mean he has given tons of quotes that can be used, so why use one attributed to someone else? Cause it sounds better?

Now the Liberals are going to adjust that ad, which in my mind, gives them a ½ point. I mean at least they recognize the mistake, and are correcting it, after a bit of tail twisting. Something YOU DO NOT SEE the Harper Conservatives doing.

No one is perfect, we all make mistakes. At least be man enough to acknowledge it, and then correct it.  The Ignatieff Liberals have done that.   We’ve been waiting for the Harper Conservatives to do that, for nearly Five Long Years now.  And there is no ray of hope in the foreseeable future.

Anyone but unrepentant Conservatives

Forgiving Loans to Doctors and Nurses

All of the Big Three Parties have some form of loan forgiveness for those who train to become either a Doctor or a Nurse.   Nice, right?  I mean it seems that when a person graduates from Medical School, they are in debt to the tune of about $150,000.00

Uh, excuse me, but if the average medical student graduates, oweing that kind of serious money, is it any wonder that they prefer to work in cities, or go into speciality fields?

Seems wrong to me, that we place such a burden on young people, then expect them to repay such huge amounts, by going into the least lucrative fields of Doctoring, which is General Practioning.

The NDP go the furthest in their plan, which is to Forgive The Full Amount of debt for a GP graduate, providing they agree to work in rural areas, that need Doctors a lot more, than in the cities.

The Liberals on the other hand, match the amount the Conservative Offer, of $40,000.00. They go further in that they are also promising $40 Million into upgrading services in Rural Areas.

The Conservatives & Liberals both have the cap set at $40,000.00 for Doctors, and $20,000.00 for Nurses.  The Conservatives estimate this to cost $9 Million a year.

On that estimate, one could afford to guarantee this program for at least 8 years, if we cancel ONE SINGLE F35 Fighter Jet  ( at the Conservative price quote of $75 Million. ) So instead of 65 jets, get 64.

Paying the full average debt load, as the NDP suggest, well that would be what, about $36 Million per year?  ( using the Conservative estimate of $9 Million for a fourth of the debt )

So here is my solution:   Pay off the average debt load, cap it at $150,000.00 per Doctor, and cancel Five F35 Jets.   There, we have not only paid for that, but for the next 10 years.

And that uses the Conservative price quote on the damn jets.  Surely the Air Force can manage with 60 jets, instead of the 65 they have ordered.

ANYONE BUT  “JETS BEFORE DOCTORS”  CONSERVATIVES