Various Veins
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My Elections Ontario card appeared in the mail. Never since I cast my first ballot have I felt so frustrated. Why, you ask? To borrow from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, let me count the ways.
You probably got a cutesy invitation from the federal liberals asking "Are you in?" Everybody from soap merchants up use this latest line to sell something. It's so catchy, and of course that's the idea.
Nope, I'm not in. Got cured of that when our local MP smugly told the riding association we couldn't dump him. "Jean Chretien will endorse my nomination." The local bank account was drained when the treasurer tried to carry out instructions from the membership. When the party takes the leader's veto away, I might reconsider.
Draining accounts, that's what Paul Martin did to pay down the national deficit years ago. He raided the money paid into pension funds by employees and never paid it back. His actions were found to be licit by courts, but it looks like pure theft to me.
We're trying to elect a provincial government on June 12th, but the provincial liberals have robbed us through too many avenues to list, driven business and industry out of Ontario.
The regressive conservatives are promising to fire or cull a whack of civil servants and bribing employers to create jobs. Are the employers in? Fat chance. They will bank the bribes, but if there are no customers for their goods and services there will be no hiring.
Whoever is whispering into Hudak's ear doesn't understand psychology. When jobs are cut the management folks don't let the reins slip out of their hands. The people who we depend on, the hands-on crews to keep the roads in repair, the food safe, the environment healthy are handed the pink slips.
This same party proposes to sell off such money-making enterprises as the liquor control board to pay down the debt. Do you think private owners will sell booze cheaper? Hardly likely!
You can bet any money brought in by such sales will not be used to reduce the alpine deficit. Some will go to erecting giant billboards bragging about how the government is "on the right track."
Sir Oliver Mowatt, first premier of Ontario, outmaneuvered the feds to get control of the liquor trade, the goose that lays the golden eggs. Now his would-be successor wants to kill it.
It's the same party proposing to monetize (sell) power commissions with the same potential to push up energy costs for all of us.
An engineer on TVO last week laid out a well designed plan to bring energy costs in line with those sucking our businesses and industries south. Asked for comments, one panelist attacked him like the wicked witch of the west for paying the actual costs through a blended billing and tax process. She couldn't understand we would gain the tax money back through economic growth.
Some citizens take great pleasure in going to the polls and with the fury of a swordsman slashing their ballot. That'll show 'em! Well, no it won't. It just makes it easier for the types they despise to keep their comfy jobs. They don't give a tinker's damn for such demonstrations.
The trouble is, as long as party leaders can select their sheep there's not much we can do to raise the bar.
I plan to vote, but for whom? (grammar rules) I don't know yet.