UCP cutting the ‘lifeboats’
By Letter to the Editor on March 24, 2020.
Most lifeboats on most ships are a waste of money and space most of the time. But on the rare occasion that a crisis arises, you need them. On every ship, all the time. After all, the White Star Line didn’t bother “wasting” space and money for lifeboats on an unsinkable ship.
Then the Titanic sank, and there wasn’t enough capacity for all the drowning people.
I can’t help thinking about that when I think about the UCP’s cuts to health care, trying to make the system more “efficient.”
If we stretch the system to the limits of its capacity in ordinary times, what happens when an emergency arises? An hour after we hit the iceberg is a bit late to start building lifeboats. (And the UCP isn’t even doing that now. They’re mostly just doubling down on their positions and drilling holes in the boats we do have.)
Nowadays, it’s generally agreed upon that the White Star Line was dangerously greedy and irresponsible. The UCP is even more culpable, because they’ve got 108 years of hindsight that they didn’t learn from.
Marcie Wallace
Lethbridge
9-8
well stated. perhaps db will comment on how the ndp spent 58 billion dollars on nothing, so the ucp is ok to cut whatever it chooses?
I do enjoy the narrrow mindedness of most contributors here. If COVID only attacked school teachers then Kenney would have been criticized for letting teachers go BEFORE the Virus had even made news.
This is atypical opposition like thinking, you oppose for opposing sake and do not keep timelines in perspective when opposing, in fact timelines are purposely skewed to ensure maximum impact of the headline. Had a government fired one rail inspector before a rash of rail line accidents that could not be predicted, the opposition or narrow minded would again jump on that bandwagon. The modus operandii is if a rail accident occured its the gov fault for firing one inspector. If the gov did not fire the rail inspector, its still the gov fault because you obviously do not have enough inspectors. So every opportunity of lose/lose is milked to the Nth degree by those that got tossed in the previous election. Co-operation in politics? Won’t happen!
Most narrow minded people believe the government is an endless money pit. The Feds throw it around like its going out of style with purpose. Its to become more of a rock star in the world or to pad the buddy system. When things go awry at the Fed Level they download their expenses to the Province and its the Province the bares the brunt.
No one, as politicians like to save for a rainy day or in this case a COVID day. But one has arrived, and previous policy to COVID, changes, to the new world of living with COVID! But again, the timeline, the situation, no longer matters, as long as those that oppose get to change the timeline, distort it for purpose. Narrow minded people will continue to get to promo their fav political party in hopes they too will receive appropriate grease at election time.
To use the authors comparison to life boats. It would appear that the NDP redirected the lifeboat maintenance fund and channeled it into a Titanic energy efficient fund, where the deck chairs were in fact solar panels. When rearranging the deck chairs they contributed 10% more energy efficient power. The neglected maintenance on the life boats, however, made them useless…………….. but the Chairs worked well. The chairs no longer get the light of day, much like this timeline distorted argument, shouldn’t!
Every party in politics, owes, to a select group, when elected. In the Case of the NDP its the Unions, in the Cons case its big business. Both pay, both deny what got them there, both pretend they are concerned with the greater good, and both have agenda. In the case of the NDP its to spend on Union/Gov jobs until there is no money left. In the case of the Cons its to lean out the pork and payoff big business. So, the only way to proceed through life without ever increasing taxes is to flip flop between the two. As for allegiance? I have one, you abuse the finances of the Province you get tossed and bring in the next set of abusers.
db – lol, you rarely disappoint! your last sentence is, in fact, spot on. what i am left wonder about, though, is why at least intelligent, thinking beings continue to accept this bs system and process, let alone endorse and legitimise it (ie volunteering for parties, donating [as an average citizen, not a contractor or big company that is buying favours], voting…).
Simple answer biff, it takes the same people that abuse the system to change it. If you insist they change the existing system, they say they will, to get elected, once elected they go back to trough feeding. Remember First past the post? Balanced budget by 2019? Does anyone actually think the NDP was elected to spent $58billion? Did you notice there was no Carbon Tax in the NDP Platform prior to election? They lie, they all lie to get in power. When in Power the NDP grease the Unions who brung them, the UCP grease Big Business who brung them. If people don’t realize politicians lie to achieve personal/party gain, then you aren’t living in the same Country I am.