Deficit Theory and our Transparency Woes

It is 2011 and our Majority Conservative Government continues on with power. With this power, cliche aside, there comes a lot of responsibility with regards to a deficit our country currently possesses and our standing in the world theater.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, Canada is an amazing country to live in. We show the world that multiculturalism can exist and with the proper maintenance can flourish. Everyday our media shows us the woes of other countries with regards to war, racism and structural deficits within their societies. As many Conservative supporters say with truth that our country is at it's best right now. Yes, we are currently weathering the economic crisis much better than some, but I must warn that this is no indication that we are as stable as the government seems to imply.

This is why I must stress the fragile balance that must be maintained in this country with regards to our economic situation and the current budget/deficit. Unfortunately, the Harper Conservatives have not put much effort into maintaining transparency with regards to how they intend to defeat our deficit and continue Canada on a path of progress. On top of this and to make matters worse, much of the speculation of the cost cutting measures are just that...speculation. We have no idea what will be cut and or replaced in an effort to save money and nothing really has come forth to give us an idea except for many tax cuts/breaks imposed by the latest budget. How is this good for Canada and more importantly the people of Canada if our government continues to work behind the scenes and frankly with smoke and mirrors? Granted, Harper won a majority via our political system, which should give him a lot of respect and clout since it is not a task that can be accomplished easy. The problem I have with this however is that I fail to see Harper understanding the true role of his position now.

I mean, as a Canadian citizen born here and raised, is it not appropriate for myself and others to raise concern about such issues? I understand that many Canadians do not really partake in the political system or find other distractions more easy to take up their time. However, I know for a fact that may Canadians moan and groan about their taxes. I for one do not moan about taxes and think you should not either and I will tell you why. We pay our taxes in support of a beautiful and imperfect system we and many others depend on. Under this system, WE have entrusted our money to public servants elected by US to serve US. However, I find it more and more common to see individuals not truly look into the important topics that directly affect our investments. The budget and deficit are examples of issues we should look carefully at. Mainly, how are our tax dollars being stretched to the limit and how are they helping the most people possible?

You may say something in response like: I work hard for my money and I am successful, why should I care about others who look like lazy bums out there doing nothing, my money belongs in my bank account!

Realistically, these people are not wrong in their assumptions about their money, but I would ask them to consider how our country's system has indirectly and directly aided in them reaching the point they are at today. The reality of life is that not everyone becomes a famous CEO or a celebrity or wealthy in general. Some of us get their easy and others spend their entire life sweating it out to reach just 10% of it. All of this aside though, we are equal citizens who are entitled to fair treatment and transparency from our government. This is one of the main reasons that our country is a shining example to the world, why people of other countries risk life and limb to reach our borders and give their offspring a better life.

You may now ask, Alright...so how do we get this transparency, the government is big, while I am just one man/woman?

My answer....

 

Yes, I have mentioned this young girl before in a previous post, but her name is not important right now. What is important is that she voiced herself and made it clear to both our standing government and elected officials that people are watching and assessing their performance. The problem however is that not enough people are doing this, which is giving our elected officials of all parties the flexibility to bend their obligations and choose their own speed of performance. If we are to make any question of the illegal actions our government is doing, we need to know about them first, not 10 years down the line and after spending extreme legal fees to access the freedom of information act. In order to bring this kind of action to life, WE the people need to perform the greatest of checks and balances, WE need to address these concerns and make sure the government sees it.

Now, I am not saying go and be violent like the bubs in the G20, no no no...that will only get you a smoke bomb to the face. I am saying be peaceful, for being peaceful is not being cowardly, it is showing you have the balls to get stuff done and cause a disruption through a harder and more organized rally. We need to talk to each other, because Capitalism is a merciless beast that will strike the rich as easily as the poor, unfortunately though with little transparency one can only see it aiming at the middle class and poor since our current stats show the rich...you guessed it...getting richer!

 

Just remember next time you hear something about the budget and deficit that our tax dollars pay for his kittens and their maintenance. 

If Stephen Harper isn't going to be transparent on where he is going to begin the cuts, maybe he should start at home by not adopting a million kittens and raising his own costs associated to their care. Someone should just buy him one of those virtual pet games, he could have a million kittens at a bargain price of $29.99 without all the maintenance fees!

I am quite biased in my posts about Harper, I mean he is a fellow Beatles fan like myself and I should give him more credit since his job isn't to easy, but when I hear everyone say how good our current position is and than also hear Harper say it as he spews out more support for increased military spending. I wonder, there are still many families still finding it difficult to put food on the table let alone pay their mortgage, not to mention many others still out of work with a long list of newly created minimum wage jobs replacing the older and more sustainable ones. Yet, all I see from Harper's budget is more support for the rich and tax breaks that really do nothing to help the middle class or poor, since they further aid the wealthiest in our society. Sure, having more kids play sports is a good way to keep them active and out of trouble, but $70 bucks back from an active tax break really is chump change compared to that, oh what was it again....6 billion going to the corporations?


Be vigilant my readers and understand that I appreciate your interest in viewing my blog and thank you for taking the time to read it all. Once again I will say it, the government is here to serve us and fear us, not to walk all over us and direct our lives. We must utilize the benefits of our social welfare system, but are also tasked with the responsibility to keep it transparent, clean and with a purpose.

Life, Liberty and Good Government...This is the Canadian way!


Peace