“These are signs that we have a Provincial government in name only. Using a sports analogy our government “has lost the bench”.
Here’s the thing. Big government is expensive. It is ineffective and inefficient. Business can do almost anything much better than government. Bureaucracy is bloated self-serving, overpaid, full of gravy from the “gravy train”. “Red tape” is an awful impediment to business. We have to limit red tape to free up business. Bureaucracy loves red tape. Do I have it right?
Here’s the other thing. Deficits are terrible. We can’t spend money we don’t have. Spending money we don’t have is a burden we pass on to our children. Deficits harm our economy because they squelch business confidence and then we sink. Do I have it right again?
And one more thing. Government cannot be all things to all people. People must learn to be self-sufficient and not dependent upon government. They must know there are consequences to their actions. If they don’t want to work then they might be hungry and homeless. If government helps too much people will not try to help themselves. Our children don’t learn the value of work. They are too soft. They are not responsible. We have to teach them right from wrong and they must be punished when they do wrong and suffer consequences, so they learn. I think I got it.
Ok last thing – the role of government is to mind the “tax payers’ purse” because it is my money they are spending. Right?
I call bullshit!
As my Mother rest her soul would have asked “ Who told you all that?”
All of “that” is why we are where we are at today. A raging pandemic. A population harmed. Those in low-income households, those “racialized”, those who are women, those disabled harmed more than others.
All of “that’ is a way of understanding the world. It is a set of assumptions. It is a truth for some. It is not thetruth. Actually, it is “dinosaur thinking”.
Here is another set of truths.
The role of government is to ensure the well-being of the population it serves. Government is to ensure that each person, regardless of age, creed, race, gender, orientation, ability has equitable opportunity to live a meaningful fulfilling life.
People want to live meaningful lives. When all ( or more ) of us live enriching meaningful lives we all benefit. Our communities are healthier. Our own lives are enriched. Children are born as good people. We must teach them empathy. We must nurture them. We must support them to gain confidence, to feel good about and accept their gifts and who they are. They want to belong, and they want to contribute. We must listen to them. Respect them
Money is a tool governments have to ensure opportunity for equity, support, caring dare I say love for everyone. It is not the only tool governments have but it is one tool in an arsenal of tools. When the well being of all is ensured the economy will follow and any deficit will shrink
The act of managing the public purse is not an end in itself it is what any government does.
Government motivated by the well-being of the population it serves is not the same as business motivated by profit. The institutions are different. Government must contribute to the well being of people in how it does things not in just what it does. Business has no such obligation.
Imagine if government in Ontario operated with the worldview of this second set of truths instead of the first.
Would the government have tried to use the Police to force and criminalize the people who may be walking in their neighbourhood during the third wave of this pandemic. Would the government have needed to even think about this?
Would “essential workers” be placed at such risk because we had to protect business?
Would we work so hard to keep small business open at the risk of the owners and their employees instead of offering them support so they could close and start up again when the crisis has passed?
Would our health care systems, mental health care systems, child welfare systems, disability systems , education systems have been so threadbare and moving towards privatization when the pandemic hit? Would they be collapsing under the weight of stress exacerbated by the pandemic today?
There is so much more to write but I think you get it.
Here’s the thing. Doug Ford and his government, the whole lot of them, they aren’t bad people. I don’t think so. I know many of them. I don’t think they wake up and think how can I harm Ontario today? I do know they have a way of thinking, a way of understanding the world, that perhaps they may not even realize. It is a worldview they all not just the Premier can’t shake, and it colours every decision they make. It is harming us. It is dinosaur thinking.
It has caused so much harm that as I write Regional governments are taking matters into their own hands and making decisions to close industries that have had outbreaks. Police departments across the Province have rebuffed new powers and direction given to them by the Province. Health care leaders and scientists are leading the Province and offering in media and on the ground genuine caring advocacy, advice, solace and a measure of confidence that we can get through. People are deciding on their own how they will isolate and distance.
These are signs that we have a Provincial government in name only. Using a sports analogy our government “has lost the bench”. They are “legitimate” in that they were elected but they are not a legitimate government at this point. It is a dangerous place to be both for our well-being and for our democracy.
We know what happened to the dinosaurs.