Avanti o popolo!
Stop the gravy train! Miller is wasting my tax dollars! Where did my money go! Apparently We The People Of the World finally found out who was responsible for our misery: governments, public services, social securities, health care systems, you name it. Everything that has the public label is evil, foul, corrupt. Omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, the Hydro Hydra can only be defeated by the White Knights of the Wrong Bible, also known has the Market Forces Addicts, the Private Property Maniacs, the Liberalidealists, the Tea (douche) Baggers or Palin-dromes (dammit I'm mad), the Happy Bullies Drivers, the Hard Core Gun Lovers and the Planet Wasters Big Daddy Dig Baby Diggers. Councillor Kyle Rae spent $400 of taxpayers' money on a leather bound fetish party in a city-owned park! Shame, shame -yelled the hard working crowds from the burbs, coming out of their Mc Mansions without even finishing their third steak, jumping in their SUV, rushing to City Hall without even taking a minute to run over some cyclist, shooting point blank VoldeMiller and his Tax Eaters and offering the throne to Sir Robert Ford the Just- that is as soon as he will be done with his important Football Coaching duties. I am aware that this last sentence makes me in the eyes of almost everyone a damned leftist core elite diverse tree hugger spandex bummed liberal. Problem is, I am not a liberal, sorry, I am a socialist, yes, but no, it is not the same thing. I know that in this country your choice is limited between Conservarybdis and Scylliberals. But liberalism is to socialism what Mirvish Theatres or the Maple Leaf's Garden Loblaws are to a public library or a community center. Conservatives have more things in common with socialists than liberals do. Conservatives and socialists believe in moral rules. Not the same ones, of course. Socialists believe in rules that promote social equality, social security, affordability, access to health care, access to leisure, access to culture, community life. Conservatives believe in rules that promote family value, private property, security (police and army), religion, freedom (first amendment USC), the environment (yes, the environment is a conservative value, one of the good one, even though a lot of today's conservatives are convinced it is another damned leftist ideal). Liberals only believe in one rule. The rule of the market. The market is deemed always right because it is supposed to represent the ultimate form of democracy. But the market is biased. It always was. Liberalism was born in the London of the XVIIIe century which soon became one of the worst place to live on earth. Pollution, Misery, Crime! London only started to heal when the Labor Party on one side and the Conservative Party on the other became the two major forces in the country and established enough rules and regulations so that the balance of power shifted toward the Light Side of the Force- the Public Force. Canada and the States were built with a conservative framework, not a liberal one. The US constitution protects freedom of speech, private property, democracy. It doesn't leave anything to be decided by the market. But after England and most of Europe, the liberal virus spread to the new continent where it found a particularly receptive host. The first run of global liberalism, in the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century lead to a major depression and to at least a war (WWI was more a consequence of european nationalisms), after that strong public institutions (a.k.a Big Government) took over everywhere and drove the world through 30 years of peace and prosperity. Then liberalism showed again its ugly face first in the eighties through fake conservatives like Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher and then through fake socialists like Bill Clinton or Tony Blair. At first it was all fun! Money, Party, Cocaine! A first big hungover happened in the beginning of the nineties and a smaller one at the beginning of the new century. But liberalism is so addictive that as soon as the economies recovered a little, new guys came, snorted whatever was left on the floor and the party resumed. Louder, Bigger, Higher. Until 2007 and another hungover. But the liberals are still in power everywhere in the world. Obama is not Roosevelt, Cameron is not Churchill, Harper is nothing, the power is not belonging to the states anymore, it is belonging to corporations who are now so strong that not only, by outsourcing, can they crush the unions representing the workers who gave their sweat and blood for them, not only, by offshoring, can they humiliate the nations who nurtured them, but can even indulge in racketeering by forcing governments to bail them out. Numerous studies have shown that the global happiness of a given population will always diminish when this population is exposed to the Market and his inevitable disciples Consumerism, Advertising, Upselling, Customer Service and Globalization. Consumers goods and services are like drugs. They do not give any pleasure but you cannot help desiring them. Have you seen the faces of people on a giant McCruise in the Carribean? Or people living in Monster Houses or in Exclusively Exclusive Condos. Or people driving their SUV or Ferrari? Or people eating behind the smoked windows of an fancy restaurant in Yorkville? Do they seem happy? No. Yet they are living the dream of most of the people in most of the world. The worst is that hardly anyone seems to mind. US citizens seem to be way more mad at their government for the 2007 bailout than at the corporations that sunk the economy, begged for help, took the money and wasted a big part of it in indecent salaries & bonuses for the same guys that were sleeping when the ship hit the iceberg or even steering the ship towards the iceberg, and another big part in indecent corporate spending to carry these same guys around the world, entertain them and offer them social protection, insurance and golden retirement. Here liberaelians from Canada can step in and rightfully claim that there was not bailout in Canada and therefore, at least north of Lake Ontario, liberalism do work, the market is always right and corporation should be allowed to do whatever they want with their money which is not only 100% private sector money but also generates huge tax revenues and therefore is good for Canada, right? Yes but no. Private sector money comes from the consumers, who are none other than the taxpayers who were so mad about Kyle Rae $400. Taxes are the source of income to finance services provided by the government the same way the monthly fees of your phone plan is the source of income to finance the Rogers services. Therefore corporate waste should piss people at least as much as public sector waste, way more actually given that the amount wasted are incomparably bigger. But no,will object the libereagol, we are free to choose a different phone provider or to have no phone at all but what about the Precious tax dollars that are taken away from us without our consent my Precious. Nasty little government who took our tax dollars. We'll carefully watch how they spend it and get really mad if they waste a single penny, oh, yes Precious. Yes, but again no, the City of Toronto taxes which ignited the People Anger that brought us Rob Ford are the fee that you pay to obtain services from the City of Toronto. If you think the taxes in Toronto are too important, you are free to move to Mississauga or Hamilton. Living in Toronto is like having a plan with Rogers, it is expensive, but you get a lot of service in return. Living in Mississauga is cheaper but you live in the middle of an urban desert. And as far as I know Toronto doesn't require you to wait three years before you can move elsewhere. Liberarguer (who probably actually did move to Mississauga and had to sign with Rogers for three more years to get his new iPhone 4 is shaken but not beaten and launches his proton torpedo: quote- the painful truth is most private companies are run a lot more efficiently than governments- unquote. Yes but no. Governments appear less efficient than private companies because their inefficiencies are subject to more public scrutiny. The recent crisis proved that corporations are not being even loosely watched by anyone, so much so that some even lied to their shareholders about their finances. In public institutions, every penny has to be accounted for. This is how the Creatures of the Burbs learned about Kyle Rae $400. Corporations are not transparent, not democratic and not accountable to those who are affected by them. Therefore they can -against all evidences- proclaim that they are efficient. However, everywhere in the world where private corporations took over public services like health care, transportation, security, schools, they proved way less efficient. Some shiny example like the US private health care system or the big Universities seem to speak in favor of private corporations but theses institutions eat way more money than their public counterparts and the fact that they are profit driven make them choose options that are arguably not the best for the public service they are supposed to offer. Of course, I am aware that private initiative is unbeatable for extracting energy, processing food, building houses, producing consumer goods, offering consumer services, innovating in engineering, process, management, training etc. I am a socialist, not a communist. I believe in the genius of the individual, on the benefits of trade and on the power of competition. But first of all, production, service and innovations are way better handled by human-sized companies managed by real entrepreneurs rather than by oversized global corporations overstaffed by overpaid barons who all reached long ago their level of incompetence and are mainly preoccupied by looking important and systematically hiding the consequences of their multiple failures. Second, I think that the Public Institutions -which are the Organs of the People's Power- should be able to control, regulate and interfere if need be with the operations of private companies. Private property is important and deserves to be protected. But never at the expense of what should be the primary concern of every Democracy, the Security, the Well Being and the Happiness of Us the People.
The Liberal Stragedy
It is sadly more and more likely that Toronto next Minor will be one of the Bullies Brothers, George Smitherman or Rob Ford. If it is Ford, nothing good or bad will happen in the next 4 years. The situation will be probably like the pre-Metropolitan Toronto Act times with the Mayor in the role of the inefficient Board and the Council in the role of the annoying Municipalities. The Mayor will announce big projects that the Council will systematically reject. Ford will probably be able to cut some impopular taxes like the vehicle registration tax. He should be able to slightly diminish the number of people working for the city. Some Community and Arts & Culture projects will suffer from 4 years of Fordism, but not to the nightmarish extent that is depicted by the Smithermaniac propaganda. Overall Ford is a nice guy and he actually listens to people. That worked well for him within his ward, but a councillor has not much to decide. He listens and reports. Being His Worship is a different story. The job will be "bigger than anything he had tried before" as Big Daddy Gardiner once said. Maybe Rob Ford secretly dreams of being the new Big Daddy. But Gardiner was a hard worker, working twelve hours a day, weekends included. During his nine years as chairman, he only took two summer vacations and four mid-winter holidays. Ford doesn't have this kind of energy. And let's face it, he doesn't have Gardiner extraordinary abilities. Not even close. How about George Smitherman. He, however, openly dreams of being the new Fred Gardiner. He clearly said so at his May 28, 2010 Fundraiser Luncheon. He has the balls clearly. Looks like he has the energy. Concerning his intelligence, the truth is that his remaining opponents are so dull that it makes him look smart by comparison. It is probably a relief for him that Rossi dropped out because face to face with the guy who didn't have Bocce Balls but a Pallone Da Calcio Brain, Smitherman brightness dangerously faltered. So Big Bully has the guts, at least some of the head, but does he have the soul? Does anybody knows what George Smitherman stands for? Does he know it himself? Does he care? He began his political career as an organizer for the Ontario Liberal Party and Premier David Peterson. He was chief of staff to Hugh O'Neil and senior advisor to Herb Gray and David Collenette. He was chief of staff and campaign manager to Barbara Hall. In the 1999 provincial election he became MPP for Toronto Centre-Rosedale. Funny thing is that he won because he ran against two left-wing candidates (including John Sewell). It is probably where he learnt that the left has a majority in Toronto but is so weak, so hesitant and so easily manipulated that it is almost funny. On October 23, 2003. Smitherman was named to cabinet as Minister of Health, Deputy Premier and the Toronto Regional Minister. On June 20, 2008, Smitherman was shuffled to the new Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. He is a hard core, center right liberal, good friend with Dalton Mc Guinty or Michael Bryant who is hosting fundraisers for his Mayoral campaign. He is the epitome of the Board Member, you know these guys that run all type of institutions in Toronto, from Big Businesses to Theatres or Art Galleries and basically do nothing but parade from cocktail to opening night. Much like his mentor David Peterson on the board of YBM Magnex, a firm which was discovered to have links to the Russian mafia. Investigation found that Peterson's actions met "the legal test of due diligence", but expressed disappointment that he had not shown more leadership on the board. A story which resonate with the way Slither Man handled the eHealth controversy. George's successor David Caplan resigned as Minister in 2009 to take responsibility for mistakes that were made. Not the kind of thing Slicky Bully does. This background is far from making him the Che Guevara of Toronto's progressive majority. However, making good use of his bullying and manipulation skills, with the help of the Liberal King Maker In Chief a.k.a the Toronto Star and a bunch of young Bully-The-Kids making smart use of the Internet and social medias to launch a large scale Rob Ford Is The Devil And Will Eat Your Kids campaign he managed to tailor-design for himself the costume of the go-to candidate for a Left desperately looking for a leader and ready to clinging to anything that is apparently affloat on this ocean of disconnect that is today's Toronto. It is not the first time that Big Bully finds common ground with a certain kind of left which opinion is represented by -say- half of the articles written in the NOW magasine (that is two or three pages). This left is all about Environment, Biking, Arts & Culture (including Graffiti) and the abominable notion of Diversity. What does Diversity means? Is it related to biodiversity. In which case it would mean that different cultures represent different forms of life with their own particular DNA. Behind its progressive mask, Diversity is a revival of racism, encouraging every culture to live independently from the others. Encouraging immigrants not to learn English and not to abide by Canadian values -such as no wrapping a women in drapes or no bringing your sword to class - deprive them of finding their full place in the City. It is also a sneakier form of racism. There is no name calling, no insults, no bullying. But with people conveniently segregated in their own community, it is easier not to be around them. The result? Monochromatic schools, some purely asians, some purely 'brown' and, of course a lot purely white. Same thing with businesses. I have a friend who is an extremely competent lawyer. But he is black. He cannot find a job in Bay Street. He has offers in Brampton. Not the same kind of revenue though. How about City Workers? How many immigrants from Asia are working in Police? Firemen? Construction workers? The entourage of Diversitherman himself is dangerously WASP of the Board Member specie, think David Peterson, Dalton Mc Guinty, Michael Bryant, Christopher Peloso, Bruce Davis. Environment and the Arts are important issues for the left, but let's face it, they are secondary issues. What the left primary concern should be is that everyone live as good a life as possible, physically, materially and socially. Therefore the primary concern of the left should be giving access to health care, increasing minimum wage, promoting equal opportunity employment, promoting work security, promoting a healthy life style, planting trees, reconstructing the social fabric, promoting community initiatives and -especially in Toronto where the situation is catastrophic- reclaiming the public space, halting the construction of high-rises exclusively dedicated to luxury residences, hotels and condos that are slowly transforming Toronto into Mississauga and instead building museums, gyms, pools, hockey rinks, stadiums, community centres, library and workplaces. Obviously these concerns are not the concerns of Smith&Wesson and the Liberals who are the first to enjoy hiring slave workers for their companies, slave ushers for their theatres and slave nannies for their houses paid $10 an hour or less. George Smitherman, the Liberal Party, and the Toronto Star want to strike a deadly blow to the NDP before the Provincial Election and reclaim Toronto that has been a thorn in their side. Miller was far from being the best Mayor of Toronto and the NDP with its lack of courage, its hesitations, its dullness -well embodied by a Joe Mihevc- is far from being a source of hope. However anything will be better than the liberal taking again control of Toronto. Especially these liberals. Especially since they are also controlling the Province. Anything will be better, including, I think, having Rob Ford as a Mayor. Not only Toronto won't suffer that much, but also it will create the condition for an earthquake among the left that could lead to the rise of a new political figure in four years. Someone who will bring real hope, not a fear monger. Someone who have a vision not strategies. Someone who will be a Mayor, not a Minor. Someone who will be Toronto next Fred Gardiner. A Gardiner with his heart on the Left.
Hello happy taxpayers
Out of the 7 dwarfs who campaigned to be elected Minor of Toronto, only 4 remain. Grumpy, Doc, Bashful and Dopey. Grumpy, with the help of the creatures of the Burbs, set the tone for the campaign. He would stop the gravy train that was threatening to open a deficit hole in the magic kingdom. He would cut everything that was growing in the revenue forest. And with nobody remaining to serve the public and no money left in the treasure, he would singlehandedly -with the help of his giant flagpole carrier Mammoliti- provide an Excellent Customer Service to the good car driving, football playing and barbecue eating citizens of Toronto. This plateform was so bad that Doc and Dopey immediately copied it. Meanwhile, Bashful the Gardener clenched his tiny fists and proclaimed as loud as he could -that is whispered- to anyone who would listen to him -that is no-one- that he -unlike the others- will protect the beautiful garden built by King Miller, will jump to the throat of the Evil Step Province and make it regurgitate the stolen gold. This show could be quite enjoyable if it was not another bitter taste of our future. Once again, Toronto is at the avant garde of the world's devolution. Not because public spending is demonized while corporate mismanagement, waste and corruption is easily forgiven. This is not new and already applies in most of the so-called developed world. However, another brick in the wall that is being built in our ever tightening public space is the constant reference to customer service. As Josh Hume wrote, we're apparently a city of customers now. Not citizens, residents or even taxpayers, but customers, entitled to a dollar for dollar return on our tax investment. According to Roger Keil, the nomenclature is a symptom of a decade long shift in the contract between government and citizens. The idea of public service, public ownership and public control is being turned into its opposite which is the idea that we are all individual nomads roaming the city in our own self interest. According to Frank Cunningham, thinking of people as customers has the effect of dampening the notion of civic engagement, the idea of working together for the common good. Instead it pits citizens against one another, competing for whatever resources they think the city can provide for them individually. A city without social tissue would only be a giant complex comprising warehouses where human being are stored, hamster wheels where they are used and dairy farms where they are milked. The infrastructure is already available, residential condos providing the warehouses, Bay street suites the hamster wheels and malls the milking units. Moreover this kind of city already exist in some new suburbs where Mc Mansions are built overnight on former farmlands and actually look like units of a factory farm even though their owner are persuaded they bought the winning ticket to upper class bliss. If we don't want to import this kind of livestyle in our beloved Toronto, maybe we should try to behave a little bit more like happy taxpayers, trying to fix as much as possible the inevitable problems that such a huge, diverse and multicultural city is bound to have, but not throwing the baby out with the bath water.
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