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You must be some old.
Dave Barrett's 1972-75 BC NDP government was actually pretty good.
More or less. Don't forget the 80,000 striking workers (brewery, ferry, bus, can't recall all the sectors) that he legislated back to work for a several-month "cooling off" period, which had the lovely effect of capturing them within Trudeau's wage-and-price-control time frame.
I have a fairly long memory for governments which attack workers. And so do workers.
ETA: Whoops, just noticed this:
Harcourt's government legislated striking teachers back to work in 1993.
And here's more detail about how every single NDP government in BC's history has attacked workers' right to free collective bargaining at one time or another.
Just to keep the record straight.
I said pretty good...not infallible. Compared to the Rae years in Ontario or the Sask. NDP austerity regime in the Nineties(OR the Doer government in Manitoba that refused to ever pass an anti-scab bill), Barrett was at least far less of a disappointment. There were significant gains for workers and a strong boost in the social wage.
It isn't realistic to expect a provincial government, even a QS government in Quebec should you ever get one, to never get crosswise with the labour movement. Even Clement Attlee stopped some strikes during his 1945-51 Labour government in the UK, IIRC. And if SYRIZA gets into power in Greece this Sunday, they will probably piss off a lot of supporters. It's basically about hoping you get more wins than losses during the time a left-of-center government is in power.
Unions in the 60s and 70's seem to know which governments were vulnerable when attempting to bring them down with strike actions. I think European unions were infiltrated by right-rightists.
Of course, the political right didn't fear unions as much. Old Churchill admitted to admiring General Franco's approach: Soldiers and machine guns. And Maggie worked with Lech to knock down unions in two countries.
Solidarnosc!
Unionist you are absolutely right that all the BC NDP governments acted like less than honourable employers in collective bargaining. That was not the question I was answering. I am saying that neither Harcourt or Barrett pissed off their base. They may have been disappointing in many areas but not enough to piss off their base. Glen did that and Ujjal took the fall.
I went into the BC Elections site and it confirmed what I thought I knew.
In 1972 Barret received about 448 thousand votes with 39.6%. In 1975 his vote increased slightly to 505 thousand but with 39.2%.
In 1991 Harcourt received 595 thousand votes at 40.7%. In 1996 the NDP got 624 thousand votes but was down to 39.5%
In 2001 after Glen pissed off the base the NDP got 343 thousand votes at 21.6%
That is pissing off your base.
The Base Bites Back
Here's a letter that went to all Caucus members. And from there has been circulating very quickly.
The government seems to be doing pretty well with the general public in its polling. But you can't win when you are fighting too much of your base.
Significant chunks of the base are always unhappy with NDP governments. But there is a difference between being disgruntled, and being terminally pissed.
Molly Hurd and Lars Osberg
6271 Summit Street
Halifax, NS
B3L 1R6
Sunday, June 23, 2012
Dear NDP Caucus Member,
We are writing this letter - as supporters who have worked for, and donated to, the NDP
through many past elections - because we would like to support the NDP in the next Nova
Scotia provincial election, but we are now trying to see the point.
We supported the NDP, through many years, because we think Nova Scotia needs
changes. Although in many ways this is a wonderful place to live, Nova Scotia could do better.
For many years, while in opposition, the NDP spoke to the values of social justice, equality of
opportunity and environmental sustainability that we think to be important. One can only
imagine what the NDP, when in opposition, would have said about the priorities of a provincial
budget which:
• Gave (via forgivable loan) $304 Million to the Irvings
• Cut the tax rate for large corporations;
• Forced spending cuts on health care, and primary, secondary and post-secondary
education.
We recognize that building a fairer, more sustainable and more beautiful province will
take resources. However, even before the provincial budget was presented, the Premier
announced that the government's over-riding priority, once budget balance is achieved, will be to
cut the HST and reinstate the rates of provincial income and sales taxation established by the
previous Conservative government.
One cannot expect to receive public services without paying for them. The Dexter pledge
to restore the previous Conservative government's tax rate policy will tie the hands of a reelected
NDP government for the long-term. If the over-riding priority of an NDP government on
the tax side is to reinstate the tax rates of the previous Conservative government, then budget
balance implies that on the expenditure side one cannot expect that Nova Scotians will ever
receive better public services than those provided under previous Conservative and Liberal
governments.
Indeed, in addition to the revenue from income and sales taxes, the previous Conservative
government could, and did, spend the money from temporary increases in revenue from offshore
natural gas and equalization - revenues which are now gone. And this NDP government has also
chosen to forego over $90 Million per year in revenue by exempting home heating fuel from
sales taxation (a policy choice which provides the biggest benefits to those with the largest
houses, least insulation and highest thermostat settings). So when the NDP now promises to
return to the previous Conservative government's tax rates, one cannot expect that this will
provide enough revenue to pay for the level of public services actually provided by the previous
Conservative government, let alone honouring long-standing NDP commitments to reduce
poverty and improve healthcare and education.
houses, least insulation and highest thermostat settings). So when the NDP now promises to
return to the previous Conservative government's tax rates, one cannot expect that this will
provide enough revenue to pay for the level of public services actually provided by the previous
Conservative government, let alone honouring long-standing NDP commitments to reduce
poverty and improve healthcare and education.
We recognize that government must pay its bills. We know that if tax rates on Nova
Scotia's more fortunate citizens increase, to pay for the services which will benefit all members
of the community, then we personally will pay more taxes. We think that it is only fair that those
of us who have received greater financial benefits from the community should also pay more to
support the community - and in past elections, we worked for, and donated to, a party that we
thought shared these values of social justice and would change Nova Scotia for the better.
However, a party whose principle taxation pledge is to bring back the tax rates of the
previous government is not a party of change. And there is nothing new about the expenditure
priorities of the last NDP budget - indeed, there is a long tradition of Nova Scotia governments
throwing millions of taxpayer dollars at large industrial employers, from Clairtone to Sydney
Steel, in attempts to maintain blue collar jobs, while starving education and social services. So
if the NDP now actually stands for anything fundamentally different, for any change from
previous governments, it is hard to see what it is. And if the NDP is not a party of change in
Nova Scotia, why should those who want change support it?
Yours sincerely,
Lars Osberg and Molly Hurd
Jackie Barkley
Carl Boyd
Helen Castonguay
Milton Chew
Theresa Chu
Joeanne Coffey
Blanche and Tom Creighton
Michael Cross
Gwen Davies
Patricia De Meo
Dick Evans
Anne Marie Foote
Heather Frenette
Ruth and Herb Gamberg
Jim Guild
Judy and Larry Haiven
Jane and Steve Hart
Patricia Hawes
Barb Keddy
Marie Kettle
Pat Kipping
Winniefred Kwak
Heather MacDonald
Innis MacDonald
Margie Macdonald
Sheila MacDonald
Jane MacMillan
Leanne MacMillan
Ann Manicom
Carol Millett
Wayne Mundle
Paul O'Hara
Brian O'Neill
Donna Parker
David Roback
Olga Scibior
Linda Scherzinger
Wendy Watson Smith
Linda Snyder
Sarah Wakely
Cliff White
Rita Wilson
James Wolford
Carole Woodhall
Marie Kettle
Pat Kipping
Winniefred Kwak
Heather MacDonald
Innis MacDonald
Margie Macdonald
Sheila MacDonald
Jane MacMillan
Leanne MacMillan
Ann Manicom
Carol Millett
Wayne Mundle
Paul O'Hara
Brian O'Neill
Donna Parker
David Roback
Olga Scibior
Linda Scherzinger
Wendy Watson Smith
Linda Snyder
Sarah Wakely
Cliff White
Rita Wilson
James Wolford
Carole Woodhall
The only answer is "Keep Modernizing", or so I've been told. "You can't have socialism in one province", this may be a race to the bottom but we're "in it to win it!"
I don't think it was discussed here that NS Finance Minister Graham Steele resigned from his high-profile cabinet post about a month back, supposedly to spend time with his family, but I heard (a rumour) it was a disagreement with Dexter over the HST cut, Dexter personally announced the HST cut just days before Steele presented this year's budget. Who is advising Dexter?
As for the Hurd / Osberg letter, it is a serious slam from prominent Halifax members of the NDP, Lars Osberg being an "NDP Economist" if ever there was one and the signatories being from throughout academia and labour (but curiously not the NSGEU).
It's obvious Dexter, like all the capitalist premiers, is completely out of ideas, has no compelling vision to offer and his "Better deal for today's families", "Jobs start here" and "Back to balance" are all ringing completely hollow.
The Nova Scotia economy is eroding, Dexter's and Harper's cuts are biting harder and the province needs fresh thinking fast. The NDP should very soon reject "balance" in favour of stability until the economy recovers, the dollar declines and Harper is defeated, in the meantime policies should emphasize redistribution. If the NDP fights the 2013 election once again on a Tory / Liberal (NDP?) platform (tax cuts, austerity) then the party needs to lose the election and rid ourselves of Dexter and his advisers.
I'm not sure what your point is.
The HST tax cuts were not part of this budget. But governments all the time put future fiscal commitments in with [current] budgets.
And you dont think there is anything the least bit contingent about that tax cut do you? Formally, it is contingent on a matching budget surplus. But you know that having promised it, they are on the line, and they will do it. There is already the planned continuation of the slashing so that they will get that surplus. Thay told the school boards that. And they'll be turning up the heat on the health boards after the election is out of the way.
If it takes even more slashing than they expect to pay for these tax cuts, so be it.
Our two old line parties in Ontario slash and cut and leave scorched earth all the time. And Ottawa is sure to offer them no alternative funding solutions, either.
What a surprise.
Conveniently, the actual cuts will not come until after the election.
So we have the general public who the evidence is they believe the government will deliver the promised cuts [except presumably of course for the voters who would never vote for the NDP].
Then we have the base, declining in numbers who the party can draw on for support, but essential that the erosion be limited as much as possible. Of whom you are pretty representative. Contrasting to the general public, among the base the tax cuts are not popular. So those who want to believe will wait and see.
While you will imply that in principle you might find substantial tax cuts funded by continued deep slashing something that warrants speaking up about, you will wait to see if that happens, which is after the election.... even though the government has already said to the schoolboards starting as far back as a year ago to expect this depth of cuts through at least next budget, and is making the same noises now to the health boards that it made to the school boards before specifying the precise degree of the cuts in their funding.
If the cuts don't come until after the next election, that makes it kind of hard to make a case for re-electing the NSNDP, doesn't it?
How, exactly, can Dexter do that and still say "if we lose, things will get WORSE"?
At this point, it would be just about impossible to make a case AGAINST creating a new, genuinely socialist(or at least genuniely social democratic)provincial party in Nova Scotia. If such a party DID cause a NSNDP defeat...would it even matter?
If they had ANY political creativity, the Nova Scotia Greens would try to step in and fill the void that's now been created. Not holding my breath that they will though...given how fixated Canadian Greens seem to be with being "pro-market".
He will not make that case. But he doesn't need to.
Thats the job of the endlessly loyal remaining base. With of course some helpful suggestions from staff about how it all makes sense and must be. But the base has to absorb this as its own- that's their job.
I've never seen a plan for socialism in one province. If there is one, it's being kept under wraps.
The neoliberal forecast across Canada is to forge on with creating more debt followed by austerity. It's Canadians fault for wanting jobs, living wages and well funded social programs. The new business plan since 1987 says that debt equals wealth creation. Public debt is considered premium debt.
A non-NDP left party in Nova Scotia wouldn't even have to promise "socialism in one province". It could make a strong showing simply by pledging "no cuts" and by guaranteeing that workers and the poor wouldn't LOSE any ground.
If you reduce it to "it's enough that it's the 'center-left' making the cuts", then you completely break faith with EVERYBODY the NDP, federally or provincially, is supposed to represent. It's a question of whether people have the right to expect anything, anything at all, in exchange for their votes.
And yes, the neoliberals still call the tune in North America. But how can you ever change that if nobody's going to refuse to play the damn tune?
At some point, the stand has to be made...the line has to be drawn...if not now, when, Fidel?
True only if you think that getting a share of the vote under 5% is a strong showing.
Taking back the NDP isnt in the cards for the near enough future. But at least it is achievable in principle.
We weren't looking for socialism in one province. We weren't looking for socialism period. It wasnt promised by anyone. We were just looking for the shared aspiration of everyone who gets involved with the NDP: a progressive government.
Anyone involved with the NDP for a long time is used to making do with minimum expectations. And sometimes barely that. Not only did we get far short of iminmum expectations, we got something even the biggest pessimists among us would never have dreamed of: the fullout neo-liberal agenda that neither of the old line parties had the 'guts' or political fortitude to pull off.
CFL