What does it say about the role of unions in the economic system? That might give us some answers. Also there's the fact that it's extremely unlikely that the Greens will form government, so the libertarian types can go to bed every night knowing that they have voted to split the anti-BC Liberal vote, and thus keep a party that privileges THEIR class interests slightly more than the NDP, and proving their supposed virtue by voting for a party that looks more virtuous than the NDP yet is not likely to end up in government.
It's interesting to ponder how that sort of Green voter would react if the elections produced a minority legislature and an NDP-Green coalition were to take power on a commitment that a significant number of Green policies(including spending proposals of the sort you mentioned, Stock)would be implemented.
The Greens that I know who are active in the party on VI are mostly GenX business people who hate the NDP because philosophically they are libertarians. They also seem to hate unions and hardly ever do they pay the majority of their employees a living wage.
I'm sure that's true but at the same time if you look objectively at the BC Green platform this election, I'm not sure what exactly there is that would be attractive to libertarian business people. The Greens want to spend BILLIONS more than the NDP on just about everything under the sun (e.g. the NDP proposes to put an extra $500 million into public education, the Greens say never mind that we promise to spent $4 BILLION more), the Greens also wholeheartedly embrace the Leap Manifesto and they want to massively hike taxes of almost every kind. I'm not debating the merit of these proposals - just wondering why any of that would be attractive to a high income small business person who wants less government?
BC Election May 9 '17
Tonite at 7:30 PT CBC I believe is supposedly hosting the only TV leader's debate however the previous so-called radio debate was broadcast on TV as well. Apparently the format will be different designed hopefully to reduce the speakers from talking over each other. We'll see what happens.
That's weird, the stuff I wrote in response to that didn't appear. I'll rewrite it later. Some observations about self-interested paradox, mainly.What does it say about the role of unions in the economic system? That might give us some answers. Also there's the fact that it's extremely unlikely that the Greens will form government, so the libertarian types can go to bed every night knowing that they have voted to split the anti-BC Liberal vote, and thus keep a party that privileges THEIR class interests slightly more than the NDP, and proving their supposed virtue by voting for a party that looks more virtuous than the NDP yet is not likely to end up in government.
It's interesting to ponder how that sort of Green voter would react if the elections produced a minority legislature and an NDP-Green coalition were to take power on a commitment that a significant number of Green policies(including spending proposals of the sort you mentioned, Stock)would be implemented.
The Greens that I know who are active in the party on VI are mostly GenX business people who hate the NDP because philosophically they are libertarians. They also seem to hate unions and hardly ever do they pay the majority of their employees a living wage.
I'm sure that's true but at the same time if you look objectively at the BC Green platform this election, I'm not sure what exactly there is that would be attractive to libertarian business people. The Greens want to spend BILLIONS more than the NDP on just about everything under the sun (e.g. the NDP proposes to put an extra $500 million into public education, the Greens say never mind that we promise to spent $4 BILLION more), the Greens also wholeheartedly embrace the Leap Manifesto and they want to massively hike taxes of almost every kind. I'm not debating the merit of these proposals - just wondering why any of that would be attractive to a high income small business person who wants less government?
Who is winning the debate?
Clark is also offering all kinds of goodies now that it is election time and telling us how much she believes in community.
She even said she'd feed a hungry child and I hope it's some day soon
Post-debate poll: Horgan wins — but only by a slim margin
http://vancouversun.com/news/politics/b-c-election-2017-who-won-the-tele...
how sweet it was for Christy with the alleged Green Party leader Dr Weaver and herself both attacking John.
And don't forget the media pile on with their jibberish as well.
No obvious winner after latest BC election leaders debate: expert
http://www.news1130.com/2017/04/27/no-obvious-winner-last-nights-bc-elec...
Here is the best New Democratic Party ad I've seen in this election cycle. We're ready. (Yes I do know where its from)
Post-debate poll: Horgan wins, by a slim margin
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/post-debate-poll-horgan-wins-by-a-...
This is the clip of the election for me:
Post-debate poll: Horgan wins, by a slim margin
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/post-debate-poll-horgan-wins-by-a-...
While Christy was crunched into third place.
Well so far it seems all she has to do is say JOBS and some idiots will believe she will produce them this time unlike last time. Hell the most prolific poster on this board bought the BS hook line and sinker. However it seems that even NR can't stomach the overall package.
Well so far it seems all she has to do is say JOBS and some idiots will believe she will produce them this time unlike last time. Hell the most prolific poster on this board bought the BS hook line and sinker. However it seems that even NR can't stomach the overall package.
A net loss of 4 seats for the Liberals is all we need to accomplish. Is that slipping outside the realm of probable outcomes?
I just have to respond to this defense of the Green Party:
For example, the NDP is promising a series of increases that will take the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021.Why does the NDP want to wait so long? Four years is quite a grind living in poverty if all you’ve got is the minimum wage. How is this behaviour fundamentally different from the BC Liberals?
Yes, 4 years is a long time to wait for the minimum wage to jump to $15/hour. But of all the jurisdictions that have committed to that level, have any of them brought in $15/hour overnight? I know in the case of Alberta that it was increased in a series of steps that will bring it up to $15/hour next calendar year. The author claims that this approach is fundamentally the same as the BC Liberals. Does anybody know when the minimum wage will jump to $15/hour on the Liberal time table? As far as I know the Greens have promised to "review" wages, but that doesn't necessarily commit them to any action.
Despite the identified shortcomings of the BC NDP proposal, that proposal is by far and away the best one for minimum wage workers. Let's get behind it. The more provinces that commit to $15/hour means there is more pressure on the provinces which refuse.
NDP’s pledge to scrap student loan interest makes them best bet for post-secondary students
quote:
Soaring tuition fees and skyrocketing student debt
The biggest post-secondary issue in B.C. is crippling student debt, which is creating a crisis for young adults at a time they’re are struggling to start families, afford homes and start businesses, according to Dr. George Davison, the president of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of B.C. (FPSE).
When the B.C. Liberals swept to power in 2001, post-secondary tuition fees in BC. totalled about $425 million, according to FPSE figures.
Davison says this year B.C. post-secondary students payed approximately $1.8 billion in tuition fees, which is over a 400 per-cent increase.
To put that in context, the Vancouver School Board’s (VSB) provincial funding grants over the same period rose by about 17 per cent (from $365 million in 2001/02 to $438 million in 2017/18) and Langara College’s went up about 25 per cent, from $32 million to $43 million.
“Government has transferred the majority of the responsibility for funding post-secondary institutions from society to individual students and their families,” says Davison."
quote:
Tuition-fee relief?
The BC NDP, which froze tuition fees last time it was in power, is promising interest-free student loans and a $1,000 completion grant for those who graduate from post-secondary programs and caps on fee increases.
That, along with its commitment to increasing the minimum wage to $15 — a boon to students trying to pay the bills along the way with part-time and summer jobs — will provide some real relief for cash-strapped students.
Leo Gerard of the Steelworkers has waded into the BC election full tilt. Christy tried to use him as a foil but I think Leo executed a fine parry.
Clark is attacking our union and me personally, because she wants to distract from the fact that the BC Liberals have been the most corporate government in North America. Our members work hard for the wages they earn, Christy Clark’s actually been fattening her wallet with money from corporate donations, including companies like Weyerhaeuser – one of the very same lumber companies that instigated the softwood lumber dispute. She’s pocketed $300,000 from donations from big companies, including many of our biggest employers in the forest industry. We support John Horgan and the BC NDP’s plan for election finance reform, the real question is why Clark and her corporate cronies don’t.
http://www.usw.ca/news/media-centre/articles/2017/open-letter-to-bc-stee...
Another bad, bad idea by the BC Liberals.
https://omny.fm/shows/the-jon-mccomb-show/another-transit-referendum
!!
Latest polling but nothing new yet.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-2017-poll-tracker-1.40...
Christy Clark, liar, liar, pants on fire!
Beware the false equivalence of comparing corporate political donations with union contributions
But when corporations have a disproportionate influence, as we've seen in B.C. over the past 16 years, child poverty and homelessness tend to skyrocket. Job security and employee pensions have become a thing of the past for most B.C. workers. Public transit has been undermined. Free-market zealotry has also resulted in a greater percentage of educational funding going to private schools, as well as far higher postsecondary tuition fees.
The growing divide between the haves and have-nots under the B.C. Liberals is also harming public health. It's being reflected in an overdose epidemic that is sometimes claiming more than 100 lives per month in B.C.
It would be nice to hear Weaver say, for once, that unions aren't as bad as corporations, but that might interfere with his storyline in this election campaign.
In the same vein, it would also be helpful if provincial political commentators other than Bill Tieleman would acknowledge the benefits that organized labour has brought to our province.
Union leaders are not the equivalent of greedy and often ruthless corporate fatcats who collect annual compensation in the seven or eight figures.
Anyone who even hints that they're birds of a feather is being far too loose with the truth.
http://www.straight.com/news/901826/beware-false-equivalence-comparing-c...
B.C. Liberals rely heavily on a relatively small pool of very big donors
http://www.straight.com/news/901976/dermod-travis-bc-liberals-rely-heavi...
Martyn Brown: On balance, John Horgan's platform works for me
http://www.straight.com/news/895691/martyn-brown-balance-john-horgans-pl...
Advance voting
You can vote during business hours at the returning officer's office for each riding up to a certain date, and Saturday and Sunday this weekend advance polls are open from 8 AM to 8 PM so get out and vote . All advance poll details are on the elections bc website.
The back room folks who have really been running our province into the ground for the past 16 years, so after the handouts to the rich one percenters, there is nothing left for the rest of us, the 99%
Christy Clark’s Club: Meet the Lobbyists
Ties to the premier, support for BC Liberals unite elite paid influencers.
First in a series.
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2017/04/28/Christy-Clark-Club-Lobbyists/
How do you spell S-L-E-A-S-E?
Five Months after Stewart Quits ‘Critical’ Asia Trade Post, Job Still Vacant
Christy Clark denied 2013 job was reward for MLA who resigned to make way for her.
Close the office
Financial advisor Andrew Johns says the smart thing would be to close the office. The post is expensive and provides no benefit, he says.
Johns dug into the costs of Stewart’s post and released a report in February.
He found that on top of the $150,000 salary, Stewart’s pension, living expenses and other benefits pushed the total employment costs to $342,900, before business expenses and money spent wining and dining people. That’s roughly $1 million over three years, he notes.
There is not enough to show for the money, he says.
“If you read through Ben Stewart’s reports, all it is is a series of meetings and glad-handing,” Johns told The Tyee. “In 2015/16 he participated in 13 trade events, he gave 19 speeches. What you don’t find in there is any correlation to a contract of any type where goods and services are being exchanged because Ben Stewart was involved.”
Johns said his review of the records found the cost of contract staff had gone from $1.2 million in the 2012 fiscal year to $2.9 million last year. The office has cost $8.4 million over the last three years, Johns found.
His report recommends closing the Beijing office and having a trade commissioner based in B.C. or at an existing Canadian Foreign Mission.
BC's man in Beijing well taken care of by taxpayers
Trade figures don’t show success
Trade statistics also cast doubt on the effectiveness of the government’s efforts in Asia, according to an economics professor.
Keith Head of the UBC Sauder School of Business specializes in Asian business. He said that over the last few years, despite Stewart’s presence and trade missions, British Columbia’s trade with China has appeared to flatline.
Head said while on-the-ground relationships should be more effective, a study of trade missions conducted by the federal government under former prime minister Jean Chrétien revealed such missions don’t seem to make much of a difference.
That appears to include those run by the Clark government.
“The trade patterns during the period that she's been doing the missions, we don’t see any sharp increases with the countries she’s been visiting,” he said. “Just doing eyeball statistics, nothing is obvious there.” ![[Tyee]](https://thetyee.ca/ui/img/xico_fishie.png.pagespeed.ic.qRYDhMYjhr.webp)
https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/04/28/Asia-Trade-Post-Still-Vacant/
Not Easy Being Green? Examining the Party’s Contradictions
From lack of ‘concern’ about Liberal re-election to campaign finance, I ask them the tough questions.
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2017/04/25/Green-Party-Contradictions/
Oh, my!
Christy Clark corruption makes the New York Times
https://gangstersout.blogspot.ca/2017/01/christy-clark-corruption-makes-...
Can Christy Clark Dance Away From Donation Scandal?
RCMP investigation brings damage control, but no real change.
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2017/03/17/Christy-Clark-Donation-Scandal/
Oh, my!
Christy Clark corruption makes the New York Times
https://gangstersout.blogspot.ca/2017/01/christy-clark-corruption-makes-...
Premier Christy Clark in conflict of interest over Kinder Morgan pipeline approval: groups
http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/premier-christy-clark-in-conflic...
Everything stinks about Christy Clark’s mysterious salary ‘top-ups’
http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/brian-hutchinson-everything-st...
Horgan stands up well to scrutiny
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/opinion/editorial/horgan-stands-up-we...
Experience made fools of us last election
http://www.nsnews.com/opinion/columnists/sullivan-experience-made-fools-...
Mike Smyth: The Green monster stalks the NDP, and the Liberals love it
http://theprovince.com/news/bc-politics/mike-smyth-the-green-monster-sta...
The long reach of the BC Liberals - you can guess why this article was pulled, eh!
http://appsforpcdaily.com/2017/04/usa-softwood-tariffs-prompt-ndp-claim-...
Vaughn Palmer: Horgan's all in on changing relationship with First Nations
http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-horgans-all-in-...
How many live in BC?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/zero-income-tax-high-income-canada-1.408...
NDP moving forward, not back to the '90s, Horgan says
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/local-news/ndp-moving-forward-no...
- Ed Zachary
The BC Liberals are the only party that can afford to pay online influencers. The opposition online commenters are volunteers, just like their election campaign workers.
I wonder how many BCLiberal election campaign workers are Green party supporters in disguise?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/the-stakes-are-high-polit...
So, besides the Vancouver Sun, CBC, CTV, Global TV, Radio 1130, the North Shore News, who else is shilling for the BC Liberals?
Is John Horgan going to announce a Pharmacare program?
We already know Christy Clark is not interested but somebody has to address poverty.
Escaping Poverty Requires Almost 20 Years With Nearly Nothing Going Wrong
The MIT economist Peter Temin argues that economic inequality results in two distinct classes. And only one of them has any power.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/economic-inequality...