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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2014-04-16, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, April 16, 2014 www.clintonnewsrecord.com NewsCl Record PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. Box 39 Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com SUN MEDIA A Quebecor Media Company 1 NEIL CLIFFORD Publisher neil.clifford@sun media.ca MAX BICKFORD Advertising Manager max.bickford@sunmedia.ca DAWN JOHNSTON Sales Representative cl inton.ads@sunmedia.ca CHRISTY MAIR Front Office dinton.classifieds@sunmedia.ca SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged but that balance of advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. 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Canada pcna Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association letters to the editor Lack of debate part of government's poor performance To the editor: All the issues facing both the provincial and municipal gov- ernment in the last two or three years centres around the lack of constructive debates with the citizens who have elected our leaders to do just that. Instead of dialogue with the average cit- izen, the politicians resort to the bureaucrats, the university professors, lawyers and the elite in our society including large corporations that have a self interest in their bottom line. Let's be clear on one thing - the aristocrats including the bureaucrats are mostly left- wing socialists who only see their agenda as being the cor- rect agenda. We can have a debate if that assumption has any credibility and if their vision for the future is our vision. The Green Energy Act was orchestrated because the hys- terical concern in that there was going to be no planet to live on if we didn't act quickly. The large wind and solar cor- porations jumped on the band- wagon and took advantage of the concern shared by many left-wing thinkers who control government and by the likes of Al Gore and David Suzuki. There are billions of dollars at stake to keep the issues front and centre and keep the fear alive. Global warming and now climate change are the catch phrases they use but United Nations credibility on the issues is fading because in many cases the scientists at their best are skeptical on which they made their conclusions. So let's have that honest debate. Let's also have a debate on the cost of electricity that we all use and enjoy and whether the billions that taxpayers will spend over the next few years for wind turbines and solar panels are truly enhancing our way of life and making a differ- ence in protecting the environ- ment. Hydro rates, as you know, have increased significantly over the last two years and are expected to raise another 30 per cent over the next three years. Even though demand for hydro has decreased and supplies increased, the price of hydro keeps going up instead of going in a downward trend. There is something signifi- cantly wrong with that scenario based on what I learned in eco- nomics 101. Our peaceful and serene landscape will change forever and at what cost to the consumer will it attain the goal of a much cleaner environment. The costs of operating busi- nesses and employing individ- uals have gone up because of it. Companies are relocating to different provinces or to the United States for a more com- petitive advantage in the global economy. Jobs are lost, deficits increase and our standard of living decreases. So let's have that debate before we become a third -world country. There's also a debate that need to be addressed as far as a Bayfield arena is concerned. It should never have been a deci- sion made by council on whether the ice should remain or be taken out. The discussion should have centred around the needs of the larger community, whether that be Bluewater or Bayfield - on the needs and aspirations of recreation facili- ties that enhance physical fit- ness and the quality of life and how those issues can be addressed over the long term. That requires a plan with com- munity involvement both from decisions that are made and the economics that will prevail in its final outcome. That's a debate that will become con- structive and enhance the com- munity as a whole. So let's have that debate. The people's government, made for the people, by the people and answerable to the people, is what is missing in constructive debates and why we have underlying problems that we face today. All levels of government have wasted bil- lions that should have been spent in education, social pro- grams and healthcare. Subsi- dies of any kind in the market- place kills innovation and production. We've come a long way with technology in the last 10 years and I'm sure with the creative ability of our youth we will see great strives in the future. Let the free market decide what the outcome will be - not government. Bill Steenstra Devaluing people, increasing the bottom line Economy is the number one concern for Canadians these days. But what is the economy? Is it jobs? Is it profit? Is it a healthy workforce? I was fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to be working in Goderich when Volvo closed, as it really opened my eyes to a few things. Firstly — labour is drastically undervalued and undermined globally, and more and more internally. Workers in countries like Canada - where people generally receive a decent wage for the jobs they do — are being punished by big multinationals because they are paid fairly. But why does business have to be like this? The government response to these types of situations is push for lower corporate taxes and offer incentives for big business to set up shop in Canada. Sadly in some cases, government is being bullied into rewarding disloyalty and poor performance and the punishment, so to speak, is passed on solely to the labourers in the form of lower wages, no benefits and job insecurity. Years of successive smear campaigns have left most people with a poor impression of unions. Organizations designed to protect workers' rights are being demonized as greedy, bloated and mismanaged. That same description applies to the governments attempting to spread these untruths on behalf of corporations looking to cut costs at the expense of workers' health and rights. So what is economy? Undercut, underpay, and bank the difference. Incomes are dropping and profits are being falsely inflated as a result. Rather than improve a service or product, cutting jobs and wages is seen as the easier alternative. It's like Col umn Gerard Creces cancer - it affects everyone. In fact, it is a cancer, eating away at quality of life. The end result is you and I are worth less. We become pariahs for expecting decent treatment. We become liabilities if we need any assistance from the government as a result of human devaluation policies. In this battle from the bottom, you just can't win. Meanwhile, products that are mined, drilled and extracted in Canada are sent elsewhere for processing. Meanwhile, the fleeting installation jobs created by the green energy boon will dry up as soon as the last turbine is installed. Meanwhile, the people on Main Street can't afford to raise their wages because they are being undercut every step of the way by corporate hegemony. And the government's response to all of this is to keep offering concessions to make the cost of doing business cheaper for all the wrong people and all the wrong reasons. We're headed down a slippery slope, but as long as we're beholden to the hand that feeds, we feel powerless to do anything. But we aren't. And it's time we make that known.