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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1990-10-17, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1990. Opinion Maybe it will go away Like King Canute who was told if he only forbad the tide to come in it wouldn’t, Brian Mulroney, Michael Wilson and John Crowe seem to feel if they deny there’s a recession it will go away. Everybody but those three men seems to admit by now there is a recession but ignorance is bliss for the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the Head of the Bank of Canada. Given the fact they can’t see what everyone else can one might venture to call them the three blind men. Opinion may be divided on the benefits and faults of the GST and on Free Trade and on government’s deficit reduction plan but if there’s unanimity on any subject it’s that the government has been so obsessed with fighting inflation that it has driven the country into a recession. Business and labour leaders, economists, farm leaders and financial columnists have all called on the government to reduce interest rates and given Canadian business a fighting change against American competition under Free Trade. One suspects that if party solidarity weren’t so strong, many Progressive Conservative M.P.s would be saying the same thing. Still the government soldiers on. Perhaps Mr. Wilson and Mr. Mulroney havefeltthey’ve been misjudged so often when they knew they were right that now, even if they’re the only people in the country w hoagree, they must be right. So they insist on a high interest policy that not only pushed the economy intoa recession that hurts millions, but undermines the other two main planks in their platform. Free Trade was supposed to make Canada more competitive and, as we won new markets in the U.S., make Canadians more prosperous. But the high interest rate has made it more expensive to do business here and almost impossible to finance retooling necessary to go after American markets. The high Canadian dollar, a result of the high interest rate, has made Canadian goods cost too muchintheU.S.andaroundthe world. The result is American factories are pulling out of Canada and even some Canadian companies have figured they must move south to stay competitive. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are being lost as Canada suffers a recession that the U.S. isn’t. Ironically the high interest rate also pushed up the government’s deficit as it strives to pay interest on the national debt making it almost impossible for the government to bring the deficit under control. The policy is also self-defeating in that high interest increases the cost of living which is exactly what the high interest policy is designed to reduce. On top of that, the government will add to inflation with the GST it wants to bring in come January. Mr. Wilson says an economic slowdown is needed if inflation is to be beaten. Meanwhile, however, people all over the country less affluent than Mr. Wilson are suffering: farmers facing bleak futures, small businesses closing up shop, workers unemployed after plant closures. And still no indication our leaders might reconsider. How long will people have to continue to suffer before Mr. Mulroney, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Crowe admit they might just, this time only, have made a mistake and change their policies. Our double standard? Westerners have generally felt comfortable in the justice of their campaign to drive Iraq’s troops out of Kuwait. After all, there has been unheard of solidarity in this issue. The U.S. and the Soviet Union have been on side. Most Arab countries have sent troops to Saudi Arabia to join the force from the U.S. and most of the western democracies. Generally the bleats from Sadam Hussein that the military build up was just an excuse by the U.S. to dominate the region. Nobody paid much attention when he wondered why the allies weren’t so ready to intervene to make other invading countries withdraw. What about Israel when it invaded Lebanon? What about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the territories it has occupied since Arab-Israeli wars? If it was wrong for Iraq to annex Kuwait as a province, what about Israel claiming Jerusalem, an occupied city as its capital? The complaints of Iraq took on new meaning last week, however, when Israeli troops turned guns on Palestinians who were in turn, hurlingrocksat Jewish worshippers in Jerusalem. Despite the many injustices perpetrated against Palestinians by Israelis there’s no doubt people subjugated by Israel are a lot better off than people subjugated by Iraq (for that matter better off than Iraq’s citizens). Still, the lustre is off the universal justice of our cause. If our enemies must live up to international standards, maybe our friends should too. If not, our moral authority seems pretty slim. hill Mabel’s Grill There are people who will tell you that the important decisions in town are made down at the town hall. People in the know, however know that the real debates, the real wisdom reside down at Mabel 's Grill where the greatest minds in the town [if not in the country] gather for morning coffee break, otherwise known as the Round Table Debating and Filibustering So­ ciety. Since not just everyone can partake of these deliberations we will report the activities from time to time. MONDAY: Things were quieter than usual since most people were off on the Thanksgiving Dav holi­ day but it just gave the regulars a little more time to solve more of the problems of the world. After they had reformed the Senate and got Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait without firing a shot (well, Ward Black would have nuked him), they got to talking about their plans for celebrating Thanksgiving. Every­ body but Hank Stokes said he was having turkey for supper. “There’s only one turkey I’d like to cook for Thanksgiving,’’ Hank said, “but he’s way off in Ottawa.’’ WEDNESDAY: Ward said that bum who interrupted the Senate filibuster by setting a fire in the Parliament building ventilation shaft had the right idea. “Maybe if we smoke them out we can get some action,’’ he said. Julia Flint said much as she’d like to see the GST killed, she thinks the Liberals should worry that they look like such asses that nobody will want to elect them come next election. Tim O’Grady said the Liberals will be okay if peole have as short memories as they had a few years ago. The Conservatives made tl(j bells in Parliament ring for days when they refused to show up for a vote in the Commons but still people turned around and voted for them in the election. Yes, said Billie Bean, whoever said looking stupid was a reason not to elect politicians. THURSDAY: Everybody came in dripping from the rain. The town residents were complaining about the rain and how they were tired of Continued on page 26 Citizen. P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $19.00/yr. ($40.00 Foreign]. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisment will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are £ Copyright Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. (♦CNA BLUE RIBBON AWARD Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Editor & Publisher, Keith Roulston Advertising Manager, Dave Williams 1990 Production Manager, Jill Roulston Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968