Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Tomorrow we vote, but for who?
Welcome to America North, my friends. Tomorrow we vote in my beautiful home province of Ontario. The choices are all less than stellar. On one hand, we have Andrea Horwath of the New Democratic Party promising lollipops and sunshine for everyone. On the other hand, we have Drug Ford, I mean Doug Ford, who promises a buck a beer and the disposal of the “6 Million Dollar Man!” Yes! Drain the swamp and fill it with your buddies! And on the final hand, if we had three hands, is incumbent Kathleen Wynne, who by all accounts, and her own admission, will not win this election. Let’s all be honest here, even me as a staunch Liberal supporter, the Liberal Party should not be in power after all the mistakes they have made over the past 10 years in Ontario. I would be remiss if I did not mention the Green Party with their leader, what’s his face. I am sure they will give the communist party of Ontario a run for their money this election day. As this election comes to a close, I think back to what makes me vote and why this election is so important. Today I will go over why voting is important, but also why it is not important. It is possible to hold 2 different thoughts in your head at one time, trust me.
Why voting is important
I speak to younger co-workers all the time about why they should vote. Many are confused about the differences between the candidates and what it means to choose one over the other. Many are even confused about who they are actually voting for. PS: In Ontario you don’t vote for your leader, you vote for your Member of Provincial Parliament. I tell them that they should find out what is important to them and choose a party based on that. Is education important to you? Is health care important to you? Is support for seniors or early childhood education important to you? What about fiscal responsibility and balancing the budget? How about making sure future generations have a brighter future. Here’s one that should be important to all of us, the environment. By choosing a party we in fact choose part of our future. As history has told us, politicians often don’t tell the truth. On the flip side, they often do tell the truth. Mike Harris, our leader from 1995 to 2002, led a “Common Sense Revolution.” I guess conservative common sense is closing hospitals and mental health facilities, of which the province still has not recovered. Bob Rae led our province from 1990 to 1995 as a New Democrat and proceeded to ruin public services for years to come. Do you remember “Rae Days?” It was a day off school for me, but heartache for others. How about our fearless leader Kathleen Wynne who took over after Dalton McGuinty disgracefully left office in 2013. The Provincial Liberals have run up the debt dramatically since they have been in power and sadly our infrastructure is still crumbling, hospitals are still overcrowded, education is still spotty and your hydro bill is probably more than it ever was. This Liberal Party has me questioning my own vote, and I have never voted anything but Liberal in my life.
I think people need to think realistically about voting. We are not voting for perfection, because lord knows none of these people are perfect. Sadly, we must choose the lesser of many evils when we vote, and that has what has guided me throughout my voting history. I look at all the promises, and all the history and try to make an informed choice. It is not easy, but it is important to do it. Some people say if you don’t vote, you don’t have a right to complain. I disagree. I think everyone who lives in our city/province/country has the right to voice their opinion whether or not they voted. I also think that we should all stand for something, and put our money where our mouths are, and that means voting. But on the flip side……
Life is Too Expensive: What Can I Do? – Budget Boss
Why voting isn’t important
My dad would always say, “Why vote, they are all crooks anyway.” I always would laugh at that, but it is starting to make a bit more sense to me as I get older. I believe we live in a political system that rewards obedience rather than critical thought. I believe we live in a system that doesn’t have a grasp on reality when it comes to what things actually cost. I believe we live in a system that is so far removed from the average person that they don’t even know where to start when it comes to designing a platform for their constituents. I don’t think it is the fault of the candidates. I think they get enveloped by their own parties and can’t maneuver. Some people join politics for the wrong reasons, #fordnation, but most join because they want to make a difference. Most want to help people and change things for the better. When they get to the gates, they are met with bureaucracy and a gross system of waste and elitism.
An interesting piece from Pattie Lovett-Reid of BNN last week talked about personal debt and who Canadian’s blamed for their own debt woes. A large number of people blamed the government for their personal debt. As if the government wrote the cheques or swiped the VISA for you. A small portion actually blamed themselves for their own debt problems. What does that tell you about our society? We have far too many people waiting for the government to either screw or save them. That to me is troubling. Waiting for the government to save you is a little snowflakey to me, my friends. I will repeat, I am a Liberal, not a “Snowflake” or a “Libtard.” I think we are all responsible for our own destinies, but I also think we should help people that do not have the strength to be responsible for theirs. People in their retirement years have lived under many different leaders and parties throughout their lifetimes. If one party led to the destruction of people in our province, no one would have retired wealthy. The government can enact policies that can hurt our pocketbook or even our health, but overall, our lives are essentially in our own hands. So why should we vote, if they are pretty much all the same and we control our own destinies?
Ontario Liberal Party Platform
Why I vote and vote the way I do
I believe the government should stay out of people’s way. I don’t think any party, that has a chance to win, will ever stay out of our way. I believe the government should run a balanced budget. I don’t think they will ever balance the budget, for an extended period, because it is not in their best interest to. They have too many banker friends that love making interest off tax-payer money. I believe health-care including dental visits and prescription drugs, education including post-secondary, basic minimum income, and many other duties should be covered by our tax money. I understand how hard it must be to crunch those numbers. I believe we should help people with disabilities and the indigenous and the elderly. I also believe we have it in our arsenal to do so.
I believe in equal pay for equal work and a woman’s right to choose. I don’t believe we should neglect our responsibility as a world leader when it comes to the refugee crisis. I believe in fiscal responsibility but not at the expense of our values and traditions. I believe with great wealth comes great responsibility and it is our obligation to use our wealth as a province and as a nation to help others, especially in our own lands. I believe our government wastes far too much money on useless crap, regardless of party. I don’t believe the myth that Conservatives are the party of fiscal responsibility. 8 Stephen Harper deficits taught me that one. I believe that taxes will never go lower, only higher. The same goes for gas prices, food costs, and hydro rates. I believe our government can’t save us from that. I believe that any person running on a platform to lower taxes is a fucking liar. Sorry for swearing but people need to understand a lie when they see one. I think a buck a beer is the most stupid bullshit any person has ran on in years and Doug Ford is a moron, even more so than President Trump. I believe you should stand for something, and that means having a platform before you run, not pieced together a week before the election. I think slogans are stupid and using phrases like “The 6-million-dollar man” and “Gravy train,” discount the intelligence of us all.
16 Money Myths That Are Straight Up Lies! – Budget Boss
I also believe Kathleen Wynne is a brilliant woman. I believe she is a great politician and fearless leader. I furthermore believe she should NOT be Premier anymore. I believe actions have consequences and the Ontario Liberal Party has blundered too much over the last 10 years to be taken seriously by anyone. Kathleen knows this and it’s why she conceded defeat last week.
I will vote for Kate Graham in my riding London North-Centre. I will vote for Kate because I believe she is a smart, caring person. I think she will work well with Peter Fragiskatos of the Federal Party. I vote for Kate knowing her party will more than likely not win the election. I make this vote knowing the hypocrisy throughout my post. I make this vote with struggle, please understand that. I wish there was a leader that I could truly believe in this province. I wish we had better choices. I wish we all cared a bit more about politics because if we did, this type of situation would not occur. Better days, better days.
“To err is human. To blame someone else is politics.” – Hubert H. Humphrey
Email – joe@budgetboss.ca
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