Eye View 

by David Charbonneau


Campbell showed bad judgment long before he took to the road


February 4, 2003
Kamloops Daily News



I feel sorry for premier Gordon Campbell.  It's a guy thing.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, men between the
ages of 21 and 45 are most likely to repeatedly drive while
intoxicated.  Men know that that it's wrong but they would
like to pardon themselves and premier Campbell.  It's a way
of absolving their own guilt.

It's irrational male thinking.  I confess that I have driven
after drinking more than I should have.  It's a feeble
excuse but all I can say is that it was a stupid thing to
do.

Women are less likely to rationalize drunk driving.  A
female caller to a phone-in radio show said "Campbell's lack
of judgment of driving while drunk is a metaphor for way he
has governed.  He has recklessly endangered the lives of the
B.C.'s most vulnerable citizens."

When Campbell was driving while drunk, he only endangered
the lives of innocent pedestrians, other drivers, and his
passengers.   Governing recklessly endangers many more.

Campbell's policies have hurt individuals and whole
communities.

Things were bad enough when he took control.  Before
Campbell took office we had the greatest gap between rich
and poor in Canada.  B.C. has the wealthiest citizens in
Canada and nearly the poorest, second only to Atlantic
Canada. 

According to Statistics Canada from 1999, the wealthiest 10
per cent of British Columbians had assets worth $1.38
million each and the poorest were $1,126 in debt - - they
owed more than the value of their possessions.

After being the wheel of government for almost two years,
Campbell has transferred tax dollars to the rich through tax
cuts, closure of public buildings, and cuts to public sector
jobs.

At first glance it would seem that lower taxes benefit
everyone - - until you realize that the money saved through
tax breaks is less than the increased cost of government
services.  Average taxpayers end up paying more as a result
of tax cuts.

The richest British Columbians had the greatest tax breaks. 
They received an average cut of $23,260 each according to
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The tax breaks for
the bottom half of wage earners was only $197.

If you are a student, you had a net increase in costs
through increased tuition fees.  If you are a senior
citizen,  your tax cut didn't pay for the increased cost of
prescriptions and Medical Services Premiums.  Only the rich
benefit from tax cuts.

Whole communities are getting richer at the expense of
others, mostly in the interior.  Interior communities 
received an average tax cut of $615 for each person.  Those
in West Vancouver received $2,085 per taxpayer, according to
CCPA.

As a result, money is being transferred from poorer
communities to richer ones.  It works like this.  The
Liberals have to get the money they lost in tax cuts from
somewhere.  To balance the budget, Campbell  has cut
government services and programs for the disabled, poor,
sick and elderly.
 
To make matters worse the Liberals have cut employment in
small centers like welfare offices, court houses,
correctional camps.  The people who were employed in these
government jobs were paid a fair wage.  They supported the
community by shopping at local stores.  It's a way of
distributing the resource wealth that small communities
generate.

Public sector jobs they transfer wealth to the communities
in which the workers live and they provide useful services
and fair wages. Yes, jobs in the public sector are paid for
by your taxes.   But so is the transfer of wealth to the
rich.

The economy of the rest of Canada is doing very well.  Last
year, over  500,000 jobs were created. About 120,000 of
those new jobs were in the public sector.  "The public
sector is currently one of the strongest segments of our
labour market," said economist Jim Stanford.

Campbell's job cuts come at a time when interior communities
are also loosing jobs in the resource sector. The resources
of the interior of B.C. contribute the most of our
collective wealth but the interior is not benefiting.  The
rich get drunk and we get a hangover.

Campbell thought that that road to economic recovery would
be smooth.  He didn't mean for anyone to get hurt.  It was a
short trip and he didn't think he would be stopped.  He
thought he could make it home.


go back to my Columns in the Kamloops Daily News