Letter to the Editor – Kevin Parkinson – What do Harper, McGuinty & Obama Have in Common? – December 5, 2009

What do Harper, McGuinty & Obama Have in Common?

Hypocrisy 101

We are misled and lied to each and every day by the leaders of governments around the world. I think they all take a course called Hypocrisy 101 as a precondition to running for office.

Close to home the McGuinty government is at it again with the HST legislation, which was approved by the federal Conservative government and will pass in Toronto next week.  Complicit in supporting the HST legislation was cheerleader Guy Lauzon who must think that Ontarians need an additional and unfair tax burden.

Stephen Harper says he opposes new taxes but Finance Minister Jim Flaherty stated earlier in the fall that “he wanted the HST implemented across Canada,” but Jim backed off when Harper didn’t want to be seen as supporting a new tax.  Also, Harper would prefer to keep silent about those big tax reductions going to the big corporations.

The HST is an unfair tax because it targets low and middle-income families and it shifts the tax burden from corporations onto working families

Absolutely shameful is what I say and it will likely cost the provincial Liberals the next election just as HST implementation has cost governments in other provinces.

McGuinty will go down in the Guinness record books as the provincial premier who broke the most promises, starting with the medical tax and finishing off with the HST. Ontarians will pay 13% at the cash register for the rest of our lives. I can’t see how this regressive tax will stimulate our provincial economy- it is an outrageous tax grab, and the poorer people of Ontario will suffer the most.

But we can never quite top what goes on south of the border. Although children are now actually singing the praises of Obama in schools, compulsory ‘civic volunteerism’ has been introduced in schools with a paramilitary flavour, and the Boy Scouts (not Brown Shirts) are getting weapons training. Do you see the picture emerging here?

From his trusty teleprompter, Nobel Prize winner and Messiah Obama delivered his message in the home of the brave this week. The jist was that the Pentagon would send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to bring a quicker end to the war!

But here’s what Obama said in October, 2007 when he was campaigning:

    “I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank.”

If you Google “Obama lies” you will find people out there who document this stuff with one site saying that Obama has uttered 158 lies since his campaign.

I have written before that politics is a dirty business. It’s getting worse.  Politicians get elected for 4 years and seem to be accountable to no one. They lie and do the things they said they wouldn’t do, lie again during the next round of election campaigns, and then lie again if they are lucky enough to get re-elected. The system is a farce.

Where are the trustworthiness and the dignity? Where are the positive role models for the next generation?  Is it any wonder that 50% of Canadians don’t bother to vote?

Democracy is an illusion today. People fought hard for our democratic rights in the last century, but those rights are quickly disappearing in the 21st century.

Kevin Parkinson,

Cornwall

www.realitycheck.typepad.com

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11 Comments

  1. I agree with most of what you said Kevin. Actually all of it. I just wanted to add how much of an additional kick in the teeth it is to Ontario and BC that the BLOC also voted in this tax on us. The only ones that didn’t vote were those that feared backlash (rightly so), and the NDP.

    But the BLOC getting to vote on this? This is truly showing how messed up our political system is when the party that cares only for their own province (Quebec), can become a federal party in our parliament, and then get to vote on the HST for Ontario and BC. Had we have done that to Quebec, imagine the outcry. And they want to separate on top of it all.

    Thanks for the kick in the teeth, from the Liberals, Conservatives, and BLOC. I bet you yet again, Guy Lauzon most likely didn’t listen to his constituents and voted in favor of the HST. Or, I bet he must have had an outpouring of constituents I guess that were in favor of the HST. Or at least that’s what he’d have us believe.

  2. I also agree with the writer especially on the HST but I don’t have a reference on the Obama part although that is pretty clear in the Communism Manifesto. Don’t take my word for it. Google it! It’s the Liberal handbook. I voted for them my entire life but no more. Conservatives neither. They all should be lined up.
    Unfortunately, the editor has personally told me he agrees with the implementation of the horrendous HST. In particular he said in person “what would you rather they replace it with” or something very similar. My reply was that they need to control spending.
    Strange that he would print this story given the circumstances.
    Search the NAU, SPP, GST, NWO, Bilderberger, RFID, and you will soon get the picture that we are all being duped big time.
    Trouble is, they have a huge head start on us. Now it’s your turn.

  3. Oh gosh. Did I forget to mention Guy Lauzon? Yes Guy Lauzon voted for the implementation of the HST, which will be a huge burden on poor and working class Ontarians. Given 75% of Ontario residents are against the HST in a recent Angus Reid Poll you have to wonder, who does Guy Lauzon really represent??
    Not me that’s for sure but their are a lot of loggerheads that will still vote for him and that is a very deep mystery.

  4. Author

    Remi this is the “Free” in the Cornwall Free News. We allow opinions of dissent even if we don’t agree with them. That’s true democracy in action. And as I’ve told many people, “If you stand on a soapbox you can’t complain if you get egged.”

    I do agree with the HST as I eventually agree with the gst. I don’t agree with higher taxes. I think we need fiscal accountability in government. I think it’s shameless the billions that are wasted. But this is the system we have today and it won’t change quickly especially if people don’t get involved in the process.

    As I’ve stated I support the HST simply because it taxes those that hide their income and essentially get a free ride. I drive a 96 Ford. If my business income were greater, which I’m hoping it will be in 2010, I would be driving a 2010 and paying for it with money I should be paying in taxes.

    Poor people don’t have that option. Working people don’t have that option. Consumption taxes are the fairest way to tax those that buy those 2010 Fords. Yes it does hurt those that need every dollar the most, but that’s where lobbying comes into play. That’s where tax credits come into play.

    So now you know that we can have different voices in our newspaper, and now you know why I support the HST.

    Jamie Gilcig – Editor – The Cornwall Free News

  5. “We are misled and lied to each and every day by the leaders of governments around the world. I think they all take a course called Hypocrisy 101 as a precondition to running for office.”

    Yes, you probably have a good point there, but why stop with Harper, McGuinty and Obama? Maybe you should consider the facts.

    First of all, Harper does oppose new taxes, and has lowered them. Remember when the GST was 7%? Without that cut, the cost of a Cadillac Escalade would be $69,550. But the reduction of the GST by two points has dropped the price to a much more affordable $68,250. That’s a real saving of $1300, all of which has been passed on to the low and middle income earners of Ontario. Is the HST going to wipe out this saving? What is the difference between paying 5% + 7%, compared to 13%?

    “The HST is an unfair tax because it targets low and middle-income families and it shifts the tax burden from corporations onto working families.”

    Yes, of course, you are right here. My next Cadillac will cost me (with HST) $73,450. We should eliminate sales taxes completely, so it only costs me the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $65,000. The $8,450 that I’d save would be a tremendous boost to my economy, and I could afford to spend an extra week in Los Vegas.

    “McGuinty will go down in the Guinness record books as the provincial premier who broke the most promises, starting with the medical tax and finishing off with the HST.”

    Well, I don’t know enough to argue with that statement one way or another, so let’s just accept it. From what I can remember, without digging out last year’s tax return, the maximum any Ontarian pays in the “medical tax” is $900 per year. Most pay far less. Go to an emergency department south of the border, and let’s see if you can get out of there without paying way more than $900. And while you’re about it, see if you can get American medical insurance for you and your family, which would cover what OHIP does, for $900 per year.

    “Ontarians will pay 13% at the cash register for the rest of our lives.”

    Don’t we pay 13% on just about everything already?

    “But we can never quite top what goes on south of the border.”

    No, we can’t. We’ve never been lucky enough to have George W as our prime minister. We’ve never had a provincial supreme court take the lead and decide the outcome of a federal election, in the way that the Florida Supreme Court ruled on the Florida vote in 2000. Wasn’t it Jeb Bush, George W’s brother, who was governor of Florida at the time?

    “…politics is a dirty business. It’s getting worse.  Politicians get elected for 4 years and seem to be accountable to no one…. The system is a farce.”

    Yes, of course, you’re quite right. After all, didn’t Mike Harris get re-elected for another term after his first term finished? And didn’t he leave the provincial accounts in such a mess that the “medical tax” was necessary?

    Did you forget to mention Harris in your list of questionable politicians? Why no mention of George W Bush? Margaret Thatcher? Trudeau? Chretien? Martin? Mulroney? Yet you criticise Obama, who perhaps isn’t perfect. But who would you rather have, John McCain and Sarah Palin?

  6. Hey, the Governor General is making tons of money for a ceremonial position, why not give them a bit of real responsibility? Add a mandate for the GG to hold politicians accountable for what they say. Have them keep track of election promises and make sure the winning side keeps them. The position would have to become electable, say once every 10 years. It wouldn’t be a perfect system, but as Winston Churchill said “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others”.

  7. OMG The Watcher, that is classic!

    As for GelatinousMutantCoconut, Ive been saying that our politicians need an impeachment process, so that way if they lie to get their power (ie: Harper, McGuinty, possibly Hudak, and Super Guy [working for the people, YEAH RIGHT!!!!!] Lauzon), then they should have to submit to an impeachment process. But sadly, there will probably be made a law against impeachment processes in Canada, just so they can continue to get away with it.

  8. Sounds like a witch hunt to me, shades of Salem!

  9. First of all, I would like to thank all of the people who have taken the time to respond to my letter, agreeing or disagreeing, it doesn’t matter. At least you are thinking and responding and expressing your opinions.

    If you go to my website you will see that I get only one or two comments per year, and I have over 100 articles on that site. One of things I keep saying in my writing is that people don’t have opinions, don’t bother to do the research to form them, and simply don’t care.

    Imagine, with 50% of the electorate not voting, that tells you something. In some third world countries where people have far less wealth than we do, their voter turnout is much higher! So, maybe people are too comfortable yet, and are just too ‘busy’ to bother voting

    If young people put up some good candidates, and started getting young people to vote,they could kick some ass in parliament. Remember that Harper got a minority government, so that’s less than 50% of the 50% who voted. He’s running the country with the support of 25% of the population, or maybe less!

    The education system has failed badly (and I am a former teacher) in its mandate to produce graduates who have even the slightest bit of political insight and interest. That’s very unfortunate.

    Every day that people don’t speak up, collectively we give our democratic rights. That really must change if we want a better future for our kids.

    Thanks to Jamie for providing a local forum for discussions like this.

  10. ERROR IN MY PREVIOUS COMMENT In the second last paragraph, it should have read “collectively we give up our democratic rights”

    My apologies.

  11. Author

    Hi Kevin,

    Thank you sincerely for your comment. I’ve been slogging away for almost a year now trying to build a true community paper that creates a safe platform for all to share their opinions. We need voices to fight the war against Apathy in this world. Thank you for contributing to the success of The Cornwall Free News.

    And thanks to all that read our paper, share about it with others and those brave enough to post their thoughts and comments here.

    Jamie Gilcig
    Editor

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