DEAR EDITOR:
A recent letter of mine questioning why B.C. is broke has brought a rude tirade from a political wannabe clearly desperate to scramble aboard the B.C. Liberal ship while it still floats. (No, B.C. is not broke, Letters to the editor, The Record, April 6). Mr. Bremner's attack starts off badly because he claims I am following some perceived NDP tactic, which I am not, and that my letter was "nothing more than the same empty rhetoric and partisan nonsense, devoid of fact blah blah blah that is so often used by the NDP to mislead people."
Why do ill-mannered people descend to personal insult instead of simply expressing their own opinions? My letter had nothing to do with the NDP - other than that I am in opposition to the kind of arrogant, dictatorial administration that would bring in the HST on the strength of a lie and then flush away millions of taxpayers' dollars defending the hated cash cow with more lies.
In all his windy paragraphs, it appears that Mr. Bremner is saying that the current B.C. government is flush with money and the envy of the world in financial matters (especially railway deals, perhaps?).
If that is so, then why is our public education system bogged down while the education minister insists there isn't enough money even for a three per cent cost of living increase for teachers? Why is the justice system so understaffed and overcrowded that people accused of crimes are released because of the delays? And why does Christy Clark's 2012 budget admit that debts will rise from $51 billion this year to $66 billion in 2014?
Yes, as well as corporate tax breaks that deny many billions in revenue for government operations, rates have also been reduced for personal income tax - again, greatly benefitting those with the biggest incomes.
But the gulf between the "haves" and the "have-nots" continues to grow, and fees such as health-care premiums and ferry fares keep rising to erode family incomes.
It's also interesting to note the latest Statistics Canada report that B.C. was hit by a net loss of 1,700 jobs in March while the other provinces increased employment. And Premier Clark's show of outrage over bonuses for our Crown corporations turns hollow when you realize that these bonuses have marked several years of the Liberal reign. And let's not forget that it was the B.C. Libs who created that current prime target of official anger: TransLink.
If B.C. isn't broke, then it's being managed by the most anal retentive, tight-fisted crew of baffle-gabbing political hacks this country has ever seen.
Tony Eberts New Westminster
