LOL that's funny. There are lots of people that are on welfare that have not been failed by the state and are just lazy. There are lots of properly run and viable companies that take advantage of corporate welfare. Hell, even municipal governments do that. In a corporatist world, the government is suppose to look after everyone and corporations are part of "everyone".
Is Oil Making Our Politics Less Democratic?
- Thread starter dumpthemonarchy
- Start date
LOL that's funny. There are lots of people that are on welfare that have not been failed by the state and are just lazy. There are lots of properly run and viable companies that take advantage of corporate welfare. Hell, even municipal governments do that. In a corporatist world, the government is suppose to look after everyone and corporations are part of "everyone".
Yes...people in North America seem to have that 'laziness' thing on the brain. You have to get past that: people are the product of the circumstances into which they are born and the state is ultimately responsible for those circumstances.
So?
There are many ways of doing that. Throwing money at failed companies is the least ingenious of them.
So what?
There are many ways of helping the indigent. Throwing money at failed people is the least ingenious of them.
Your problem (for lack of a better word) is that you see the government's treatment of people and corporations as different. While at the surface they may appear different at the core, the same basic philosophies are at play.
So what's the point of saying that those who are not mismanaged also make use of corporate welfare when the issue is the mismanaged ones?
So in the meantime you let them starve to death? Is that an option? Or maybe they should be jailed (which would actually be more expensive--they'd get three meals a day).
Philosophically, structurally: they are different.
The increased bureaucracy required for the government to figure out which ones are managed well and which aren't. Besides, given the annual Auditor Generals report, I serious doubt the government would know incompetency if it came up and kicked it is the nards. I mean they can't even determine that a welfare recipient with a fridge full of Moosehead and Players light isn't using their welfare check efficiently.
I don't know, is it? I'm just using you arguments. If you stop throwing money at failed companies, how many people on social assistance would we soon be throwing money at. If GM went down, do you think the stockholders that would be wiped out and the employees of GM and the offshoot companies would simply vanish?
Not really, you just see it differently because you don't see companies and corporations as a group of people...which is really all they are.
Alberta has low taxes compared to other provinces. And, Alberta can always generate more revenues by approving yet another tar sands project. This lower level of taxation disconnects politicians from voters because the politicians have less need to worry about voters who pay little or no tax.
(Sorry, this board does allow the quote function to work for me.)
Lower taxes does not mean a place is less democratic. If that were the case, communist countries would have been the most democratic places on earth.
If you believe that taxation equates to democracy, essentially what you are saying is that democracy holds hostage its own constituents by forcing them to choose what they want to do with their own money. How is that democratic?
Besides, not voting is as democratic as voting.
(Sorry, this board does allow the quote function to work for me.)
Lower taxes does not mean a place is less democratic. If that were the case, communist countries would have been the most democratic places on earth.
If you believe that taxation equates to democracy, essentially what you are saying is that democracy holds hostage its own constituents by forcing them to choose what they want to do with their own money. How is that democratic?
Besides, not voting is as democratic as voting.
Alberta has turned into one party, oil rich state, similar to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria etc. One party dominates everything, keeps the oil revenue flowing and people are happy. They will forgive the ruling party much, including corruption, patronage etc, as long as oil money keeps flowing.
Alberta was a one party state before anyone knew it had much oil.
Plus, when oil was at $10 and the Alberta Treasury was bleeding money, why couldn't the opposition win? A. Because they are incompetent.
Ontario elected the Conservatives for 40 years. Was that because of oil too?
Alberta was a one party state before anyone knew it had much oil.
Plus, when oil was at $10 and the Alberta Treasury was bleeding money, why couldn't the opposition win? A. Because they are incompetent.
Ontario elected the Conservatives for 40 years. Was that because of oil too?
Ontario elected the Conservatives for 40 years. Was that because of oil too?
That was long ago, Toro, that hasn’t happened for a long time now. Perhaps you could say that w have learned form our mistake, we don’t let any party take the voters for granted. In recent years, we have had Liberal, Conservative and NDP governments, I think just about the only province in Canada to do so.
All the parties must compete for votes in Ontario. Alberta is essentially a one party state. So even in federal elections, it is ignored by Liberals, NDP and taken for granted by Conservatives. The Saudi Arabia like dominance by one party is the reason why Alberta is not relevant federally. All the parties must court Ontario and Quebec (both provinces elect MPs from many parties, as opposed to Alberta).
Decade after decade of one party rule tells me that democracy is not functioning properly in Alberta.
That was long ago, Toro, that hasn’t happened for a long time now. Perhaps you could say that w have learned form our mistake, we don’t let any party take the voters for granted. In recent years, we have had Liberal, Conservative and NDP governments, I think just about the only province in Canada to do so.
All the parties must compete for votes in Ontario. Alberta is essentially a one party state. So even in federal elections, it is ignored by Liberals, NDP and taken for granted by Conservatives. The Saudi Arabia like dominance by one party is the reason why Alberta is not relevant federally. All the parties must court Ontario and Quebec (both provinces elect MPs from many parties, as opposed to Alberta).
Decade after decade of one party rule tells me that democracy is not functioning properly in Alberta.
I'm not sure why Alberta continues to vote in one party, but it most likely has little to do with oil.
Norway is a PetroState and has a pluralistic democracy.
Norway is a PetroState and has a pluralistic democracy.
First of all, explain to me how feminists have been silent. When the law was first proposed in April it was to legalize RAPE. Not just coercion through starvation, but flat out rape. International outcry saw it repealed, and yes, those voices came from Canada too. And guess what... some MEN, believe it or not, even lifted their voices in opposition, humanists, rather than leaving it to the women folk.
This one hasn't been met with silence, but it has been met with a much more grim anger.
Second of all, define 'possum strategy'. Because what the article lays out below is thought out and intentional political maneuvering that is in many instances going against the grain of popular international opinion. Hardly possum like to go against popular views, or to plan and manipulate.
There are very few articles in the newspaper discussing this. Punch Judy Rebick islam into google news and nothing comes up. A Vancouver Sun article discusses the issue.
Many feminists are not stepping up to defend women
By Naomi Lakritz, Canwest News Service
Many feminists are not stepping up to defend women
And this article has educated people? This article has done something progressive for women living under oppression? No. This article has named names of OTHER women she expects to do the work, rather than simply getting up and doing it. Pathetic.
Yes, the article has educated people. It educated me as it brought to my attention the lack of movement by feminists.
Not writing articles does zip for women under oppression. Silence means consent, so this article helped. It can be hard to help women in Afghanistan as some don't even want to be seen with Western women as they fear reprisals-I saw this on the CBC.
What is actually pathetic is the lack of dissing of the oppressive Islamic people and their dated beliefs. Nice to meet in person, but as a tribe, not up to Western, democratic standards.
Naomi here is pointing out that more needs to be done. She noticed some deafening silence. She made some noise, she did some work, now she expects support.
It's odd she noticed a silence, when I've seen plenty of articles about it. It hasn't been a quiet, unrecognized thing. What she's done is target a few single individuals who she has decided should take up the fight. She's decided that one woman wanting to educate about Peru is not sufficient... that woman should also educate about Afghanistan to make HER happy. It's ridiculous. She doesn't give a single address to write to voice unity for the women in Afghanistan. She doesn't direct her readers toward humanitarian organizations that are working in Afghanistan on women's rights (like amnesty international). All she does is complain, with no action offered.
In the news. You haven't read articles in the news? I sure have. I've also read statements that it was passed 'quietly', and that human rights groups hadn't had time to speak out before Karzai pushed it through, because it was kept hidden. It's hard to have humanitarian organizations know everything before it happens.
So, have you written to protest it yet? Paid some charity to Amnesty International so that they can protest on your behalf? Or are you also going to just complain that 'the feminists' aren't?
I've given and written.
Everyone knows Afghanistan is a basket case for human rights of all kinds. No news there.
You've given no examples. Again.
Maybe feminism is like capitalism, it figures it will just roll on like nothing has happened on the past year or so. Just ignore all opposition because we have such awesome ideas. We know for sure capitalism in the dock these days.