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Fletcher over the top again

Re: “NDP’s Problems Run Deep,” January 26

Re: “NDP’s Problems Run Deep,” January 26

Once again Tom Fletcher attacks democracy. This time referring to it as “stinky” because Adrian Dix got his act together and signed up a lot of new NDP memberships in the Vancouver South Asian and Filipino communities.

Why does it matter to Fletcher that they are Asian or Filipino? Why not just “Vancouver South Communities”? Would he be more comfortable with a provision stipulating there be at least one cracker in their woodpile or perhaps just a “newbies exclusion” clause?

He’s looking for effect of course, trying to scare us with the idea that our perfect system is being corrupted by the abuse of immigrants, in this case the “yellow menace.” His whole column is fear mongering, the summation of which amounts to: vote NDP and we’ll have socialism — soooooocialism! — SOOOOOOOOOOOOOCIALISM! Quick honey! Get the family to the safe room before the red zombie hordes give us universal health care — OH, NO! We’re too late! Hurry, board up the windows before they provide old age security pensions to the grandparents — OH, NO! Too late again! They even created a pension for our mentally challenged, left-leaning son! OHHHHHH! THE HUMANITY! Great scott! Now they’ve teamed up with the unions! Break out the shotguns or we’ll all be working for decent wages and spending weekends and holidays with our families!

I’m surprised Fletcher didn’t quote Ayn Rand’s Fountain Head or reiterate Senator McCain’s Joe the Plumber — which even the Americans didn’t buy. Why? Because for some reason, under capitalism, it’s okay to throw $700 billion to the richest one per cent of society when it’s their own greed that brings down the house of cards. Wow, $700 billion (1.3 trillion if you look at the total recapitalization). Suddenly free enterprise doesn’t sound so free; it sounds expensive. And who’s going to pick up that bill? Why, Joe the Plumber, of course. The one per cent would love to, but their money’s all tied up in Jersey or the Caymans.

Unfortunately, that’s the game we have to play with corporations. Their mandate is purely profit and that boils down to extracting resources without any social commitments and getting the wealth out into the banking shell game where shareholders can wallow in it.

No wonder the Liberals have been hobbling any Crown ownership. That’s wealth that would stay in our pockets. If you disagree, consider where Nelson would be if we didn’t have our own electric utility.

So, how do the Liberals plan to maintain our safety nets? Create more need for them by imposing the HST.

Mike Pearce

Nelson