Families Can't Eat Fireworks

Vancouver, British Columbia
49°15' North; 123°08' West

The apparently no-longer-feral Mr. Gary Collins has good news for all British Columbians.

We are now running $2Billion surplus.

Now, never mind the massive short-term bulge in commodity exports that produced the flashpowder for this surplus.

And whatever you do, don't consider the one time Federal Gov't windfall that is the fuse that has been inserted into this surplus

And most of all, do not even think about the fact that it has been the sales of hard assets that we will have to rent back until after we're all dead that gave Mr. Collins the matches to light a fire under this surplus.

Because it's Mr. Collins job to make us forget all those things while he uses them to orchestrate the blindingly bright, but very short-lived, fireworks show exploding high above the SS Gordon Campbell.

It is a spectacle that is being taped even as write this so that it can be re-played over and over and over again during the Ad-Blitz that will run non-stop from now until election day.

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Why does this no substance flash across our horizon bug me so much?

Because I have seen, up close and personal, just how mean-spirited and bullying Mr. Campbell's regime has been in simultaneously carrying out its dubious social agenda.

Specifically, I volunteer with a small time non-profit agency that families get by when they need help.

Well, actually that is 'used to' help poor families.

Why the past tense?

Because last fall, just as it was being revealed that the Ministry of Child and Family Services had cut/slashed/wasted tens of millions of dollars, we, like hundreds of other similar small non-profit social service agencies, had our funding cut off completely.

And how much did Mr. Campbell get to steal for his fireworks show to kill us off and deprive hundreds of families of needed services that we supported?

A grand total of a lousy $28,000 dollars per year.

That goes into two billion about 71, 429 times.

Which works out to a whole lot of families, and old people, and disabled people, and hungry people, and sick people, and just plain people that have been robbed of goods and services for no good reason at all.

So, please excuse me if I refuse to watch the show.