Who, Exactly, Is Behind The Fine Folks That Want Us To Race To The Bottom?

Let'sTakeAwayEverything
AndThenWe'llAllBeUnhappyVille

_____

Update: Tweetfight between CTF's Jordan Bateman, Bill Tieleman and Laila Yule, here...Dean Skoreyko weighs in and notes that yes....BC conservatives did, in fact, take Mr. Bateman's predecessor Sara McIntyre to task for the CTF's support of the HST here...Now that's grass roots!

Double-Secret Probation Update: Spartikus, over at the Exile on Ennui St, has done multiple, in-depth fiskings of the CTF, here...

_____

So.

Let's say that, suddenly, universal healthcare was only universal for half of Canada's population.

Or...

That a public-school education was only available to half of our kids.

Or...

That public transit could only be used by half of our citizenry.

What would we do?

Would we, as taxpayers, suddenly start clamouring that we should get rid of public healthcare, schools, or transit because half of us don't get it?

Or would we demand that things changed so that we all get it?

****

Of course, the great dismantling, wherein people become convinced that we must always pull each other down rather than help each other up is what the 'politics of division' is all about.

Which is something that is being waged very successfully down south.

But all this dividing and conquering and divvying-up of the spoils does not start at the ballot box.

Instead, the offensive begins with surrogates and fronts and astroturf groups who do all the front-end fomenting that then makes it possible for elected officials like, say, Paul Ryan to pretend that he will not kill Medicare while he puts the shiv in, deep.

But is this kind of thing happening in Canada?

Well....

Did you notice that whispering wind from the wurlitzer that started out here in BC a couple of days ago, but which has since started blowing nationally, that is telling us that we have to gut public sector pensions because not enough people in the private sector have comparable ones?

Well, that tickle in your ear was started by a very fine, out-front group called the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Which is supported by 'taxpayers'.

Right?

Well, David Shreck (not Shrek!) got to wondering about this very thing not long ago, and here is what he discovered:

...After watching Voice of BC on June 28 with host Vaughn Palmer interviewing Philip Hochstein from the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of BC and Jordan Bateman from the CTF I started looking for more information about the CTF. After all, we are all taxpayers but I don't recall being asked if the CTF could speak on my behalf. I went to the CTF website in order to look for its financial statements and constitution, curious as to how its directors are elected. The organization that is quick to criticize governments for lack of transparency is far from transparent. It takes some searching but financial highlights can be found which shows it received $3.4 million in donations in 2011, up from $3.2 million in 2010. It paid one person between $91,000 and $110,000, four people between $71,000 and $90,000, and five less than $71,000. A search of the Industry Canada website indicated its last annual meeting was held in 2005 and it has not filed returns for 2011 or 2012; however, after Tweeting that discovery, its Alberta Director and National Communications Manager, Scott Hennig, responded that the Industry Canada information is out of date. My advice is for the CTF to get the information updated and to also provide it on its own website.

Mr. Hennig was most helpful in answering questions about the governance of the Taxpayers Federation. When asked if its 70,000 "supporters" are eligible to elect who is on its board of directors, he Tweeted that only the directors are eligible to elect directors! In other words, the $3.4 million in donations received by CTF is under the direction of five people who elect themselves and choose whoever they want to fill any vacancy; no one else has any control over the organization. Of course, donors could withdraw their contributions if they became unhappy, but how many of those donors know that the Taxpayers Federation has a self-perpetuating board of directors with no accountability to a membership base? Its website reports: "CTF offices field hundreds of media interviews each month, hold press conferences and issue regular news releases, commentaries, online postings and publications to advocate the common interest of taxpayers. CTF representatives speak at functions, make presentations to government, meet with politicians, and organize petition drives, events and campaigns to mobilize citizens to affect public policy change." How many media or politicians know that the CTF is governed by five people who have the power to elect themselves and are not accountable to anyone else?

While I don't always agree with the points of view offered by the Taxpayers Federation, I don't dispute its right to contribute to debate on public policy. However, when it comes to fundraising, I believe not-for-profits should be as transparent as charities, and if a governance structure allows no challenge in elections to a board of directors, potential donors should be fully aware of that form of tight control. Mr. Hennig Tweeted: "Those who are interested know"...


Hmmmmm.....

Is it possible that,  'those who are interested' love the smell of astroturf in the morning?


______
For their next trick....Watch out for the blades of the wurlitzer in the next day of two at the end of a slow news week as the CTF tries to co-opt Labour Day because, you know, organized labour is not actually supported by its members....Or some such thing...
And, it is worth noting that, for those who like to do crazy stuff like dig into past performance to figure out what someone is up to in the here and now....The size of the turf  'patch doesn't have to be very big to get the job done...

.