...Banning Union And Corporate Political Donations Could Result In Public Money Being Spent On Crazy Stuff Like Democracy.
BC Liberal Minister for 'Healthy Living and Sport' (yes, that really is a New Christy's Minstrels Ministry apparently), Ms. Mary Polak, responds to Dipper leader Adrian Dix' announcement that, if elected, his government will enact legislation to end corporate AND union donations to political parties:
...The Liberals are the only major player left in B.C. politics that objects to an outright ban of corporate and union donations, a stance Polak attributes to its "straightforward" attitude.
"We're not trying to choose issues that pander to one part of the voting base," she said in a telephone interview.
"The reality is, in jurisdictions where you ban union and corporate donations, what you end up with is taxpayers funding political parties," Polak said. "That's what we've seen federally, and it's what you see commonly in jurisdictions where they make these bans."
She pointed to a system introduced by former-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in 1993 that saw per-vote subsidies given to parties in lieu of corporate and union donations as proof taxpayers would eventually hold the tab.
Without corporate and union donations, Polak said parties will eventually look elsewhere when individual donations don't come through, adding individual donations don't work because political parties aren't often at the top of people's financial giving lists in difficult economic times...
Hmmmmm....
Individual donations don't work?
Don't work for whom, exactly, Ms. Polak?
And, further...
Which part of the voting base, exactly, do you not pander to?
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The projection here, given Ms. Polak's political roots, is really and truly incredible...
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4 comments:
This is as bad as the editorial page The Province Paper gave her to expound how great BC ferries are. This doesn't take into account the damage done to Vancouver Island by making the ferries unaffordable. I still want some politician with the fortitude to suggest that we need a second route to the interior through Powell River. Piss on the lower mainland make it so we don't have to waste all that gas getting out of that cesspool. A Vancouver Island Separatist
" a second route to the interior through Powell River. Piss on the lower mainland make it so we don't have to waste all that gas getting out of that cesspool."
What a marvelous idea, maybe through Seton Portage (we used to have a cheap train thru there daily, before Gordo the Capo gave it away).
On my way from the Kootenays to Lasquiti, Coombs or Vickytown, I certainly wouldn't miss not having to go through the Black Hole down by the Sea where all our money goes! (Apologies to John Prine)
I really don;t understand if these people even think.
Right now, when corporations (and unions I would guess) donate to political campaigns, I am morally certain that they can deduct some percentage of that donation from their tax liabilities. Is that not just another form of "taxpayers funding political parties", albeit once-removed?
Also, we're told over and over by Liberals and economists that a major reason for not raising corporate tax rates is that they will just pass the tax increase on when they price their goods and services. So WE pay for it anyway.
If this is true, do you truly believe that they are not passing any costs of political donations on to us right now? It's schizophrenic to think otherwise...mind you, that appears to be a large part of the definition of a neoliberal: the ability to take either of two divergent paths on any issue!
Mike
Mike--
Absolutely.
And that is precisely the case that Integrity BC is now making.
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