TRENDING, SPENDING, BENDING THE ELECTORATE
Saturday, July 17, 2021
We are still reeling. Just about any sunshine-blowing activity soothes, but it’s like putting sunscreen on after you’ve burned …
We’ve been through the emotion rigour-twisting turmoil no less emotionally draining than our parent’s generation endured (they had a depression, a drought, a world war, a Korean conflict, and a cold war + polio) – we did this in 18 months.
I love reading articles, op-ed pieces, and well-informed ‘vision of our future’ news. I don’t internalize all I read, but I pay attention.
I find it interesting when themes emerge.
Case in point:
High-speed rail lines didn’t make economic sense at any time in the last fifty years – suddenly in vogue. Calgary to Banff, Calgary to Edmonton, Toronto to Montreal – to Quebec City. Untold billions will be spent on construction projects that aren’t needed, plus cost-overruns. Too many billions will find their way to those who don’t need help, and the climate of our country will not improve as a result.
Sure, disadvantaged groups might earn their way closer to the front of the line, but this is more about politicians spending like drunken sailors while we are distracted by the best/worst news du jour that isn’t COVID infused.
It’s no surprise that governments in Canada are throwing bundles of cash at anything that even smells like a problem. One could easily discount and attribute this to the ESG fad, the indigenous empathy bandwagon, or impending elections. Partly true, and those issues are hot button topics – and focusing on those deflects our attention away from government scandals, government blunders, sexual improprieties and the spectrum of crimes in our military and police forces.