When a leader such as Christy Clark, Justin Trudeau or even Donald Trump assumes the title of premier, prime minister or president, any fundraising they take on while acting as that body's head should go to pay down the debt.
Being premier or president logically implies a balanced overview and dedication to that office only, not to the party. Such integrity would ensure bribes or vote buying is lessened or, as Clark calls it, a distraction is removed.
The recent fundraising event showcasing Trudeau, Trump, and the singing Mulroney (who also serenaded Reagan) is certainly a good example of a distraction.
What in the world is Trudeau thinking? Mulroney negotiated the free trade deal that Trump calls a failure and that the Canadian forest industry has been litigating for years since it, our major industry, wasn't included.
But maybe Trudeau's thinking that because Karl Hans Schreiber's association with Mulroney led the former PM to reluctantly file a questionable $300,000 in taxable income six years after the fact and Trump's failure to disclose his taxes that they just might be able to rip off everyone. And Clark puts her faith in David Emerson, who defected from the federal Liberals immediately after his election when Stephen Harper offered him a cabinet post.
No trust issue there?
Reading Noam Chomsky's great 1990s book Deterring Democracy was deja vu. What made America great? Fear!
Trump's fear of Muslims and Mexicans is a lever to divert tax revenue from social programs into corporate welfare. Twenty to 30 years ago, fear of drugs, Communism, and growing nationalism and union movements, spurred U.S- financed revolutions that catered to American corporate goals in Nicaraqua, Grenada, El Salvador and Panama. Human rights lawsuits against Canadian mining companies in Latin America are just a logical result of U.S. policy. Each of the countries under U.S.-installed tin pot dictatorships went backwards in both human rights and democracy.
Many Republicans, Trump, and Mulroney all seemed to like this style of Reaganomics. Why?
Trump's voting base was blue colour yet his hero Reagan fired, all at once, 12,000 air traffic controllers who were on strike. It will take another big lie for him to explain that anomaly.
911 was a wake up call to unchecked American economic and military aggression as was the formerly U.S.-supported Saddam Hussein's regime (necessary to keep a hostage-taking Iran in check), until Saddam started to demand Arab oil for Arabs. Then he became toast.
Corporate welfare, tax cuts, and the anti-democratic Trump team are more likely to make America grope again rather than great.
Alan Martin
Prince George
