Inkless Wells

Paul Wells on all the latest out of Ottawa—along with the occasional post about jazz. Follow Paul on Twitter: @InklessPW

Categories: Capital Read, Inkless Wells

Canada has nothing to tell the world

by Paul Wells on Friday, August 8, 2008 12:27pm - 0 Comments

That’s the conclusion one must draw from the decision to can the program under which the Canadian government sent artists abroad, chronicled here by ITQ. Not for the first time, I’m left wishing the Harper government would work a little harder at imitating the Bush administration. Here are a few cultural and public diplomacy initiatives the State Department has funded in recent months:

• Sent eight U.S. college and university presidents to Brazil and Chile;

• Sent a former Major League Baseball player to Panama to help kids handle pop flies and grounders;

• Co-ordinated literature exchanges between publishing houses in the United States and partner publishers in Mexico, Pakistan and Northern Ireland.

All as part of a Global Cultural Initiative under the personal patronage of President and Mrs. Bush. Bunch of Communists.

Tags: cultural diplomacy, you need to save a buck to -- er -- save a buck

More by Paul Wells

madeyoulook

I must respectfully disagree with Paul, here. Canada has much to tell the world. I would like to think (in fact I do) that Canadians are quite capable of sharing their thoughts and expressions with our fellow earthlings — I just find it more than a little objectionable that taxpayers are required to subsidize the airfare, the restaurant meals, or the seven euro package of roasted almonds in the hotel room minibar. If international travel is the cost of doing business for some of these people, let that be factored into their revenues & expenses, and let them charge the proper price for their product. That other allegedly free-market nations’ governments are siphoning funds confiscated from their taxpayers for this purpose hardly justifies its presence here.
I am saddened that so many (see above) of my fellow citizens have so little respect for the taxpayer that they defend its principle (sometimes by questioning the patriotism of those who know we can stand on our own two feet without the demeaning handout), or belittle its cost (“relax, it’s only a few million a year…”).
If invited to do so (relax, lefties, it’ll never happen), I would seriously consider taking an unpaid leave of absence to review all federal government activity in a fiscal year, and list in a yellow book all expenditures that are within the federal government’s constitutional powers, a blue book for anything outside the constitution’s powers that were nonetheless promised by the party that won election in the last ten years, and a red book for anything else (which would include many of these “just a few million a year” inanities). The purpose would be for the federal parties to debate the withdrawal timetable of everything listed in the red book, a sunset clause formula for everything in the blue book, and a frank debate on how to apply themselves better to the mandates in the yellow book. Avi, you would pay your own way to play with the kangaroos, but you’ll have your self-esteem back! CBC, see ya. Coporate welfare: bye-bye. Etc.
That the economic impact of pink slips to so many would be so huge is a magnificent testament to the absurdity of continuing this insane inflation of government activity. Let public service workers go, free up the incredible amount of office space they fill up, absorb the bump in unemployment, let these people find “real jobs” out there, and watch the economy recover. Slash government spending, retire debt aggressively, cut taxes massively. Rent for office space will go down as supply goes up: start a business! The labour market pool will swell, so salaries will drop a bit; great, lower cost of doing business, and the income tax slash will help the middle manager public servant paper pusher tolerate a lower income in a real job.
I know, I know, it’s unpatriotic to think we could do with less government, apparently. I’m sorry, the last re-education camp weekend obviously did no good…
Dot

I always hesitate to court a discussion that is based upon ideology, by madeyoulook seems to be desperately looking for some polarizing banter.

I’m not sure I can rise to the challenge, but allow me to enter the lions den.

Madeyoulook, you dirty crook, you stole your mother’s pocket book.

Based upon this week’s numerous entries, you appear to have been the recipient of a publicly funded education, probably post secondary, maybe graduate. I assume you didn’t receive a BA or have studied the arts of any source then.

As you know, up until grade 12, it’s really only universities that have not been completely been publicly funded – and heavily subsidized by “the taxpayer”.

Have “our” funds been wasted on your education?

Wouldn’t we have been better off sending you to welding school instead? There seems to be a shortage of them here now in parts of Canada.
Sisyphus

Sadly,madeyoulook,re-education assumes that there is education in the first place. Libertarianism isn’t a function of education. It’s usually misdirected anger.
madeyoulook

madeyoulook seems to be desperately looking for some polarizing banter.
It being too far-fetched to expect that respect for the taxpayer might find someone, anyone, in agreement. Actually, it probably is too far-fetched, so I guess I am guilty as charged on that one.

allow me to enter the lions den
Meow. Don’t be shy…

Madeyoulook, you dirty crook, you stole your mother’s pocket book.
Actually, my mother stole mine, by voting for governments to send the bill to my generation. I have been dutifully paying taxes for years now to whittle away at the balance owing, but alas governments keep up with the power trip, doing more and more without ever stopping what they were doing before, and voters seem to support the “do more and more” parties more than the “respect the taxpayer” parties. So much so that I am having trouble even finding a true “respect the taxpayer” party. My own pathetic attempt to salvage my children’s future prosperity is to increase awareness, for which I am grateful to Macleans.ca for its indulgence. And I thank you for reading it and reflecting on it.

Based upon this week’s numerous entries, you appear to…
So that’s where my tea leaves got to! Does your guess at my profile somehow invalidate my way of thinking?

Have “our” funds been wasted on your education?
Ah, that’s it. I probably went to public school, so I should be grateful and keep quiet about expanding government.
Well, if my way of thinking (Canadian artists, journalists & businesses should be allowed to sink or swim without forced support from taxpayers) does not toe the permitted-thought party line, I suppose you might argue that they were wasted funds. If there was some way to reliably predict which kindergartners might grow up to be right-wing philosophers spewing their unwanted venom on blog comments, would you advocate that we not waste the dough on these fools, and send them straight to a trade school instead (in the debatable hope that a trade school will blunt an indivdual’s ability to think for oneself)? Would anyone want to live in such a country? On second thought, don’t answer that, I think I (would rather not?) (already?) know.
No argument, by the way, that we are suffering a lack of talented people developing skills in the trades. Too bad we’re so heavily subsidizing tuition in pub crawling, oops, I meant poli-sci studies, for our future burger-flippers.
Callout to constitutional scholars: isn’t education a provincial responsibility? If so, at the federal level, legitimate debate would centre around how much equalization and direct grants feed provinces to oversubsidize education, or how much meddling the feds are undertaking in the provinces’ field of responsibility. That is, if it’s ok for us lions to request such a debate.

See, I was really a cute little pussycat.
Richard

Ok, ok, ok. No more artists abroad. No more people giving speeches in foreign countries with government assistance. No more musicians in hotels. Let’s just stick to the core business of the federal government, thise which Conservative-minded and Libertarians can agree on. The items of great national importance. The ones clearly described as federal in our consitution.

Important things, like walking trails in hotly contested ridings:

http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=160794&sc=79
madeyoulook

Gee, Dot gave me a graduate education, and Sisyphus evaluates that I had none. Tell me, comrades, should I go get (more) education or should I attend anger management sessions?

Actually, thanks to Richard’s link to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s latest “investment” in the prosperity of a hiking trail, I’d better sign up for anger management. Otherwise I might need a subsidized doctor to manage my high blood pressure whenever I get to see a subsidized doctor, if I am lucky, in the next three years.
Dot

MYL writes: “So that’s where my tea leaves got to! Does your guess at my profile somehow invalidate my way of thinking?”

Actually, my leap of faith was based upon your comment in another pw blog on university rankings: “Shh, people, not so loud! McGill can lead the world, just so long as it is number 2 in Québec.”

Frankly, your protestations should be put in this context, and context is important.

I could say more, a lot more, but I won’t, only to note that you didn’t reply to my conclusion that you didn’t obtain a BA, or take any related courses – a conscious decision made in your adult (not kindergarten years). Which would make your anti-arts funding argument lame.

But, maybe if you do in fact have a liberal arts degree, it may explain what appears to be your underlying philosophy “I’m already on board, thank god. Now for heaven’s sake, pull up the drawbridge”.
madeyoulook

you didn’t obtain a BA, or take any related courses – a conscious decision made in your adult (not kindergarten years). Which would make your anti-arts funding argument lame.
Ah, now I am starting to see the picture. My opinion is unworthy because I have not been trained properly. Please, tell me more, so that my re-education can progress.

But, maybe if you do in fact have a liberal arts degree, it may explain what appears to be your underlying philosophy “I’m already on board, thank god. Now for heaven’s sake, pull up the drawbridge”.
Or, option 2, I am an ungrateful SOB who benefitted from screwing over the taxpayer that it is unworthy of me to wish to now show the taxpayer some respect. Darn, now I am confused again.

Here is poor widdle taxpaying me wondering why self-employed business people who sell their artistic talents for a living somehow can’t possibly fend for themselves without state-sanctioned thievery from my paycheque, when there are so many other self-employed business people who seem to have figured out how to make a living.

You know why there is no “respect the taxpayer” party? Because it’s not just taxpayers who vote. There is a sizable portion of the population who benefits from this forced transfer of wealth out of the productive economy, and who therefore see nothing wrong with this. Serves them right, those rich creeps, bleed them for all they’re worth, there’s a child going hungry, bleed them, bleed them some more, Avi wants to go to Sydney.
Dot

I’m sure had you let the unicorns on the Ark, they’d have ultimately formed the “respect the taxpayer” party.

It’s not what you know, it’s who you, Noah.

Excuse me as I retire from further stimulating debate.
madeyoulook

Thus endeth the incomplete re-education of one misdirected-anger-filled drawbridge-drawing libertarian, who at least now has an inkling as to why respect for the taxpayer is extinct. I will forevermore wave my fist in anger at the rain. Good night, Dot.
Richard

Hey madeyoulook – take a hike!

After all, the government’s paying for it…
Dot

Well, given that it’s the seventh day, I’m sure you’ll rest well.

For 1/0
Jack Mitchell

Well, I’ll say this, madeyoulook gets a lot of mileage out of his anonymity.
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