We deserve better!
In the 1976 movie "Network", Peter Finch portrays a network anchorperson who gets so fed up that he screams '...I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore...'
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=network+the+movie&docid=4655114183967048&mid=5D2D9172BE17CA6F48465D2D9172BE17CA6F4846&view=detail&FORM=VIRE2
Given the current state of politics and the abysmal lack of leadership being shown at both the provincial and federal levels, I am feeling the same level of frustration. But lacking a television studio from which to pontificate, I will use this forum.
Living in Ontario it is clear that the inmates have finally taken over the asylum. Dalton McGuinty essentially charged the Ontario taxpayers something in excess of $500 million (perhaps closer to a billion dollars when all is said and done) in order to secure two parliamentary seats in the last election which assured his Liberal party of a narrow minority. And now, under oath, he declared that he was simply doing the right thing for the people of each riding. His unrepentant testimony was, in my opinion, a blatant lie and was compounded only by the cowardice he displayed in proroguing Parliament while stepping down as Premier. Now, in order to retain power, his successor has introduced a budget which is essentially the platform of the third place party.
What am I missing? How can we start to hold these people accountable for their actions. Apart from an insurrection or waiting 4 years for the next election, we must have some means of addressing this type of incompetency. Our political leaders have always been about plying the taxpayers with programs with money borrowed from the future generations, for the sole purpose of re-election. But the extent to which these activities have grown has passed from simple pandering of the electorate to outright betrayal of their elected responsibilities. I'm mad as hell and I don't want to take this anymore. The question is how to respond.
Taxpayers need to take back control from the politicians. Their level of entitlement no longer allows them the luxury of self governance. Politicians, and party leaders in particular, must be held criminally responsible for their actions. Laws must be passed that hold these people to the proper level of accountability and there must be penalties that include both fines and imprisonment for those who are convicted of abuse. Defeating them in a future election is simply insufficient because, for the most part, they will only retire and collect a guaranteed and inflated pension.
We see the same entitlement and irresponsibility coming from our Senate as well. Currently there are several members of that group who are under investigation for misuse of public funds and we have little to no recourse in removing them from office.
Our US friends are equally disenfranchised with the government shut down that has been orchestrated by only about 40 members of the House of Representatives. Their collective refusal to act in the best interests of the American people on an issue already resolved through due process and legal challenges is putting in jeopardy the US economy and, by extension, the world's economy. Their actions are, at best, self serving. At worst they are alarmingly irresponsible.
Why must we settle for less than the best? Why is it that politics seems to attract only those who either incompetents with elitist attitudes or those who are simply the puppets of special interest groups? Our choices too often boil down to the lesser of the evils...dumb versus dumber.
Maybe it is just me...my standards are too high and therefore my expectations are always let down. But somehow I don't think that I am alone in this frustration. I don't see any benevolent dictator on the horizon, so what are we to do.
I am open to your suggestions, even if it only to vent your frustrations as well. The forum is open for comments.
.
In the 1976 movie "Network", Peter Finch portrays a network anchorperson who gets so fed up that he screams '...I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore...'
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=network+the+movie&docid=4655114183967048&mid=5D2D9172BE17CA6F48465D2D9172BE17CA6F4846&view=detail&FORM=VIRE2
Given the current state of politics and the abysmal lack of leadership being shown at both the provincial and federal levels, I am feeling the same level of frustration. But lacking a television studio from which to pontificate, I will use this forum.
Living in Ontario it is clear that the inmates have finally taken over the asylum. Dalton McGuinty essentially charged the Ontario taxpayers something in excess of $500 million (perhaps closer to a billion dollars when all is said and done) in order to secure two parliamentary seats in the last election which assured his Liberal party of a narrow minority. And now, under oath, he declared that he was simply doing the right thing for the people of each riding. His unrepentant testimony was, in my opinion, a blatant lie and was compounded only by the cowardice he displayed in proroguing Parliament while stepping down as Premier. Now, in order to retain power, his successor has introduced a budget which is essentially the platform of the third place party.
What am I missing? How can we start to hold these people accountable for their actions. Apart from an insurrection or waiting 4 years for the next election, we must have some means of addressing this type of incompetency. Our political leaders have always been about plying the taxpayers with programs with money borrowed from the future generations, for the sole purpose of re-election. But the extent to which these activities have grown has passed from simple pandering of the electorate to outright betrayal of their elected responsibilities. I'm mad as hell and I don't want to take this anymore. The question is how to respond.
Taxpayers need to take back control from the politicians. Their level of entitlement no longer allows them the luxury of self governance. Politicians, and party leaders in particular, must be held criminally responsible for their actions. Laws must be passed that hold these people to the proper level of accountability and there must be penalties that include both fines and imprisonment for those who are convicted of abuse. Defeating them in a future election is simply insufficient because, for the most part, they will only retire and collect a guaranteed and inflated pension.
We see the same entitlement and irresponsibility coming from our Senate as well. Currently there are several members of that group who are under investigation for misuse of public funds and we have little to no recourse in removing them from office.
Our US friends are equally disenfranchised with the government shut down that has been orchestrated by only about 40 members of the House of Representatives. Their collective refusal to act in the best interests of the American people on an issue already resolved through due process and legal challenges is putting in jeopardy the US economy and, by extension, the world's economy. Their actions are, at best, self serving. At worst they are alarmingly irresponsible.
Why must we settle for less than the best? Why is it that politics seems to attract only those who either incompetents with elitist attitudes or those who are simply the puppets of special interest groups? Our choices too often boil down to the lesser of the evils...dumb versus dumber.
Maybe it is just me...my standards are too high and therefore my expectations are always let down. But somehow I don't think that I am alone in this frustration. I don't see any benevolent dictator on the horizon, so what are we to do.
I am open to your suggestions, even if it only to vent your frustrations as well. The forum is open for comments.
.
