I see Alison Redford made some headlines today.
She's seeking to tackle the important problem of reviewing MLA compensation, and possibly cutting or removing some MLA entitlements.
According to the Calgary Herald:
"This is all about transparency," Redford said Tuesday on the campaign trail. "I want to show Albertans they can trust the party and they can trust the government."
Oooh. What a rebel she is.
And, of course, other MLA's jump in line to "kiss babies" along with her. You know - make symbolic efforts that do absolutely nothing to help the citizens, but make for good public relations.
Which is all this is.
Meanwhile.
When Judges are appointed in Alberta, once surviving the judicial selection process to narrow down candidates, Ms. Redford has shown that she is no different than any other PC Minister of Justice - she hands out plumb judicial appointments based primarily on service and connection to the party.
Tell us about your plans to reform that Ms. Redford.
Meanwhile, when asked about why she hasn't raised the issue of Gar Mar's plumb allocation of untendered contracts to his former executive assistant to the tune of $484,000.00, a cat has got her tongue.
She has nothing to say.
Nor does any leadership candidate asked the same question, other than Doug Griffiths, who did respond:
At least Doug responded, though I think that saying, basically, "No one has asked me about it" isn't the most helpful response.@GriffMLA re debate, why no discussion re Gary Mar's diversion of over $400,000 tax dollars in untendered contracts to his former EA?»@Rob_Harvie I think you will probably need to ask those who format the debate or those who ask the questions. I have power over neither.
And there's the rub.
These people work for us, the taxpayers.
Yet - on the inside, behind the doors, in places that you don't see - they make their decisions, award contracts and positions of significant importance to Albertans, spending Albertans tax dollars - based upon the degree of connection and support for the party.
And Alison Redford can kiss as many babies as she wants, but what I am still waiting for is someone who shows a willingness to really change the culture of cronyism in the PC Party of Alberta.
She talks a good game - but when the rubber hits the road, its all talk, no substance.
Something to think about, taking a quick look at the 2011 budget:
Total Provincial Budget - 2011: $38,400,000,000.00
Total Spending on Health Care - 2011:$15,000,000.00
Total Spending on MLA Compesnation - 2011: $16,950,000.00.
See what a "big deal" MLA Compensation is, in the big picture?
What this, essentially, tells you about Alison Redford's big announcement, is that, effectively, she's doing nothing more than, well, kissing babies.
2 comments:
I have commented to you previously that I support the Wildrose Alliance Party. Do I believe they will do better than present administration? Only for a limited period of time. These populist parties emerge with grandiose plans to do government differently and, for a while, after they gain power, (I figure 5-6 years)they are a new broom that sweeps clean. But midway through a second term the rot begins to set in. The professional liars (media and image consultants) start to gain more influence and the spin ramps up. The professional politicians and bureaucrats (those who have never done an honest day's work in their lives) change their allegiances and don the face of the new party. All of them are graduates in political science or social administration university programs where they learn at the knee of socialist professors. Like rats they scurry into the new party's apparatus and spread their collectivist doctrine like a virus. By the time two terms have passed the once new party is up to its neck in socialist spend, spend, spend dogma and is making behind-closed-door deals to favour their sycophantic hangers-on and keep the information from the public.
However, if the public is really lucky, they get 4 to 6 years of half decent governance before it disappears into the slimy underworld that is politics.
Powell,
I have an abiding belief that, in time, everything finds it's best "self".
Maybe it takes a long, long time - but as we're seeing today, the idea that a country can "spend" its way into prosperity has lost favor all over the world.
The same will hold true, eventually with politicians in our country.
If may not happen tomorrow, or even during our lives, but the cream will eventually rise.
The people can only be stupid for so long before failure educates them.
Eventually, I think there will be changes all over the world where new visions of the ideal manner of governance will arise - I mean in the scope of the blink of an eye in human history terms, we've moved from barbarians, to the Romans and the Greeks, to western democracy.. And we continue to evolve.. Because what works will survive, and what doesn't will die.
Who knows. Perhaps we'll eventually evolve to a sort of Athenian democracy where the government is "elected" from group chosen by lot - removing parties all together and the graft inherent in party politics.
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