It's Time They Walk the Walk

Originally Posted to 'the Fake Headlines' by Margie

While I was a worker in health care we went into bargaining only to hear the same tired old statement "Sorry, there is no money for you this time." We went six years just fighting tooth and nail to hold on to what we had and in the last year I was able to work,we LOST money, benefits and positions; yet, in this 9 year period government instituted the practise of paying the CEO's commensurate with the private sector complete with gold plated benefits package. To add insult to injury, the Premier and the elected voted themselves the "standard" raise along complete with gold plated benefits; the latter was given to people with little or no experience and not even showing IF they could do the job.
To date Canadian private sector CEO's cleared the tidy sum of $70,000 by the time we were watching the 6pm news on Jan 2, 2007 with the highest paid getting a cool $570,000!
Add to the above a Prime Minister who thinks anything American is all but straight from God Himself, has adopted the made in the USA idea of security budgeting or as I refer to it- WAR budgeting. Harper has ear marked billions of dollars for military purposes and has even gone so far as to taking steps to pay one billion for a plane without putting it out to bids. If we are to believe the Spaniards, this plane is not even suited to Canadian needs- but somehow I do not find that at all surprising.
So, can you see where I am going with this? Day in and day out we are told by government ; "We cannot afford health care; we cannot afford dignified and loving care for those who fought for and who built this country ; we cannot afford to eradicate the suffering of the battered and abused, the poor and the homeless; we cannot afford to ensure our future by seeing to it that our youth are fed a healthy diet and receive a good and full education."
At the same time private sector CEO's say to the employees who come to them for a raise or improvement in benefits; "Sorry no can do; if we gave you more money then our services or products would lose their competitiveness in today's markets."
To be fair, all levels of government and the private sector CEO's are telling the truth (for once!). They in many ways cannot afford to pay workers more money and give them better benefits because, governments are mismanaging OUR tax dollars (while ensuring they get more then their fair share from the trough )and the private sector they are putting it all in THEIR pockets!
Now the big question; what are we going to do with this knowledge? We have gone far past the day of holding the feet of gluttons to the fire BUT it is not too late.
We should be contacting the offices of every and ALL of the elected that we can find; there must be a review of CEO's salaries and how they are being taxed. Can you imagine what FAIR taxation would do for this country?
There is no person who has education and capabilities that warrant such obscene salaries and benefits in the private sector, thus the government has to be told that the practise of paying commensurate wages to government CEO's must cease!
Each politician likes to tell us that their mandate is to work for all citizens; well they talk the talk so now it is time for them to walk the walk!