[mobglob-discuss] Fw: The Greens are right, right?

[Liz]

It's funny, but the guy, the green leader, even looks conservative, in a classical way. So that's good for the NDP in that they will draw some votes away from the new, NOT progressive, Conservatives. What erks me is how the media is insisting on framing this election as a two way race. Hopefully there are enough people out there who don't trust the corporate media any more, especially after they got herded into voting Liberal in the last provincial election. Also, the movie Corporation should give people pause to question the sort of information they are getting from the media. Even the CBC is not taking the NDP seriously, yet. 
Liz Thor-Larsen
For platform info (and some pro ndp cheerleading) see www.ndp.ca
But, we're definitely against weapons in space; for $15,000/year minimum personal tax exemption; and shifting some of the tax burden back to the corporations and the wealthy in canadian society.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Paul Browning 
  To: mobglob-discuss at resist.ca ; vancouver-activist at yahoogroups.ca 
  Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2004 11:19 PM
  Subject: [mobglob-discuss] Fw: The Greens are right, right?


   
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: "Murray Dobbin" <mdobbin at telus.net>
  To: <mdobbin at telus.net>
  Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2004 2:19 PM
  Subject: The Greens are right, right?


  > Globe and Mail
  > Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004
  > The Greens are right, right?
  > 
  > By MURRAY DOBBIN Globe and Mail Update
  > 
  > 
  > It is intriguing to watch the coverage of the Green Party in the federal
  > election because the conventional wisdom -- that it will take votes from the
  > NDP -- is confounded by the party's actual policies. While the analysis is
  > likely correct, a look at Green policies reveals that this party is really a
  > Conservative alternative, not a social democratic one. Its fiscal, economic
  > and even environmental policies would be a near perfect fit for the old
  > Progressive Conservative party.
  > 
  > In fact, the Greens are led by a former Tory, Jim Harris, and under his
  > direction have become the quintessential small government, pro-market party.
  > 
  > Their social analysis says virtually nothing about the structural causes of
  > poverty, and their solutions borrow from both the former PCs and the
  > Alliance. They talk about how a Green government would "enhance the existing
  > network of . . . school nutrition . . . and food-bank programs . . ." to
  > eliminate hunger in Canada. Those who study poverty with a view to ending it
  > see food banks not as a solution, but as a symbol of everything that is
  > wrong with the way governments approach poverty.
  > 
  > The party is committed to smaller government in a way that no other party
  > is, except the new Conservatives. With respect to the devastated federal
  > public service -- characterized by massive downsizing, unprecedented stress
  > levels, completely inadequate staffing to carry out department mandates and
  > years without real increases in pay -- the Green Party has a single
  > response, and it sounds a lot like Stephen Harper's: "Reform the public
  > sector to be more responsive and accountable." This is union busting by
  > another name, and seems to promise the continuation of the right-wing
  > assault on government employees. If you want the public service to be
  > "responsive," the logical solution is to return it to functional staffing
  > levels.
  > 
  > The Greens' fiscal policies are among their most reactionary and
  > problematic. They toe the Bay Street line by promising to "lower taxes on
  > income, profit and investment, to promote increased productivity and job
  > creation." As for addressing the problem of chronically high unemployment,
  > the party takes a page out of Paul Martin's book of maintaining extremely
  > low inflation -- Greens will still fight inflation by putting people out of
  > work unless unemployment rises above 10 per cent. These policies have been
  > notable failures for the past 15 years -- lowering wages, increasing the
  > productivity gap with the United States and creating mostly low-wage jobs --
  > and certainly have no place in the platform of a party that pitches its
  > appeals to social democrats.
  > 
  > Any increase in revenue from promised Green taxes on "harmful activities"
  > would be neutralized by lowering income taxes, the most progressive and fair
  > taxes we have. The Greens also call for an increase in property taxes, a
  > regressive tax. They are committed to using surpluses to ". . . reduce the
  > national debt." In other words, the party is to the right of all the major
  > parties, which are now committing billions for spending on social programs
  > that Canadians say they want.
  > 
  > One of the most remarkable aspects of the Green platform is the lack of any
  > commitment to using government legislation or regulation to accomplish core
  > environmental goals.
  > 
  > Here are just a few examples: "The Green Party will: Empower [bioregional]
  > stewards to seek intervenor status in legal actions that impact the health
  > of the ecosystem; . . . work with local environmental groups to reduce
  > pollution levels in the air, water and soil; promote sustainability through
  > education; and monitor the diversity of species, the levels of pollution and
  > the health of the ecosystem."These are not the actions of a government
  > committed to using its mandated power to actually protect the environment.
  > The party also supports the corporate sector's position on self-regulation:
  > "The Green Party will assist and encourage Canadian companies to attain ISO
  > 14000 certification, the international standard for management." The ISO
  > 14000 has been almost universally condemned by the international
  > environmental movement as ineffective and unreliable.
  > 
  > Those Canadians thinking of voting Green because they believe it is
  > progressive had better do their homework. There is more to this party than
  > the user-friendly name would suggest.
  > 
  > Murray Dobbin is author of Paul Martin: CEO for Canada? 


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