We already have a two-tier society
I find it odd that certain Canadians decry any hint of two-tiering our crumbling health system, when you consider the fact that those who will bleat the loudest about the private sector having a role in curing our ills, are the same ones who already take full and over-privileged advantage of their very special tier, that gives them an entitlement that the rest of us can only dream of. Dream of, yet pay for.
I am talking, of course, of the exalted souls on the public tit, the public (so-called) servants, including government employees of all ilk, school teachers, and anyone else who pulls their pay from my tax dollar. These are the people who not only pull down exceedingly pleasing salaries, but can also boast almost total job security, and avail themselves of such perks as ludicrously extensive vacation time, sick time, pension plans, health plans, bonuses, and the right, when they retire at 55, to then double-dip into other 'public' purse financed enterprises in the community.
They, needless to say, live in a 'special' world, only open to the very few. How many people without a government or strong union (oh, did I mention that these are the most 'unionized' workers in society?) ever even hear of positions in the BC Ferries fleet, or in government liquor stores? These jobs aren't even advertised. And, if they were, it would make no difference, because the fix is already in. How many relatives of teachers and principals get stuck on the 'teacher-on-call' list ad infinitum? Very few. Ten minutes out of teachers' college, and still peeing their trainers, these kids will get a fulltime classroom job in a trice. Others, not connected, will be subbing for years.
There was a time when public servants got these perks because they were actually paid less than those in the private sector, so bonuses were offered to attract the higher-end of the mediocre. No longer is this the case, and it has not been so for at least a generation. So, why does the inequity continue? Why do the rest of us, health care plan-less, and pension-less, go without and also suffer the indignity of paying for the benefits of these bozos?
Why, because they are the ones who make the rules for themselves and their ilk. We suffer from the delusion that we live in a democracy and that our politicians make the laws. Not so. The top bureaucrats do. They call the shots, and they look out for their own. Anyone who ever watched the brilliantly cynical and honest Brit series Yes, Minister knows that to be true.
"First, we kill the lawyers," said the Bard. Better yet (not that killing the lawyers is a bad thing), is first we kill the public servants, and that will starve out many of the lawyers.
I am talking, of course, of the exalted souls on the public tit, the public (so-called) servants, including government employees of all ilk, school teachers, and anyone else who pulls their pay from my tax dollar. These are the people who not only pull down exceedingly pleasing salaries, but can also boast almost total job security, and avail themselves of such perks as ludicrously extensive vacation time, sick time, pension plans, health plans, bonuses, and the right, when they retire at 55, to then double-dip into other 'public' purse financed enterprises in the community.
They, needless to say, live in a 'special' world, only open to the very few. How many people without a government or strong union (oh, did I mention that these are the most 'unionized' workers in society?) ever even hear of positions in the BC Ferries fleet, or in government liquor stores? These jobs aren't even advertised. And, if they were, it would make no difference, because the fix is already in. How many relatives of teachers and principals get stuck on the 'teacher-on-call' list ad infinitum? Very few. Ten minutes out of teachers' college, and still peeing their trainers, these kids will get a fulltime classroom job in a trice. Others, not connected, will be subbing for years.
There was a time when public servants got these perks because they were actually paid less than those in the private sector, so bonuses were offered to attract the higher-end of the mediocre. No longer is this the case, and it has not been so for at least a generation. So, why does the inequity continue? Why do the rest of us, health care plan-less, and pension-less, go without and also suffer the indignity of paying for the benefits of these bozos?
Why, because they are the ones who make the rules for themselves and their ilk. We suffer from the delusion that we live in a democracy and that our politicians make the laws. Not so. The top bureaucrats do. They call the shots, and they look out for their own. Anyone who ever watched the brilliantly cynical and honest Brit series Yes, Minister knows that to be true.
"First, we kill the lawyers," said the Bard. Better yet (not that killing the lawyers is a bad thing), is first we kill the public servants, and that will starve out many of the lawyers.
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