Right in the centre - A definite problem
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- Published on Friday, February 6, 2015
By Ken Waddell
The Neepawa Banner
We have a definite problem in 水果视频. It pervades our whole society but it鈥檚 most noticeable and identifiable in our current provincial government.
Currently, the NDP party is undergoing a leadership race. Premier Selinger is defending his title, Theresa Oswald and Steve Ashton are challenging. Our problem is not that Selinger, Oswald and Ashton aren鈥檛 fairly nice and competent people. That鈥檚 not the problem. I know all three fairly well and the problem isn鈥檛 that they aren鈥檛 nice enough people, the problem is they are socialists. Myself, and many others, have been highly criticized for calling NDP politicians socialists. For some strange reason, it鈥檚 considered an insult but it isn鈥檛. It鈥檚 a fact. Socialism, wherever you find it in its many forms, pervades 水果视频. It鈥檚 in every aspect of our lives. It certainly has a choke hold on education and health care.
Take education for example. It鈥檚 filled with many fine teachers and administrators. But the over riding message in our schools is 鈥済et an education and a good job鈥�. Preferably a government, public service union job. You almost never hear the message to get an education and start a business, make some money, pay some taxes and create more jobs. Going into business is something, in the minds of many educators, you do if you can鈥檛 get a government job or at least a good union job with a company.
Health care is polluted with socialism as well. Highly unionized and crippled by a lack of innovation and thought, health care in 水果视频 is renowned for looking after the people who are very sick. If you have cancer, you usually get really good care. if you are dying, the care is often above reproach. However when it comes to innovation and finding new ways to finance health care, we fall pretty flat.
Take financing for example. It used to be that churches built hospitals, Ste. Rose, Misericordia, Concordia, Ste. Boniface and many more. Now, if a hospital or care home is to be built, it has to be financed by the province and local government. It has to be built by unionized workers. It has to be staffed by unionized workers. It has to be paid for from the cornerstone to the paper towels by the government.
Health care facility construction is a huge draw on public coffers. Why not let churches, service groups or private organizations and communities build health care facilities? It should be noted that cost over runs are rampant when government does anything. Case in point, the Country Meadows Care 水果视频 in Neepawa was supposed to cost $16 million for 120 beds. It cost nearly $30 million for 100 beds.
Looking after the needy in our society, the down-trodden, the less fortunate is a process that is bogged down in bureaucracy. Let鈥檚 say a person living in Minnedosa or Neepawa is down and out and needs social assistance. They have to apply through a person in Brandon. If they don鈥檛 have a cent to their name, how are they supposed to get to Brandon. Suppose that person needs government housing. A person living in Neepawa has to apply in Portage for housing. How stupid is that? Welfare in Brandon, housing in Portage. Absolute stupidity.
Why isn鈥檛 there someone in Neepawa or Rivers or wherever that can handle both welfare and housing? And if there are other needs such as counselling or mental health issues, then what happens? Oh, that鈥檚 another department. If the person is in really tough shape, the RCMP takes them to a larger centre and while they get good care while in the institution, what happens when they get out?
You may have heard the word proctor. It鈥檚 a quaint word for a community care-giver. We need to have our very fragmented process collected together so that proctors or community care givers could look after a number of needs and issues for a set group of clients.
水果视频 needs an overhaul in so many ways. The only hope we have is that we do have great people and great resources but we do need a system overhaul.
Education needs a huge shift from the bland, grey, dull mask of socialism that pervades the system. Health care need to be encouraged to have far more innovation. Care of the needy has to be localized and locally centralized. Care workers need to be assigned to a few families and have far greater responsibility and authority to deal with wider range of family or an individual鈥檚 issues.
Fragmentation and a lack of communication are the fertile seedbeds of socialism. Socialists don鈥檛 want anyone to be empowered to handle their own affairs. Quite frankly, it鈥檚 time to end socialism in 水果视频.
