| In response to David Bright's article "The least worst form of government: The leaders debate showed how the language of business has trumped civic duty," Viewpoint, June 24 — June 30, 2004, in which he states with a regretful tone that Canada "is no longer a nation of citizens, with rounded and complex interests and identities, but an economic enterprise" and later concedes that our elections merely serve to install successive corrupt and/or incompetent governments, I would like to ask how he thinks competence should be measured?
He seems upset when he states that all of the potential new governments are addressing "’what kind of health care can we afford?’ rather than ‘What kind of health care must we have?’" First, I would like to point out that the former is an objective question deserving of governmental address, while the latter is purely subjective and depends on each individual’s needs (and in the case of some people, opinion). Secondly, I would hope that by now Mr. Bright would realize that we can't have things we can't afford, even if it is the government providing it. A government still has to purchase what it provides, and can't just snap its fingers and make something appear. The business-like undertones of each party's platform are for a reason – they are all smart enough to understand that the realities of economics can't be ignored, even if it is at the expense of the fantasies of ideals.
As long as a government is providing goods and services to the public at the expense of the public, the least they can do is prove their accountability to the public by balancing the budget. Being able to balance the budget is a measure of competence. What is not a measure of competence is the number of goods and services provided to accommodate everyone’s "rounded and complex interests," with no worry for how it is to be paid for. I would like to point out to Mr. Bright and any others who campaign for social policies to forge or preserve their identities – you are what you produce, and nothing more – it has nothing to do with what governments provide you and nothing to do with your collective consciousness or ideals.
So if a competent government is what you want, it will have to be run like a business on the premise of economic law and accountability. If you want money spent on our "rounded and complex interests" spend your own money. Don't expect any government in this day and age to try to confiscate people’s earnings to spend on such nonsense, they are smart enough to have learned from the past that it is wasteful practice.
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