Cabbies all have a tale to tell if prodded a little. Our latest junket to an on-line conference in New York City netted a bit of knowledge after requesting a ride downtown.
Things are picking up a little, President Barak Obama should be re-elected since the Republicans can’t get it together and life is pretty good. The ride back to the airport in a different cab offered up the exact opposite response, but, hey, cabbies also reflect the population they serve.
We mention those talks as an example of where we see the world of politics, and conversely, discussions about public policy. Opinions run aplenty, but those expressions of interest are seldom sound arguments based on facts.
Often they are simply a regurgitation of a point picked up as a sound bite or from coffee shop banter. Most ideas tend to be based on the latter, hence the reliance of government on what sounds good, or survey answers that met with approval, as opposed to doing the right things for the long-term prosperity of the country.
Ontarians got their dose of medicine on our layout day, which causes a bit of lag to get a News story together that offers more than the typical condemnations one would expect from big labour, opposition MPPs and other groups.
After the Newspaper went to press and before delivery commenced, the federal government released its latest budget, which we expect will elicit similar groans of discontent.
The search for savings and revenue is admittedly a hard chore made all the more difficult by the absence of real dialogue.
By most accounts of recent polls, voters expected cutbacks and trimming of the government’s payroll. That is what we expect to see. What we can’t predict is whether those cuts are the wisest choices or the best policies – since there is little in the way of facts or background.
The partisan bickering and offsetting opinions that take place today resemble the two cabbies: same city, same job, but entirely different viewpoints. We have to do better than that if Canada’s democracy is to survive and thrive.
