King Harper vs.

The Revolting Poor By Rolf Auer; March 15-16, 2012 For, in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, holds office; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. (italics mine)John F. Kennedy, Profiles In Courage, The Meaning of Courage, p. 209, 1956 Dear fellow Canadians: If you give the Harper neo-cons a majority government, youll lose much that you cherish, youll gain nothing worth having, and youll never, never forgive yourselves. The Globe and Mail, Anything but a Harper majority, Margaret Atwood, October 6, 2008 While Harpers friends and insiders get rich, our society suffers from high rates of homelessness, record levels of student debt, a record number of seniors, aboriginal people, and Canadians with disabilities living in poverty, a deteriorating health care system and public infrastructure, and a declining environment. straight.com, Peter Julian: Stephen Harper doesnt want you to vote, Peter Julian, April 8, 2011 At times we must reprove those in authority over us. (italics, underlining mine) NIV Life Application Study Bible, 2005, p.474, footnote 19:4-7 reprovesynonyms: rebuke, reproofGage Canadian Thesaurus, p.545, 1998 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, & is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,II Timothy 3:16, original King James 1611 version Which things also we speak, not in the words which mans wisdom teacheth, but which the holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. I Corinthians 2:13, original King James 1611 version He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is love.I John 4:8, original King James 1611 version King Harper believes the poor are revolting. Or, if theyre not doing that already, they will be doing it soon. Thats why his idea of housing them consists of building more prisons. Obviously, he does not love them. Heres some evidence: Harper furthermore undermined all attempts to develop a rational child benefits system in favour of returning to an incoherent child tax benefit which helps the 1

poorest families the least.The Harper Record, downloadable .pdf, 2008, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, p.14 While income supplementation of very low wages can indeed help people leave social assistance for paid work and raise the incomes of the working poor, such schemes, according to the OECD, have the potential to function as a subsidy to lowwage employers unless they are twinned with a decent minimum wage floor. Yet the Conservatives have failed to act on the recent recommendation of the Federal Labour Standards Review that the federal minimum wage should be reinstated at $10 per hour.The Harper Record, downloadable .pdf, 2008, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, p.65 The most significant environmental measure in the March 2007 budget was a measure that was met with general support from the public and all political parties at the time, but is likely to be highly damaging for the environment and very costly for the poor: regulations requiring a minimum percentage of ethanol, bio-diesel, or other renewable fuels content in gasoline, and direct federal subsidies to producers of these fuels. (italics mine)The Harper Record, downloadable .pdf, 2008, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, pp.288-9 In September 2006, nurses in Ontario warned the Harper government about its cutbacks to federally funded programs, including research programs on the health of visible minorities; programs aimed at improving adult literacy and workplace skills; and support for voluntary based programs. Such cutbacks, the nurses warned, would have an adverse effect on the health of Canadians, particularly the poor and most vulnerable.(italics mine)The Harper Record, downloadable .pdf, 2008, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, p.362 What is King Harper afraid of? Hes afraid of dissenters, for one thing. These include writers, artists, and so on, as evidenced by his treatment of these Canadian citizens. (They also quite often happen to be poor, perhaps a comment on the not uncommon consequence of choosing writing as a paying profession in Canada. It is also commonplace in autocratic countries to throw dissenterssuch as writersinto prisons.) When we look around at the influence and strength of money, of armies, of legal officials, or indeed at the ease with which writers are silenced through censorship, violence and imprisonment, it seems that the word is a fragile blossom. But one step back from this immediacy is enough to reveal the power of language. Nothing frightens those in authority so much as criticism.Language not money or force provides legitimacy. So long as military, political, religious or financial systems do not control language, the publics imagination can move freely about with its own ideas. Uncontrolled words are consistently more dangerous to established authority than armed forces. (italics, boldface mine)John Ralston Saul, Voltaires Bastards, 1992, p.8 2

The Harper chill effect is a by-product of an extreme Conservative running a democratic country in which freedom of expression, as well as belief in a welfare state that ensures government exists for the greater public good over individual benefit, are still strongly held social values. The chill effect is a reflection of Harper the man: authoritarian, controlling in style, distrusting of public institutions, and ideological to the bone. As Prime Minister, Harper has taken a few pages out of the American Republican playbook, where the leader of the country behaves like father knows best and does what it takes to bring dissenters in line. (italics, boldface mine)The Harper Record, downloadable .pdf, 2008, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, pp.52-3 What does King Harper do to suppress dissent? Any time a politician attempts to subvert freedom of expression, it is a matter that should be of concern to every Canadian Reporters are appalled, but again not surprised. The reporters on the Hill are used to the PMs bully tactics by now. (italics mine)HarperIndex.ca, Media centre under PM's control would take a page from the Republican handbook, National Press Gallery President Richard Brennan, http://www.harperindex.ca/ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=00106, October 16, 2007 [I]t is the voices that are at risk that are being punished for the message they bring. Voices are being defunded, sidelined, derided, fired, punished. Not because they have wasted money or done their job poorly. Not because they have spread lies. But simply because they speak out about things the government does not want to hear. (italics, boldface mine)Monitor, Basic freedoms of speech and advocacy are now under siege, a periodical of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), Alex Neve, March 2011, p. 7 Harpers vision of government, the extreme conservative vision, is one of retribution, order, and civil obedience. It is more authoritarian in nature, less democratic and more divisive: The kind that says youre either with me or youre against me. Harper also isnt keen on open political debate. His government finds public debate a threat to its goal of majority government. (italics, boldface mine) The Harper Record, downloadable .pdf, Chill Effect, CCPA, Trish Hennessy, September 22, 2008, p. 42 Is there a better alternative?

O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!Psalmes 119:5, original King James 1611 version 16: And behold, one came and said unto him, Good master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17: And he said unto him, Why callest thou me 3

good? there is none good but one, that is God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18: He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19: Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self. 20: The young man said unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21: Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.Jesus, Matthew 19:16-21, original King James 1611 version 12: Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours, lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. 13: But when thou makest a feast call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 14: And thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. 15: And when one of them that sat at meat with him, heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.Jesus, Luke 14:12-15, original King James 1611 version Surprise! The best idea of using income redistribution to solve income inequality to help the poor is at least two thousand years old. The Lord God Jesuswhose own heavenly kingdom is of perfect love and eternal lifewas a proponent of it. However, income redistribution in countries like Canada, that can afford it, isat bestimperfect. The problems in rich countries are not caused by the society being rich enough (or even by being too rich) but by the scale of material differences between people within each society being too big. What matters is where we stand in relation to others in our own society. (italics, boldface mine)The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, Richard Wilkinson co-authored with Kate Picket, 2009, p.25 A progressive tax system and strong public fiscal capacity are needed to secure a more equal and inclusive society. In Canada, wages and market income are very unequally distributed, but the tax and transfer system redistributes income from the more to the less affluent. Taxes also finance public services such as health care and education that benefit all Canadians regardless of income. Countries with relatively high taxes as a share of national income also have higher levels of public social spending and, as a result, have much narrower income and opportunity gaps between rich and poor. In recent years, Canadas rising corporate profits and worsening personalincome inequality have been amplified by lower, less progressive taxes and reduced social spending. As a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), pre-tax corporate profits rose from 8% in the 1990s to above 13% since 2004. After-tax corporate profits doubled from 5% in the 1990s to 10% since 2004. The richest 1% 4

of taxpayers increased their share of total pre-tax income from 8.6% to 12.2% between 1992 and 2004. An important Statistics Canada report that carefully documents the rise of after-tax family income inequality finds that, between 1996 and 2004, the main driver was changes to the tax/transfer system. (italics, boldface mine)The Harper Record, downloadable .pdf, 2008, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, p.56 I am certain that by this time the question has arisen as to why Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper is referred to in this article as King Harper. Simple: Harper is imperious; he arrogantly treats Canada as his own private fiefdom.

imperioussynonym: imperial, kinglyGage Canadian Thesaurus, p.324, 1998

Another hallmark of the Harper kingdom is the lack of a policy guaranteeing adequate welfare rates, such as the Canada Assistance Plan (defunct in 1996) did, which King Harper did nothing to replace. As a result, the provinces have been involved in a race to the bottom ever since with regards maintaining decent levels of income assistance for its less fortunate citizens.

Harper despises the poorespecially those who are forced to resort to welfare to survive. The only reason he hasnt eliminated welfare yet is its politically inexpedient, and/or the poor would probably be revolting, and/or the prisons for them arent built yet. Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?Scrooge, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.

The province of British Columbia has a single employable income assistance rate of about $600 per month, which is about par for all the provinces. Anti-poverty activists enlisted the help of New Democratic Party Member of Legislative Assembly (the provincial equivalent of a federal Member of Parliament) Jagrup Brar to try to exist for the month of January 2012 on the amount 5

of money a poor unemployed person receives per month from the provincial government, in order to highlight in the public eye the difficulties a person on welfare has in existing. He couldnt do it, even for one only one month. Keep in mind that these rates, right across Canada, are a direct result of the social program policies of the not-so-benevolent King Harper.

The volunteer NDP MLA kept a blog recording this experience. Thanks to The Vancouver Sun newspaper, I was able to obtain some excerpts: My dad went on a similar journey 26 years ago; he found it impossible to live in dignity on the welfare rate. He said welfare should go up to $1,300 in todays money. I pass the torch of his struggle to you; to work for an end to poverty so that BC is a place we can be proud of. stated Constance Barnes, daughter of Emery Barnes who lived on the welfare rate in 1986. I think we can see from Jagrups experience running out of food, standing in food lines, and losing weight, that its impossible to live on $610 a month without going to charities or resorting to survival tactics, said Jean Swanson of Raise the Rates which issued the challenge to all MLAs last May. Most people in BC would be better off if we ended poverty; they would be better off financially and emotionally. We would save on health and crime costs and there would be less stress and more happiness stated Bill Hopwood. He added Low income people spend their money in the local community, unlike the rich and corporations, so a raise would benefit local businesses. I am amazed to have had the good fortune of living in this tight knit community where everyone looks out for one another and helps each other. I don't believe I have ever witnessed such a tight knit, helpful and accepting community (Vancouvers Downtown Eastside). I will never forget the generosity, help and guidance I have been offered by this wonderful community.MLA Jagrup Brar A couple of comments made by people who read the blog: anon982 5:11 PM on 1/17/2012 I agree that welfare rates are far too low to survive upon. I easily spend $600 in a 6

weekend and I have nothing to show for it. My rent is 2 times that on it's own! Here's my take on this. If the government is putting forward this kind of money to help those who need it, why not put them to work for it and pay them even more? Imagine how much money we would save. Think about how much politicians make and think about the pensions they all get after working a measly 4 years. If we took 10% of their wages, our poor would be a far better position. anon546763887 9:37 AM on 1/16/2012 Its pathetic to read some of the personal attacks on Brar and those less fortunate than the rest of us. For those attacking Brar, for whatever reason, I notice none of the LIB MLAs had the courage to try this! And they're the ones who have authorized the miserable standards! As for the "its been done before" line. Yes, it has, and we apparently learned nothing. Fact is, the welfare rates in this province are not helping people to get back up, they are keeping them down. As for the argument only the landlords will profit from an increase, well the govt has the capacity to prevent rent hikes. And they also have the capacity to insure a certain number of new development become social housing. They also have the capacity to prevent developers from leaving buildings empty for years at a time. In the UK, if a building is left for a year the govt will move in, renovate for social housing, and bill the owners. The end result is, the developers are quick to renovate, creating jobs!

The quality of mercy is not strained It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven It is enthroned in the hearts of kings It is an attribute to God himself. (italics mine) From one of Shakespeares most illustrious plays, The Merchant of Venice: