A return to Reaganomics
When a leader such as Christy Clark, Justin Trudeau or even Donald Trump assumes the title of premier, prime minister or president, any fundraising they take on while acting as that body’s head should go to pay down the debt.
Being premier or president logically implies a balanced overview and dedication to that office only, not to the party. Such integrity would ensure bribes or vote buying is lessened or, as Clark calls it, a distraction is removed.
The recent fundraising event showcasing Trudeau, Trump, and the singing Mulroney (who also serenaded Reagan) is certainly a good example of a distraction.
What in the world is Trudeau thinking? Mulroney negotiated the free trade deal that Trump calls a failure and that the Canadian forest industry has been litigating for years since it, our major industry, wasn’t included.
But maybe Trudeau’s thinking that because Karl Hans Schreiber’s association with Mulroney led the former PM to reluctantly file a questionable $300,000 in taxable income six years after the fact and Trump’s failure to disclose his taxes that they just might be able to rip off everyone. And Clark puts her faith in David Emerson, who defected from the federal Liberals immediately after his election when Stephen Harper offered him a cabinet post. No trust issue there? Reading Noam Chomsky’s great 1990s book Deterring Democracy was deja vu. What made America great? Fear!
Trump’s fear of Muslims and Mexicans is a lever to divert tax revenue from social programs into corporate welfare. Twenty to 30 years ago, fear of drugs, Communism, and growing na- tionalism and union movements, spurred U.S- financed revolutions that catered to American corporate goals in Nicaraqua, Grenada, El Salvador and Panama. Human rights lawsuits against Canadian mining companies in Latin America are just a logical result of U.S. policy. Each of the countries under U.S.-installed tin pot dictatorships went backwards in both human rights and democracy.
Many Republicans, Trump, and Mulroney all seemed to like this style of Reaganomics. Why?
Trump’s voting base was blue colour yet his hero Reagan fired, all at once, 12,000 air traffic controllers who were on strike. It will take another big lie for him to explain that anomaly.
911 was a wake up call to unchecked American economic and military aggression as was the formerly U.S.-supported Saddam Hussein’s regime (necessary to keep a hostage-taking Iran in check), until Saddam started to demand Arab oil for Arabs. Then he became toast.
Corporate welfare, tax cuts, and the anti-democratic Trump team are more likely to make America grope again rather than great.
Alan Martin Prince George significance of events. My nowdeceased high school teacher, Keith Gordon, made it clear in his fascinating classes at Duchess Park in the 1970s that to understand history was to understand one’s society and the “so what” of our past. As one of my other mentors, George Davison, has put it – “History is like a rope composed of strands, threads, and fibres, each of which represent a part of the story that makes up the collective history.”
Your editorial unfairly lambasted Dr. Davison for his justified criticism of government choices that emphasize some educational directions over others. One cannot help but wonder at choices that discourage students from learning to be critical thinkers – history is the discipline that teaches students to analyze. History is the discipline that encourages people to question authority and to learn from the past. History holds society and its leaders accountable for their choices. History is far from dry or dead. There are demands that come with studying history – one must read, think, and discuss past events and their context. History does not just come from books – it is also experiential and it comes from people and places. Historians are ever watchful for evidence of the past that surrounds us and actively seek ways to incorporate that history into curriculum.
The study of history is rigorous, but nothing of value comes easy.
Students of history will find their skills of critical analysis valuable in anything that they choose to do. History training is of value, not merely to society’s leaders, litigators and its teachers, but also to its advocates, and activists. History is of value to everyone, and our society would be the poorer for not having it around as a strong discipline.
Sheldon Clare CNC history department
Prince George
The Prince George Citizen welcomes letters to the editor from our readers. Submissions should be sent by email to: No attachments, please. They can also be faxed to 562-7453, or mailed to 150 Brunswick St., Prince George V2L 5K9. Maximum length is 750 words and writers are limited to one submission every week. We will edit letters only to ensure clarity, good taste, for legal reasons, and occasionally for length. Although we will not include your address and telephone number in the paper, we need both for verification purposes. Unsigned letters will not be published. The Prince George Citizen is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.