It just isn’t funny anymore
Dr StrangeJob is angry! Every level of government—federal, provincial and municipal—is currently under scrutiny for questionable spending of taxpayer dollars: the recent federal staff relocation reimbursements, the latest provincial MLA frivolous self-promotional kitsch, the Guysborough County expense scandal and the ombudsman’s Richmond County expense claim investigation. Yes, this makes me angry.
Fortunately, Cape Breton is immune (or blind) to any such skulduggery. Or is it?
Look, the United Nations cares about poverty too!
Remember Cape Breton MP David Dingwall and his infamous bubblegum expense claim—not to mention his entitled to entitlements pronouncement? More currently, Glace Bay native Gerald Butts, one of Prime Minister Trudeau’s senior advisors, is knee-deep in the federal relocation expense scandal.
As for the provincial spending scandal, Cape Breton MLA David Wilton is right at the center of it, racking up the single-largest monthly expense claim for self-promotional trinkets.
In CBRM, we have former MLA Dave Wilson, previously jailed for defrauding the Nova Scotia taxpayers, running for council in the upcoming municipal elections.
Yes, this makes me angry, but my anger is not aimed at any particular politician, party or level of government — history shows that such scandals transcend political affiliation.
I am angry because ONE in THREE Cape Breton children continues to live in poverty as our politicians squander taxpayer money purchasing soccer balls, traveling the world and exploiting expense-claim loopholes. All of which brings me to the mayoralty race in CBRM.
Incumbent Cecil Clarke acknowledges the CBRM poverty crisis, but believes responsibility for addressing it lies with the province or the feds. Clarke’s poverty platform is Number 29 on his list of 100 promises. In Clarke’s view, the best solution to poverty is new jobs. In the long term, new jobs will create a trickledown effect in the local economy that will eventually reach our impoverished citizens. In the short term, our hungry children just need to focus on not starving to death before the benefits associated with these new jobs materialize.
Challenger Rankin MacSween’s platform, on the other hand, maintains a major focus on poverty. MacSween’s plan, however, is dependent upon convincing the feds to live up to their 1989 promise to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000 (good luck with that), begging the province to allocate its annual $125 million gambling revenues to the elimination of provincial poverty (I wouldn’t bet on it) and organizing a stakeholders’ meeting within 30 days of being elected (Dr StrangeJob can be reached here.).
Dr StrangeJob’s plan to address CBRM poverty is more specific than Clarke’s and more direct than MacSween’s: just stop wasting our money!
Until next time—that’s my two cents’ worth.
Dr. StrangeJob is a local satirical blogger, retired educator, social activist, and developer of the world’s first 12+1 step self-help group, Incompetents Anonymous.
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