Political Welfare, Subsidized Art

It looks like the idiots in Ottawa are about to do it again. Yep, election time. It would seem that while the three opposition parties can’t agree on much, none of them want to give up their slice of the federal pork. For two years they couldn’t agree on anything well enough to bring down Mr. Harper’s government but on this they are united. It should be noted that the move to remove federal subsidies applies to all parties including the Conservatives. Yet for some reason the three losers of the last election seem to think it’s all about them. I find it amusing that the harshest critics of this government are all people who have had their funding threatened in one way or another.

First it was the artistic community who seem to think art that doesn’t sell should be paid for by the taxpayer. I have met many artists and writers over the years and one thing jumps out at me. The ones that are a commercial success very seldom got their start with government funding. Many are in fact baffled by the preoccupation so many Canadians have with filling out grant proposals and attempting to obtain government funding in order to create. When asked how he had supported himself while perfecting his craft science fiction author David Drake simply replied, “I drove a bus.” You see, the really good ones aren’t afraid to work for a living or to go without while they learn. Only in Canada do artists feel the rest of us should support them.

The same appears to be true of politicians. Those that won are perfectly willing to give up their government subsidies. Only the parties that lost the last election seem to feel the taxpayer should prop them up. Rather than give up their slice of the federal pie Larry, Curly and Moe want to cost Canadians millions of dollars and go to the polls all over again. Personally, I hope the less than fifty per cent of us that bother with this nonsense remember who brought it all about and why. If we do have another election, please get out and vote for whomever you want. As for me, I’ll be voting against the three stooges!