This letter is addressed to BC's civic politicians seeking election this weekend.
Many average Canadians have watched in dismay as the Western world's nerve centres played poker with our economies and our democracy. We watched them bet and lose and now numerous sovereign states teeter on the abyss of bankruptcy. Canadians are not immune to the political and economic losses suffered. Current economic and political theories have been stripped bare and their flaws splayed raw for all to see. How did it happen? Whose to blame? How do we get out of this mess? Big questions without apparent answers. Are our politicians equal to the task?
The "Occupy" movement is symbolically brilliant because it dares suggest that the problems are systemic and it is prepared to wait-out the politicians who let it all happen. The "Occupy" movement needs to be encouraged, not disbanded by politicians who are too lazy to resolve the issues born and raised under their watch. The "Occupy" movement is a reminder that both average citizens and the weakest members of our society have been harmed by the economic/political theories that currently govern our lives. What will BC's municipal/provincial politicians do to address the issues that have driven wedge into the heart of our democracy and its economy?
On November 14, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed Resolution 31337 http://www.seattle.gov/council/newsdetail.asp?id=12273&dept=28 which commits the council to a number of actions to squarely confront the unresolved economic/political issues that now plague Seattle, the United States and numerous other sovereign states (see below). In part, the city will review its banking and investment practices to ensure that public funds are invested in responsible financial institutions that support the community and also address economic inequality and wealth disparities by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender.
The city will also review all exemptions or waivers allowed for city taxes to examine the impact of both tax shifts and lost revenue to the city against the economic and social benefits the exemptions are intended to bring to the city, and consult tax reform experts to work toward a more equitable tax structure. Instead of trying to disband the "Occupy" movement the City of Seattle is seeking to address the issues which inspired the "Occupy" movement.
If you are elected on November 19, will you vote for a similar resolution?
Please reply asap.
Yours truly,
Walter Neufeld, President
FVRD Citizens Association