I read with interest, but not surprise, a comment by one of your recent contributors, “We don’t care about your needs.” Although the remark was directed at a union, unfortunately much the same attitude applies throughout most of our society.
In our world today the rich get rich and the poor get poorer. The elimination of the middle class is ongoing. Large corporations are under-taxed so that the investors get rich and the politicians pass laws to get their support so that they too are assured income security … toe the party line or you’re out.
This attitude of not caring about the less fortunate, along with globalization and free trade (which allows the rich investors to invest money offshore to take advantage of cheap labour) is going to eventually come home to roost.
You have to be blind to not recognize the revolution going on worldwide. The root cause of this is poverty and inequality. Take from enough people their income, homes, family and dignity and you head down a slippery slope. The response is violence — is there any alternative when vast numbers of people, especially the young, can see no future? The cost of education is exorbitant, and job prospects are bleak and getting worse.
Most in North America have been very fortunate to have a fairly secure life, but not all — and those numbers are growing. The world economy is teetering on collapse because of the greed of large corporations, wealthy investors and unscrupulous politicians.
If anyone believes that these financial woes cannot violently impact our nation, then I suggest some degree of naivety is readily apparent. To our elected officials: Wake up! Or maybe we will need a whole bunch of jails, which is in the works.
Patrick MacDonald
Penticton