*The Call for Support* This is a call to support the proper funding of public institutions, public facilities, and public programs across British Columbia. I am the leader of the organization, Rally for Change. The goal of Rally for Change is to support the proper funding of public institutions, facilities, and programs for which taxpayers pay, and for which the provincial government is responsible to administer. We believe public services have been underfunded for decades. We believe the public has seen this, and that their frustration with teachers in the recent labour dispute between the provincial government and the British Columbia Teacher’s Federation, is due, as least in part, to an underlying frustration with the manner in which their tax dollars have already been spent. When we pay taxes, we expect the money to be returned to us in the form the public institutions, facilities, programs, and administration that benefits us all. When we pay taxes to the provincial government, specifically, we expect the taxes we pay to be returned to us in the form of things such as: 1. The construction and proper maintenance of public transportation corridors and highways to connect us with other municipalities and/or communities. 2. The ensurance of both the availability and competence of medical professionals and properly- equipped, local public medical facilities in our municipality and/or community. 3. The ensurance of both the availability and competence of education professionals and properly-equipped, local public educational facilities in our municipality and/or community. To be sure, there are many other forms which we might like to see our tax dollars returned to us, but for those dollars which are deducted from our pay and end up eventually as provincial ‘revenue’, these three are consistently among the highest ranking priorities of all British Columbians. For too long our public institutions have been undermined by the Provincial Government’s choices to spend our tax dollars on special ‘pet’ projects, extravagant international events, and unnecessary adornments of public facilities. Examples of such things include the construction of ‘Fast Ferries’, the hosting of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and the installation of a retractable roof on a perfectly serviceable sports arena in Vancouver. These three matters alone cost the taxpayers of British Columbia over a billion dollars. The Ferries were sold for effectively scrap value, the two-weeks of Olympic events are long over, and the retractable roof, which leaks, can only really be enjoyed by sports fans located in one corner of the province. I am calling on all taxpayers to stand united with one voice to demand the provincial government cease all activities which are not directly related to the proper funding and administration of public institutions, public facilities, and public programs, until such time as a budget for the proper funding of these public institutions, facilities, and programs is presented to and approved by the public by means of referendum. I am calling upon the Premier, the Honorable Christy Clark, M.L.A. to convene the Provincial Legislature immediately to create a new budget which provides proper funding for public institutions, facilities, and programs, and to put that budget to approval by referendum by the tax-payers of British Columbia post-haste. I call also upon the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, the Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC, to support this initiative. Sincerely, Sean J. Beebe Canadian Citizen British Columbia Resident
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 21:15:52 +0000
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