Pubdate: Sat, 02 Aug 2014
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Times Colonist
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html
Website: http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Graeme Gardiner
Page: A11

WHY CAN'T POLITICIANS SEE THE CONNECTIONS?

Re: "No school? B.C. to pay $40 a day per child," Aug. 1.

The partisan issue of whether to legalize marijuana will solve
nothing. Neither will giving parents $40 per day this fall if the
strike in public education continues.

We know now that the war on drugs has failed. Since 1990, the price of
illicit drugs has actually decreased because of an overabundant
supply. The steady demand continues to be fuelled in large part by
people trying to temporarily escape unfulfilled lives.

The trickle-down-economy theory, started in the same time period,
hasn't worked either. Inequality is at historically high levels.
Unchecked capitalism has created a concentration of wealth, a middle
class in steady decline and an increased market for illicit drugs.

The economic and social cost of these two failed programs is enormous.
Perhaps it is time to consider a new and much cheaper approach.

A strong public school system could turn the next generation away from
illicit drugs and toward fulfilling, well-paid jobs created in a
properly managed capitalist system. After one 12-year public school
cycle, we could very well see a renewed prosperous middle class, along
with a declining welfare state and a declining market for illicit drugs.

Why can't our politicians see the connections and do more than just
try to score political points?

Graeme Gardiner Sidney
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MAP posted-by: Matt