The Ramblings of a Random Freak

My views on Translink, and “essential services” might seem a touch odd?

I don’t believe, being raised in a nation with a capitalist lean, but socialist underpinnings, that any essential service should ever be privately run.

You see, private operation requires profit.

Private operation requires that everything be run in such a way that you answer to shareholders.

The thing is, public services – be it electric companies, transit systems, hospitals, schools, police, fire, and so forth… they are supposed to provide a service to the public.

WE as the public, pay taxes, which funds these enterprises. Our taxes pay for the roads, for the bridges, for the police, for the fire crews, for the hospitals, for the government stooges who take far more than they ever give.

WE pay the salaries that they vote themselves

WE pay the pensions they vote themselves.

Now, within the last 3 years, there was a HUGE deal made because the Translink board (go figure, this is so odd) voted themselves a HUGE raise.

As far as I’m concerned, they don’t even deserve the original salaries they were making – they’re crooks, and they’re running a crooked organization.

Ideally how something like that would work, is they’d figure out what it was going to cost to do what they were MANDATED to do (we’re not talking about choices.. this company is responsible for building and maintaining bridges and roads and transit infrastructure), allow some leeway for overruns, and then, when all of that calculation was done, they’d see what money was left.

and THAT is what they’d have to pay themselves.

If they did a great job finding contractors and materials and making everything fit, then they get paid well

If they spend the whole budget or more?

They don’t get paid.

Really, economics aren’t all that hard… when a company isn’t doing well at the job it was hired to do (and Translink is doing a TERRIBLE job), replace it.

Why the government of BC decided it was a great idea to privatize something that’s not for profit in the first place?

They, my friends, are a terrible government.

Short term awesome, long term retardation.

You let people like this run the show… well… you get what you pay for… in this case, you get what you pay for, but you have to pay for it AGAIN to get it.

Because you see, we paid for it in the first place.

Imagine buying a car – paying cash, full price, no discounts.

Buying a tank of gas.

Paying for your license, your registration, your insurance, a parking spot.

EVERYTHING related to owning and operating the car is paid for… it is 100% yours, and ready to go

and…

someone comes along and tells you you have to pay them a fee every time you start your car, and a fee every time you drive it… because someone has to pay for the roads you’re driving it on.

Did I cover that?

You ALREADY paid for the roads… that is why we, in Canada, pay some of the highest taxes in the first world – it pays for governments to build roads, and overpay themselves.

And a lot of other stuff too…

Double dipping is fucked.

or rather, Translink.

They want to add gas taxes, bridge and road tolls, and so on.

the problem?

WE paid for those roads to be built.

Translink needs to be shut the fuck down, and all of its assets reintegrated into the government. To be quite frank, no private organization has any business running our road system, our transit systems, or any other public system.

Not that our current government is any better…

We pay for things.

When we get our pay cheques at the end of the month, or week, or whenever we get paid, we pay something called “taxes”

now, despite the fact that we make more, and pay more, and more people are paying more and more… and the government is continually seeing increased revenues… we see services sliding

lower quality of available services, lower availability of services, lower quality, period.

Now, when they fix a road (that WE paid for) they want us to pay a toll to use it – never mind that we’re footing the bill to begin with.

So their revenue increases.

and what we get for that money shrinks.

I know, I’ve repeated that before.

You know what I pay taxes for?

So that I have access to the services and systems that make this country great.

You know what I DON’T pay taxes for?

So a bunch of fat assholes can live like kings off public money.

I’m sorry, they’re called civil SERVANTS for a reason – they SERVE.

Elected officials should all take a drastic pay cut, or be cut. Period.

Running for office, it’s about wanting to make the world a better place – about wanting to serve.

Or SHOULD be.

Right now it’s about lasting long enough to get the fat pension, and raping the people – who voted for or against you, equally.

elected officials having the ability to vote themselves raises is the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard – they’re crooks, and they’re using the money that was meant to better our society to better themselves, at the detriment of everyone.

but hey, what do I know… I only pay for them to live that way… and so do you.

the old boys club needs to topple.

Mayor, Premier, Prime Minister, Council Member, ANY elected position?

Minimum wage, no pension.

Yeah, we appreciate they need certain things to make a good impression… they can use the fancy office and have a wardrobe budget, and business related travel expenses.

But…

no huge salaries, no pensions, nothing.

you get paid to do your job, you get the perks while you’re in office (travel expenses, wardrobe, etc)

serve your country – we’re not here to serve you, you dumb cunt. That money is for more important things, and you’re a politician, the only form of life with virtually NO importance.