Furstenau’s policies realistic, progressive
Diane Moen seems to be confused about Sonia Furstenau’s 2020 campaign platform. With oil prices plummeting to $30 a barrel, inequality and climate change topping the concerns of voters, and business leaders talking about the urgent need to shift our economy, it seems to me that the imaginary world is in fact one where we keep doing the same things we’ve been doing and expect our problems to magically disappear.
It’s clear that Furstenau believes in free enterprise that is driven from a local level by entrepreneurs and smart risk takers, which makes sense considering that small business is the backbone of the B.C. economy.
The “healthy economy” would be one that’s not measured in GDP alone, but how our economy is affecting people in their day to day lives. Healthy happy citizens = a healthy, happy and a productive economy.
On the topic of a four-day work week, Furstenau is merely proposing to consult with businesses, labour and stakeholders about it. Microsoft Japan tried it out and saw a 40 per cent increase in productivity and a happier workforce. What employer wouldn’t want to see an increase in productivity at potentially no extra cost?
The investors that are “sounding the climate change alarm bells” are hardly anonymous. Former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has likened the climate crisis to a financial crisis. BlackRock, which is the world’s largest asset management firm, recently announced it is shifting its $7 trillion in assets due to climate change.
The funding needed to invest in social programs could come from a multitude of places such as the corporate welfare giveaway to LNG Canada in the form of a $6 billion dollar taxpayer subsidy. This is yet another project that is doomed to fail, especially when you consider that in order to be able to sell all of this natural gas, it will need to be sold at a third of what it costs to produce it in the first place.
Sonia Furstenau’s platform is on time, on point and highlights policy changes that are desperately needed. We need bold action on climate change, we need to start moving towards a strong renewable energy future, to stop funding the dying fossil fuel industry with our tax dollars and start investing in a future that creates a healthy economy that all British Columbians can take part in.
Luke Cross
Cobble Hill
