dear politician person

Going to go all political for a minute.

Lately, here in Canada, politician on the right (that would be most of them - our center right party has morphed into something resembling a loony bin, whilst the center left party has rushed into the gap and the left leaning party has galloped into the center) have managed to build a comprehensive shift in how the population of this place looks at itself.

They have, as a group, effectively convinced the citizens of this country that they are taxpayers and not citizens, monies collected in taxes are taxpayer monies and not public monies. Gone are conversations about spending for the public good. Instead, we are being talked at (not with and to) about taxpayer value.

Public input is seen to be had only at election time. The rest of the time we are to shut up and let them fulfill their mandate. Bills are rammed through parliament as omnibus bills, often quickly, and are loaded with things completely unrelated to what the title legislation is about. Oppose the bill because of the unrelated material, and you are seen as supporting those that the title legislation is intended, quite rightly, to deal with. Good people end up shutting up because to speak out against the omnibus bills is too risky.

This is wrong.

While I pay taxes, I am not a taxpayer. I am a citizen. I have rights, responsibilities, and a strong belief in the public good. Monies collected by the government in taxes are my monies, but not mine alone. They belong to the public. That includes those that don't pay taxes - children, the poor, the homeless - and those that do pay taxes - CEOs of major corporations, mom and pop stores, and so on. Guess what? Those disenfranchised by the "taxpayer" language are citizens of this place as well. We have an obligation as members of this society to take care of each other. Divisive language and the change in thought patterns that follow only serve to sow discord and not social harmony.

Table the omnibus bills in parliament. Please do. Just break them up into the single pieces of legislation that they actually are. Debate fully, openly, each one and pass or reject each one on its own merits. Stop trying to sneak unrelated measures into law by placing them into otherwise well intentioned legislation, limiting debate, and hoping we won't notice.

It does not work. People do notice.

The sad thing is, these tactics combined with endless scandal are making many people not trust their leaders or worse, see them as a joke. Why bother is taking hold with them. Don't get involved is the new norm for them. I guess that is good if you are a power seeking minority with control of the agenda, but it is not good if you believe in a more balanced society with full and healthy debate.