The major problem is not the duplication of services of our bureaucracy, the major problem is the perceived claim of the streamlining efficiencies brought by our corporations. We must all understand that when our governmental friendly corporations streamline efficiently our public operations, and making money in the process, we lose our perception of the overall interrelationships of the needed public services. We require a degree of redundancy in our public services, and I must say that we require a degree of redundancy in our private businesses as well; and in this respect we noticed few years ago how former Premier Roy Romanow streamlined (downsized) the province of Saskatchewan to greatness as social activist Michael Moore was expressing the indignity of economic downsizing with his book "Downsize this!"

Corporations and fortunate sons have taken over our governments, and they are now streamlining (downsizing) our economy to make it more efficient: that is we are streamlining our governments and make these governments the vassals of corporations, we are streamlining the number of our corporations and make these corporations mega-transnational corporations. And all of these efficiencies are achieved by a cost and benefit analysis funded, directed and manipulated by our fortunate sons.

The Bush administration made a cost and benefit analysis for the ratification of the Kyoto's treaty and decided not to ratify it because it is too expensive; yet we have evidence that pollution from coal-fired smokestacks is directly responsible for thousands of premature deaths, thousands of incidents of chronic bronchitis, thousands of hospital emergencies. Arthur D. Little International made a cost and benefit analysis on the effect of smoking in the Czech Republic and concluded that this government had a net gain of $147.1 million from smoking. The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association has made a cost and benefit analysis of the Kyoto's treaty and has concluded that the ratification of this treaty would cost Canada $40-billion and 450,000 manufacturing sector jobs over eight years.

So the morale of this story is that most of the present economic directions for streamlining our governments and for streamlining our businesses are based on the deceptive conclusions of the static cost and benefit studies sponsored by our corporations and fortunate sons. Studies based on static cost and benefit analysis are not capable of grasping the intangible values of people's lives, people's creativity, and societal innovation. Let us be real, let us talk about people before we talk about business, let us talk about relationships before we talk about the market, let us talk how to grow before we talk how to make money, let us talk about peace before we talk about war; and let us talk about ecological economics before we talk about static cost and benefit analysis.

References

Pertinent articles in Ensign

EPA regulator's resignation letter Eric V. Schaeffer, Director Office of Regulatory Enforcement, March 3, 2002 http://www.msnbc.com/news/717482.asp?cp1=1

Philip Morris Funded Study of Smoking in the Czech Republic $1,227. That's how much a study sponsored by Philip Morris said the Czech Republic saves on health care, pensions and housing every time a smoker dies. http://www.mindfully.org/Industry/Philip-Morris-Czech-Study.htm

Kyoto plan is 'foolish': Chamber Alan Toulin in Ottawa and Robert Benzie in Toronto National Post, March 4, 2002 http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20020304/228018.html