Comment 1205

By rusty (registered) - website | Posted October 02, 2006 at 12:45:05

Good points Jase, however I don't agree with your suggestion that we hold governments exclusively accountable for this. Governments aren't miracle workers and, as we have seen with the last few terms of Canadian government, any hope of real leadership on any issue is probably unrealistic at this point.

We also need to hold our corporations and ourselves accountable for this. The way we behave, and the purchases and investments we make, all factor into this problem.

One of the fundamental issues with the 'free market' model we follow is that Corporate success is currently defined by profitability - and nothing else. "We've had a great year!" a corporation will say, when they've increased revenues and met profitability targets. Governments are happy because they claim corporate taxes. Employees are happy cos they get bonuses and keep their jobs. But often there is a hidden cost - sometimes a bigger cost - to this 'success'. Did the corporation exploit any workers in achieving it's results? Was the environment harmed? There is no measure for such things on the Corporations General Ledger, but we all pay in the end.

It's all about choices and educating each other. Yes, we should look to our elected officials for leadership, but we, as consumers, can also contribute by raising our awareness of these issues and making choices accordingly. We are all accountable for this.

Cheers

Ben

Ben Bull. Cap'n Bully has a new Blog! http://bullysmoviereviews.blogspot.ca/ or something like that.

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