[dropcap]P[/dropcap]erhaps they’re just lamenting (what I call) the delightful passing of socialist dictator Fidel Castro, but I think Postmedia’s Vancouver Sun newspaper has gone full Castro on us. Here’s how their big weekend editorial begins:
There is nothing inherently wrong with a Crown corporation, the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia, having a monopoly on providing basic auto insurance — as much as that statement might upset private insurers.
If YOUÂ think “there’s nothing inherently wrong” with state-owned, state-run monopolies in a free and democratic country, you just must be socialist or communist. In fact you are, actually.
And observing that “it might upset private insurers” willfully misses yet another point. It doesn’t just upset private insurers. It upsets people, markets, freedom, sanity, pretty much the whole apple cart. But you go ahead an keep on deluding yourselves.
Ensuring all drivers carry at least basic coverage is beneficial from a public policy point of view, and it’s easy to enforce when the insurance provider is also the vehicle licensing body.
Spoken like a true Soviet.
Furthermore, it’s eminently reasonable that the government, as the sole shareholder of ICBC [the state-owned, state-run car insurance monopoly], be entitled to a dividend. After all, dividends paid to government flow into general revenue, which is supposedly spent on public goods and services — roads, education, health care, housing and so on.
Again with the sounding like a true Soviet. “Eminently reasonable that the government…”. Â Holy pompous socialist nonsense. It’s exactly not eminently reasonable at all, whatsoever. It’s utterly unreasonable. They speak of “dividends” — Â to the government — as if we’re talking about actual free enterprise and capitalism here. Like this is a business just like Walmart or, say, and actual insurance company.
Their ongoing effort to blur the lines between actual business and socialist government “business” is taking shape nicely. That’s part of the progressive agenda.
But the end of what really amounts to pro-socialist propaganda takes (the people’s?) cake:
ICBC should set its rates primarily based on claims costs, not political expediency, and the BCUC [BC Utilities Commission — another government dep’t] should exercise its authority to adjust them as it sees fit. There should be no need for government to interfere.
What? One government department, ICBC, fighting with another government department over how much to bilk the taxpayer in the monopoly state-owned, state-run insurance racket — and  “There should be no need for government to interfere”?
They can’t see that this is all government? Are they pretending? Are they trying to fake you out? What’s going on here? Are they drunk?
They’re now so socialist they don’t even see how socialist they are. They can’t see the socialist for the socialism.
And here’s a gratuitous picture of Karl Marx. I think it’s eminently reasonable that a private citizen include it thusly.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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