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LETTER: Conservative playbook slowly erodes public health, education systems

LETTER: Remember, people, every politician's mantra – “It seemed like a good idea at the time”.
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Editor:

I refer to Marilyn Foxford's letter in the Sept. 26 edition of the Outlook "Albertans should be worried by Premier Danielle Smith's, UCP 'radical changes'."

Danielle Smith's privatization of the Alberta health and education systems is taken directly from the conservative playbook as used previously in the United Kingdom (National Health Service) and Australia (education). It is quite simple. This is how it works.

First, take money from the public health and education systems and give it to the private for-profit health and education systems. The result: the public systems can no longer provide all the services they used to.

Second, the government smears and rubbishes the public health and education systems and the people working in them for not providing the services they used to.

Third, the government then self-righteously proclaims that as the public systems are no longer capable of providing the services the citizens expect of them the solution, therefore, is that more public money must be invested in the private for-profit Health and education systems. The result: the eventual breakdown of the public health and education systems.

Fourth, the government continues to smear and rubbish the public health and education systems and the people working in them.

Result No. 1: a two-tier system whereby public money from public health and education systems subsidises the whole of the for-profit private systems.

Result No. 2: the poor citizens in society are deprived of what was once good public health and education systems.

Result No. 3: the wealthy citizens in society have a greatly resourced private health and education system paid for by the poor.

Remember, people, every politician's mantra – “It seemed like a good idea at the time”.

Alex Edwards,

Canmore

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