Re: Stick and straw men debate HST (B.C. Views, May 18)
In his column, Tom Fletcher cast his net wide to criticize HST opponents including NDP MLAs, Bill Vander Zalm and “Big Labour,” accusing them of everything from falsehoods to crude scare tactics.
Along the way he quoted from an analysis by Vancouver tax lawyer David Robinson extolling perceived advantages of the tax, yet Fletcher failed to meet a basic criteria of journalistic balance by not mentioning the fundamental fact that the average B.C. family is now paying significantly more in tax now than before the HST.
Above all, he totally dodged the main issue in this whole debate, namely blatant misrepresentation by the current government before the tax was legislated, and the still ongoing efforts to manipulate the public into acceptance.
If successful, the government will indeed have established that voters can be misinformed and treated with disdain, but given a little time, the odd face change, and lots of advertising dollars courtesy of taxpayers, they can still be manipulated into jumping through the desired hoops.
Terry Milne
Victoria