The editorial board of the Globe and Mail truly embarrassed itself with its recently published rant against tax cuts for struggling Canadians..With an utter lack of self-awareness, they referred to the tax cuts being made by premiers Doug Ford, Jason Kenney, Scott Moe and John Horgan in response to skyrocketing energy prices as “an opportunity to shower voters with money.” Let’s be clear, cutting taxes isn’t showering anybody in money. It is letting them keep their own hard-earned money in their pockets..If anybody is indeed being showered with money, it is Canada’s mainstream media outlets, including the Globe& Mail, that have been slurping at the subsidy trough to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer’s bailouts..It’s galling watching a media outlet shamelessly taking a bite from taxpayers in order to bail out their own unsustainable business model, only to listen to them complain the government is letting those same taxpayers keep a little more of their own earnings..It makes me envision a pig raising its entitled head from a trough and squealing in rage because a nearby starving labourer is nibbling on crumbs left to him by the farmer. “How dare that peasant eat when those leavings could be given to us!”.The subsidy presstitutes of the media world have developed such a sense of entitlement to the earnings of Canadians, they express fury at the mere thought of giving taxpayers a break. Any money kept by Canadians is a little less money Canada’s rotting, legacy media outlets may not be able to take, I guess..The high costs of energy are harming the entire nation, right now. As we struggle to climb from the economic hole created through years of pandemic measures, high energy prices are only making the struggle tougher. Even if a person doesn’t drive a car, high fuel prices are contributing to the rise in cost of all consumer goods. Many people are sitting right on the financial edge and these breaks in fuel taxes are giving them some much needed breathing space..The editorial board of the Globe and Mail doesn’t understand that fiscal struggle however. Perhaps if the government cut off the constant taxpayer-funded bailouts thus forcing newspapers such as the Globe and Mail to make the same kind of cutbacks common citizens have to, they would begin to get a glimmer of understanding of why tax breaks are welcome and needed by Canadians right now..I won’t hold my breath on the government cutting the subsidies to media outlets any time soon, however. Editorials such as the one from the Globe and Mail demonstrate the media bailouts are working exactly as the government hoped they would..The Globe editorial parrots the Liberal talking points in defending fuel taxes so completely, it reads as if it was written by a communications flack with Trudeau’s party or even Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault himself. Perhaps it was..As mainstream media outlets become increasingly dependent upon the government to transfer taxpayer’s money to them, those outlets will naturally find themselves beholden to their government masters. They will feel less inclination to cover the government with a critical eye, and will be increasingly tempted to write puff-pieces modelled to make government officials smile..It’s gross, crony-capitalism at its worst..Currently, a group of five government-appointed members form a committee that determines who is or isn’t a journalist and what outlet is or isn’t a legitimate news source. Their meetings are held in secret and their requirements for what they consider to be qualified outlets are nebulous. In an interview on the Canadaland podcast, the media committee chair repeatedly said of outlets when asked which is or isn’t considered journalism, “That’s journalism, but not the kind of journalism that qualifies for the program.” The standards are arbitrary and fuzzy..The Western Standard applied and qualified as a Trudeau government-approved outlet, by the way, but we refuse to apply for or take any media subsidies. We just wanted to see if could do it. If we took subsidies, we would lose our sense of editorial independence and be on the road to becoming just another trumpet beholden to the government. Principles remain more important to us than government handouts as they do with many alternative outlets. That is why it is so important we don’t allow the federal government to continue with its quest to centralize and control media. They would shut down every alternative media outlet in the country if they could, and rest assured, they are trying to find ways to do it..The Trudeau government is dividing media into a preferred class and a sub-class. The preferred class is subsidized, celebrated and gets unfettered government access. The sub-class, often decried as being a provider of “fake news,” is denied access to government press events, and is under constant attack from legislation such as Bills C-11 and C-18..This state-manufactured media hierarchy has fostered a sense of elitism and entitlement among members within legacy media outlets..The insulting piece in the Globe and Mail wasn’t written by some lone columnist, it was an official opinion from their editorial board. Their paper, while shamelessly taking subsidies from the pockets of taxpayers, is officially opposed to giving citizens a tax break..Keep that in mind as you consider subscribing to or reading material from legacy media outlets such as the Globe and Mail..You can’t yet stop the government from showering your tax dollars upon the mainstream media, but you can stop giving them any more of your own. They won’t respect your wallet or your right to keep money you have earned. Why should you do them any favours in return? Let them slide into full state broadcaster status like the CBC. While it still costs a fortune, at least people have stopped reading them and their ratings prove it..Cory Morgan is Opinion & Broadcast Editor for the Western Standard.cmorgan@westernstandardonline.com
The editorial board of the Globe and Mail truly embarrassed itself with its recently published rant against tax cuts for struggling Canadians..With an utter lack of self-awareness, they referred to the tax cuts being made by premiers Doug Ford, Jason Kenney, Scott Moe and John Horgan in response to skyrocketing energy prices as “an opportunity to shower voters with money.” Let’s be clear, cutting taxes isn’t showering anybody in money. It is letting them keep their own hard-earned money in their pockets..If anybody is indeed being showered with money, it is Canada’s mainstream media outlets, including the Globe& Mail, that have been slurping at the subsidy trough to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer’s bailouts..It’s galling watching a media outlet shamelessly taking a bite from taxpayers in order to bail out their own unsustainable business model, only to listen to them complain the government is letting those same taxpayers keep a little more of their own earnings..It makes me envision a pig raising its entitled head from a trough and squealing in rage because a nearby starving labourer is nibbling on crumbs left to him by the farmer. “How dare that peasant eat when those leavings could be given to us!”.The subsidy presstitutes of the media world have developed such a sense of entitlement to the earnings of Canadians, they express fury at the mere thought of giving taxpayers a break. Any money kept by Canadians is a little less money Canada’s rotting, legacy media outlets may not be able to take, I guess..The high costs of energy are harming the entire nation, right now. As we struggle to climb from the economic hole created through years of pandemic measures, high energy prices are only making the struggle tougher. Even if a person doesn’t drive a car, high fuel prices are contributing to the rise in cost of all consumer goods. Many people are sitting right on the financial edge and these breaks in fuel taxes are giving them some much needed breathing space..The editorial board of the Globe and Mail doesn’t understand that fiscal struggle however. Perhaps if the government cut off the constant taxpayer-funded bailouts thus forcing newspapers such as the Globe and Mail to make the same kind of cutbacks common citizens have to, they would begin to get a glimmer of understanding of why tax breaks are welcome and needed by Canadians right now..I won’t hold my breath on the government cutting the subsidies to media outlets any time soon, however. Editorials such as the one from the Globe and Mail demonstrate the media bailouts are working exactly as the government hoped they would..The Globe editorial parrots the Liberal talking points in defending fuel taxes so completely, it reads as if it was written by a communications flack with Trudeau’s party or even Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault himself. Perhaps it was..As mainstream media outlets become increasingly dependent upon the government to transfer taxpayer’s money to them, those outlets will naturally find themselves beholden to their government masters. They will feel less inclination to cover the government with a critical eye, and will be increasingly tempted to write puff-pieces modelled to make government officials smile..It’s gross, crony-capitalism at its worst..Currently, a group of five government-appointed members form a committee that determines who is or isn’t a journalist and what outlet is or isn’t a legitimate news source. Their meetings are held in secret and their requirements for what they consider to be qualified outlets are nebulous. In an interview on the Canadaland podcast, the media committee chair repeatedly said of outlets when asked which is or isn’t considered journalism, “That’s journalism, but not the kind of journalism that qualifies for the program.” The standards are arbitrary and fuzzy..The Western Standard applied and qualified as a Trudeau government-approved outlet, by the way, but we refuse to apply for or take any media subsidies. We just wanted to see if could do it. If we took subsidies, we would lose our sense of editorial independence and be on the road to becoming just another trumpet beholden to the government. Principles remain more important to us than government handouts as they do with many alternative outlets. That is why it is so important we don’t allow the federal government to continue with its quest to centralize and control media. They would shut down every alternative media outlet in the country if they could, and rest assured, they are trying to find ways to do it..The Trudeau government is dividing media into a preferred class and a sub-class. The preferred class is subsidized, celebrated and gets unfettered government access. The sub-class, often decried as being a provider of “fake news,” is denied access to government press events, and is under constant attack from legislation such as Bills C-11 and C-18..This state-manufactured media hierarchy has fostered a sense of elitism and entitlement among members within legacy media outlets..The insulting piece in the Globe and Mail wasn’t written by some lone columnist, it was an official opinion from their editorial board. Their paper, while shamelessly taking subsidies from the pockets of taxpayers, is officially opposed to giving citizens a tax break..Keep that in mind as you consider subscribing to or reading material from legacy media outlets such as the Globe and Mail..You can’t yet stop the government from showering your tax dollars upon the mainstream media, but you can stop giving them any more of your own. They won’t respect your wallet or your right to keep money you have earned. Why should you do them any favours in return? Let them slide into full state broadcaster status like the CBC. While it still costs a fortune, at least people have stopped reading them and their ratings prove it..Cory Morgan is Opinion & Broadcast Editor for the Western Standard.cmorgan@westernstandardonline.com
