Page 6, Whltby Free Press, Wednesday, August 9. l1995 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whîtby residents for Whîtby residents! MEMBER 0F: CANADIAN ONTARIO COMMUNITY COMMUNITY NEW$9PAPER NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION ISSN#0844-398X The Whitby Free Press is distributed free to 99% of the homes in Whitby, Brooklin, Ashburn & Myrtle as weII as numerous public and commercial outlets in Whitby, Oshawa, Ajax, Pickering & Port Perry. 27,500 COPIES DELIVERED WEEKLY MAIL SUBSCIPTIONS AVAILABLE Canada $34 + GST - Outside Canada $80 + GSI Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario me. Box 206, 131 Brook St. N.,, Whitby, Ontario Li N 5S1 Phone: 668-611-1 Out of town: 1-800-668-0322 -Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pither - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 200, recycled content using vegetable based inks. CAil written material, illustrations and advertising contained herein is prolected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for commercial p roes without the express permission of the newspaper is prohibited and is a violation o f Canadian copyright Iaw. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit mie 10 the Whitby Free Press. Must spend Iless To the editor: Leter by S. Ashby, 'More for less,1 Free Press, July 26 Dear S. Ashby: 1 have "given my heed a shake," baoked at the situation yet again, and came ta the seme conclusion. The provincial government spends more than R can affard. f we want any reasonable level of services avalabie for aur children, the government must spend less money. Regarding yaur concerns over changes to daycare, the provincial govemment Is maklng every effort ta pravide affordable dlaycare spaces for familles in financiai need. However, there is a fimit to the emount of money available. Additional funding MIl opefully be evallabie tbrougb the rnuniclpalities. On Oct. 1, municipal governments wli be spending 21 per cent Iess money on welfare. The provincial government Wi be encouraging municipalities ta use a portion af this savings ta offset any change in fundlng for daycare spaces. As a resuit, the direct impact on families in aur community shouid be minimal. I agree that "chiidren are our most preclaus cammadity,n and it Is for the future benefit of our children thet the government is meking this difficuit decisions today. * Jlm Flaherty, MPP Durham Centre No death penalty To the editor: Tbere bas been a lot af discussion ln the media letely about capital punishment, and why it sbouid be brougbt back. Why iill people ta show people tbat killing people is wrang? A soaiety that is truly just cannot reasonably support capital punishment. i's true that aur criminel justice system bas many f laws, and must be re-examlned. i do not agree, however, that - reintroducing the deetb penalty is going ta eliminate tbem. Thats averly slmplistic thinklng. My youngest brother was murdered almost four weeks ago, on July 8. For a few bnief moments, l'il admit i fentasized about bis kilier being executeci as retribution. Realsticaliy, bawever, I know i couîd nover support it. i do hope that be Is given e true Iffe sentence. I elso hope that he wakes behind bers every day wlth the knowiedge that ho is resa.onsible for the death of a man wbo was a friend, a brother, a son and a fether. Tanya M. Gulîiver Whitby To thea edt*r, Think "positive"9 To t he editor: Re: Dilemma of Debbie McCauley ('Brooklin momn issues challenge to MPP,' Free Press, Aug. 2) The pillaging af Canadlan soclety ta support a pemicous socal wefare system has been a bane to aur wel belng for the greatest part of my 50 odd years. As such, most citizens have bQen suffocated wîth left-wing media, human interest articles sobblng over the plight of whining weffare profèssionals. Normally theso Unews" items are overlooked as repetitive propaganda, assigned their proper location in the blue box. However, the challenge that Debbie MIcCauley hurled at Jim Flaherty provoked some considerable thought. This persan, and others in the shme self- contrived comfort zone, can Improve their personal financial situation, become property owners-iandlords, give their children the better things of Ie, expand their social experiences, even estabiish greater.security and peace of mind. They can contribute to a soclety from which they 'have taken sa much, escaping the welfare net they have, wantonly embraced. The solutions are- simple, historlcally tested and approved, commonly practised by some in Canadja, part of the cultural mosaic in the rest of the world, and poihically correct Most everywhere.' Colboquiaily, this form of self- dependence is known. as worklng or going out and getting a job. More formaliy it is known as gainful empioyment, being part of the workforce, deveioping monetary independence, living a productive useful Ife or. contributing to the ecanomlc national strength. There i s no argument wtth -a person who has no wish ta work, ta expand their education, to be retrained or to gain their living as most of us do. God bless their Independence, provlded tbey do not expect the gravy of oCher cooks as sustenance. There is .a* pawerful argument against and rejection of those who, with no physical or mental handicap, expect to be supported by members of society witb blgh ideas and goals. Our present provincial governiment was elected because .its predecessors were fallures. We, the working fools who fund the odiaus welfare systems but neyer cailect, Idid not eiect the present gavernment ta eliminate aur debts,, yet- keep the .career poor' in the style wbicb they demand. The idea Is ta elimInate short- and bong-termn debt, and ail but the nmiost bonafide needy from the weifare mils. k Is doubtfui that Debbie Mc-Cauley needs anything than more ambition. instead of f looding alrwaves, screen and prtnt with Information about thoso who cantribute the least of this sadly misused Canada af ours, why are we notsaturated witb more human lnterest scoops on those wbo carry aithe burdens - the positive population. Without its unwlttlng support, the welfare elite and ail the speclal lnterest groups, earning fat pay packets as adivists ensuring the iongevity of the "do nathing mentality,n wouid wither or recirculate into productive toil. The positive population Is made up af the .warking mothers, single or otherwise, who awake at 4:30 a.m. to get the offspning to the sitter so tbey can. catch the GO train, the lob starts at 8 a.m.; the father of five wbo works a swing shift and rides bis bike, baugbt et a garage sale, ta work so he can save the money he- would spend on gas for a. family auting. How about the immigrant family, tbey al work in their little store. Wbat is an 18-hour day when we now Ive in a land wbere the str eets are lined with gold and ail we must do is wark bard ta pickç it up. Then there is the 401 commuter, he leeves et 5 a.m. five days a week, goes directly. to his volunteer caacbing duties a few evenings a week and meay be home by 10 p. m. Dan't forget his wife, a Brownie Brown OwI evenings, a teaching assistant ail day. .Is it unf ashionable to spotligbt these star performers acting out their lives in this town? We have had three or four generations of The Perament I3omwiodden as the only production on stage. ietime bas amrved to biing the curtain down. Paul M. Wlcher Whltby To the editor As a taxp ayer and member of the sulent mejority, I must respond to the Aug. 2 front page story invoiving tbe pligbt of Debbie McCauiey. This single mother is cbaiîenging aur. eiected officiai to live on her manthiy benefit. The wbole wefare system bhas been an averwheiming problem since it began. To attain an acceptable ievel of assistance, we must flrst decide exactiy wbere aur common obligation fails. Many of us now feei we are moraiiy obligated ta provide food, sheiter, medical attention and an education ta al membèrs o! aur community. Look for work. To the editor: Re: 'Brooklin cballenge to MPP,'1 2. mom issues Free Press, Aug. Maybe if Ms. McCauley requires more funds ta support berseif and ber son,kit s lime for ber ta look for work.' She bas e car ta got ta work. which is more tban a lot of rAnqlo woring arents bave. Or maybo fflio couitake In a lodgor to holi)wiili ber rent. If she cennot attord iloolithah.Iido bouse thet sho andhir nori kvu i. then sbarlng Il rnîjhî >ti#nittti Atier ail, I have been sharing my pay choque for years with the government ta, support people such as Ms. McCauloy. I bave been rising at 7 a.m., comuting 90 minutes ta work and roturning a 7 p.m. for 20 years, whiie raising two chiidren. I bave never felt I had the luxury ta stay at home with my chlldron. But thon 1 beileve piaying basobaîl and seeing the odd movio is important ta themn. I do flot boliove that socuety owes Mi-, M4Cauley a living. i do beliive lit-i Cho owos ber son a better Ife lhain whit ho M h ave growing up an wolifsro. I suggest that she go out nixd uot Il for Mlm. R. Blight Over time, those invoived ln the managing of provincial coffers did not wisb to hoid the Une at these basic entitlements and refused ta make the tougb decisio ns ta keep ta this objective. Uke ail prablems, most politicians feft that if .yau tbraw enougb money at R, Rit wI go away. Last year $10 billion didn't make it go away. There are bots of able-bodied single parents of 1 0-year-oids Ivng heaithy, productive Ives in this area. In Ms. McCauley's case, we bear about ber financiai situation wbicb she describes as hopeless. Realistically, it is, given the choices she bas made. Living on a one-acre hobby farm is something thât cannet be paid for at the public tro ugb. A smali apartment in town would be more suitable and be witbin walcing distance ta public transit and empioyment oppartunities. Contrary ta public belief, il is entireiy possible to be a citizen o! Ontario and not awn an automobile, bave cable television or a private phone, or bave ta pay the extremely bigb taxes on gas, tobacco and aicobol. Sa in tbe end the voters have spoicen in a big way that its lime ta get back to basics. The good ship Ontaria must now begin the slow, painful process of scraping the Ie- sucking bernacles off is economnic bull. For if we, as a pravince don't choose ta do sometbing shortly ta get aur able-bodied assistance takers up ta the plate and become part af the sokiti-on team, then we will ail slowly go down with the shîp. Rlck Johnston Whitby Get back to basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .