A6 - Friday, July 20, 1984 - North Shore News ES editorial page he public has had to put up with enough pouting and pontificating by both sides in this transit farce. No one can even say whether it is a strike, a lockout, or an excuse to soak up the summer sun. We are sure that both sides can, and have, put up sane and rational arguments as to the rightness of their cause. However, when all the rhetoric has ended, there sti! remains the plain and simple fact that the public, once again, are being told to blindly and obedient- ly pay for a service which is non-existant. Isn’t it about time that someone, some- where, should stand up and demand that a service designed for the public and paid for by the public should operate for that public? Or are we just expected to keep our mouths shut and put up with this nonsense? There comes a time when any public body being used as levers, or pawns, in the provin- cially perfected pastime of labor-manage- ment screw-ups will start to exercise their rights and demand a settlement and_ the resumption of the service for which they pay. When we look at the total picture of labor and management around British Columbia, and the image we are presenting to the rest of the country and the world, it is no wonder that our jobless rate is so high, and that our image as a stable and progressive province is dropping. It is high time the government in Victoria stopped hiding their heads in the sand to the disruptions taking place. If they continue to ignore the public then perhaps the ballot box will be the only way the public can show their displeasure over the way they are being used as a funder of massive programs and nothing else. Good work Nt of us are quick to criticize the police whenever we are handed a ticket for some minor traffic offense, or whenever that noisy party down the block isn’t broken up right away. However, there can be nothing but congratulations for the fast work of the West Van police and their allied forces in arresting a suspect in the recent murder and robbery at Park Royal. We are fortunate to have this kind of law enforce- ment on the North Shore. FR VOCOR OF PHOTTTH AND WHEY VANCOUVER Display Advertising 980-0511 north shore fl «Classified Advertising 986-6222 Newsroom 985.2131 rn ews Circulation 986. 1337 SUNDAY WRDNEADAY . rwDAY Subscriptions 980.2707 1139 Lonsdale Ave . North Vancouver. 8 C V7M 2H4 Publisner Peter Soe & Editor-in-Chief Noel Wright Associate Publisher Rober! Csrathanmn Advertising Olrector Vets betas, Personnel Director thestryy Paved Classified Manager Val Soteptvenscr Circulation Director fA) RAC awe Production Director Photography Manager Cohetis pobitoscoee ey Meters North Shore Neawea. found 66 1964 as os naperadernt cate ot Terwepaagee anil prsctlitiengs catveders Sor frcwse tae At Nowlt aa Hrevetoiter the beeme TE Pescenggeasgel CL hae ) pratbhistyerd aact Wocsemelery bf cdeny eed Snaraday ty Dhore bege Preks [ld aed diptitacted be every chor Oe the Mert Ghee Geecond ) inbs Mai Hegisteator Nuribe: ian Entire contents 1954 North Shore Free Proas Ltd All rights reserved Subse Options Nott: and Wet Vancouver $46 pre yer eve arilindrter one Maren, atte eyes! Ne esponsibility ae avg teve) toy eet bee dere) treater cet ee Ny ae Dee ayy Tadeecatee gel weed Ge Me we Bb tO Bae me COPA per reer Fey ce Laren apeetet ABD me ae cet pe Member of the B.C. Press Council a 65,550 (average Wodnenchy Seb ESE, today & Sunday sx. & THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE N ¥ S <> WY \N . \ FN Z ty ,; Vie X ARRAS MMII SS NMC MA WO WO‘\Qwo_’ WH SR MWWWRWDFT FF. SH Ee S SS SSS psypliitittiiilitiry Wi tee 12 & Ys UH YE y ae. SSSSH.... YOULL WAKE THE CABINET! Free zones for Red China OU’LL NEVER BELIEVE the latest from Red China. Are you ready for this? By WALTER BLOCK Right now, there are four free enterprise zones deep within the bowels of this giganic Communist country. Here, capitalism, not com- munism, is practised” Enter- Prise is not stifled, the economic rules are few, taxes are low and private invest- ment is encouraged The leader of mainland China, Deng Xtaoping, recently visited one of these four Special Bconomine Zones as they are termed, the one called Shenshen, which is just north of now’ embattled Hong Kong. As a result of his approving visit, the com- munist government has an- nounced that 14 new Free Enterprise Zones would soon be established. But all is not sweetness and light in China. Laissez-faire ss not the order of the day there — not quite yet. The forces of darkness are still alive and kicking, thank you kindly. According to the People’s Daily, there are = tradi- tionalists who feel that ‘‘1t 1s unavoidable that some of the filth and mire of capitalism will be brought in'’ by such adventurism Especially fear ful, to these old time © om munsits, is the spectre of allowing foreigners to open factonies on holy Chinese soul, employ Chinese workers and, gulp, export the profits. Nevertheless, in addition to comrade Deng Xiaoping, Premier Zhao Ziyang and party secretary Hu Yaobang are behind the new effort to expand free enterprise zones. lt appears they were bowled over by the Shenzhen experience. There, in a poor fishing village, the people had been permitted to sell their catch on the open market, at prices far higher than those prevail- ing in state-run shops. As a result their standard of Wang. catapulted up into the 20th century, and their huts were crammed full of new electronic gadgets This is but the ap of the weberg for free noftarket rones, accordirg to a study by the same name recently published by the Fraser Institute. Written by Simon Frase University economics pro- fessor Herbert Grubel, the book makes the case for economic freedom every- where. In China, yes. In the third world, yes. And even in relatively advanced nations such as Canada, which are always in danger of slipping back into the filth and mire of Marxist Socialism, unless new infusions of free market competitive principles are continually brought into play. For further information on this fascinating study: Free Market Zones by Herbert Grubel, you can write to the Fraser Institute. (Dr Block ts Economist of the insttlule ) Senior Fraser This idea doesn't ring true ANADA’'S TELEPHONE COMPANIES, WW seems, want us tO start paying for every call we make, regardless or whether the call is local or long distance. The new scheme, already being heavily promoted by the telephone firms that pro- vide service in Quebec, On- tano and Brotish Columbia, is called Local Measured Ser vice That's another way of saying Canadians will pay tor cach and every call they make on accents per call basis The companies claim about 60 pet cent of us wall pay less for serve than we deo mainty make now. because owe many calls Heavy users will prok up the slack Indeed, the companics arm the new system will be fasrer In addition, they con tend the overall Ghange won't cost any suggesting that (clephone Company pro fits will remain about the don't more, By W ROGER WORTH same Somehow, though, the telephone companies have conveniently forgotten that Mois expected to cost tens of milhons of dollars to place whit amounts to a pay telephone in everyone's house and business If customers won t have to pay that changeover will? cost who In addition, the telephone companies have yet to ex plain how the billing system would work One can envs ston, for cxaample. getting a tclephone bill that resembties nv bank statement with 200 to JOG entries outlining the date, time and cost of each local call. Providing such informa tion would be costly, as would the addinonal postal charges resulting from overweight bills sent of heavy users To muddy the argument even further, the phone com panies claim that revenues from people ustnag distance services NOW sub sidize the cost of telephone service companics changed Pssentially. though, the companies have been using the fairness argument to pro mote the pay per-call system But credibility is lacking In a recent vote among 64,000 members of the Cana dian bederagon of Indepen dent Business, for cxample, a tull %2 per cent of respondents repected usct pay long local The phone want that to maintain rate billing phones, opting the present flat system It's little wonder they voted as they did For years, the telephone companies have been billing (he coun try’s smallest firms at double or triple the residential phone rate, even though the business phone may be rarely used Organizations like the CFIB have pointed out this inequity to the phone com panies and the ( anadian Radio Television and Telc communications Commis sion, but the unfair charges remain Rather than spend tens of millions of dollars on pay per-call billing system, the companies would be better off using the moncy to over come the small business problem (CFIB Feature Service)