6 - Friday, July 10, [Wear Be Eonanis Racy wll Pa PoLMctANS, | ECONOMISTS AND MEDIA INSIGHTS oes Ee I\s ‘Dream delivered NCE IN a while, a local success story comes along that deserves more thar: just a passing meniion. Such fs the case, with the West Van- couver Museum anc Historical Seciety. Thanks to the brave efforts of this group of yoluntezrs, West Vancouver as its. first-ever archives and is about to open its first museum. . In a time when arts and culture aren’t foremost on people’s minds or government agentdas, success didn’t come easy. - ’ ‘But after 12 years of scrimping and sav- ing, the group miraculously came ap with close to half a million dollars for the pro- ject through merabership dues, flea mar- kets, garage sales, private donations and other imaginative fundraising efferts. "The dream ‘‘took a lot of selling,’’ ac- cording to some members ~- not to men- tion fetter-writing campaigns to municipal hali and countless hours preparing submis- sions to secure Gertrude Lawson House, where the new archives is already operating. ’ : As one member noted, ‘‘district hall didn’t think we were capable. of doing it, but we showed them that we were -workers and not just people sitting around on our thumbs.”’ In time, the society hopes to attract a wide range of users. Among other things, it plans to develop a travelling kit that can be taken into local schools so young peo- ple can begin thinking more about their own history. Our hats should come off to this hard- working group of volunteers who had the courage and determination to see the pro ject through. . OF THE DAY Whose idea was half-price sailings? Deer Editor: The big winners with the in-. troduction of overnight sailings from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo are truckers — particularly — big truckers. While the half-price ferries are trucks, each saving anywhere be- tween $100 to $150 per trip, the earlier full-price sailings are vir- tually empty. Our Minister for Finance and . Corporate Relations, Mr. Clark, calls this ‘innovative,’ but I would call it unbelievably stupid. The people of B.C. are sub-" sidizing giant companies with trucks while at the same time our neighborhoods are being forced to give up sleep, clean air and safety. Whose idea was this anyway? Ross Graham Horseshoe Bay Paid work cake too small to feed everyone THE MOST baffling thing about chronic unemployment is why anybody should be baffled by it. The root cause is so obvious that it hardly bears stating: teo many people for the jobs available. But don’t switch channels just yet. Think about that statement a pioment — because the situation it describes is presently inevitable. For centuries the ever-growing needs of society were adequately produced by half the working-age population working for pay and . the other half working at home with oven, washtub and mop — for no pay. As demands for life’s goodies grew, we devised new methods and new machines to satisfy them. But the ratio of paid workers —- mostly male — to the total popu- lation showed no significant in- - crease. Modern warfare ended all this. With many males away fighting, lots of new paid workers were needed to supply the necessities of life and the masses of special hardware the warrior males need- ed. 3o mom and sis finally escaped from their unpaid chores in the kitchen and bedroom, and discovered the delights of a pay packet for doing mate jobs just as well as dad and big brother ever did them. When peace descended, women were determined to hang on to their wage cheques and new-found personal freedom. And why not, indeed? By 1945 their numbers had soared to 33% of the workforce and kept right on rising — to to- day’s 45%. In the earlier post-war years, with all the tidying up and - catching up to be done, this caus- ed few major problems. But from the 1960s onward things went steadily downhill. In 1965 unemployment was 3.9%. By 1970 it rose to 5.9%. Ten years later it was running at 7.5% and by 1985 reached 10.5%. After easing briefly to 8.1% in 1990 it’s now holding stubbornly at over 11%. In the same period breathtaking advances in techno- logy — automation, robots and computers — have also been rap- idly devouring jobs. This profitable replacement of humans by electronics points only one way. Since all consumer needs have traditionally been met by the paid labor of 50% of the work- ing-age population, galloping high tech means fewer and fewer than 50% will be abie to meet future | demand. Bat in Canada today almost 70% of working-age males and | Wright HITHER AND YON females are competing for a slice of the paid work cake that was ALWAYS too smail to feed more than 50% and is getting smaller ali the time. Hence 11% unemployment — and more to come, if present lifestyles continue. So what CAN be done under our free enterprise - system to provide paid work for many more than 50% of ° ‘employable persons? How much would it cost? 'And what's the price of doing nothing? . We'll take a hard iook at these questions next week. . eeo POSTSCRIPTS: Hats off to the 50-odd good guys at West Van Kiwanis Ciub who {ast year raised and donated almost $46,000 (equivalent to over $900 per member) to some 25 good causes,: headed by the Kiwanis Seniors... Housing Society. Among other *- major beneficiaries were Lions Gate Hospital, the ‘Y’, West Van» Day Care, the Association for the: ” Physically Handicapped and the °° CNIB ... Rick Amanteg, director. of Park Royal, tells West Van | Chamber of Commerce's 7:30 . '- a.m. breakfast meeting Tuesday, . July 14, at the Ambleside Inn’. -.:. - about the future of Canada’s first. shopping centre, now in the throes > of revitalization ... Meanwhile, if -: you call 926-3266 pronto, there’) = may still be time to leara to play: - bridge at West Van Rec Centre's July classes. eee WRIGHT OR WRONG: No- body’s eyesight was ever damaged. by looking at the bright side. ‘ sailing with a full contingent of © Prnied on 10% recycled Pewsprint North Snore managed Distribution 966-1337 Subscriptions 986-1337 Fax 985-3227 Administration 985-2131 MEMBER Sk UN tomenrse omnes Display Advertising 980-0511 Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classified Advertising 986-6222 Newsroom 985-2131 Publisher Peter Speck Managing Editor... Timothy Renshaw Associate Editor Noel Wright Advertising Director .. Linda Stewart Comptrolier - Doug Foot North Shore Nows, founded in 1969 as an independent suourban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph II! of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Lid. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Second Glass Mail Registration Number p88 = ubscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per = year. Mailing rates available on request Noe nonsdate Avenes Submissions are welcome but we Cannot accept + Nee Tesponsibilily for unsolicited mnaterial including V7M 2H4 manuscripts and pictures which should be |. accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope. _ Entire contents.© 1992 North Shore.Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. north shore : 2 Loy SOA OIVISION NEWS photo Brad Letwidge YOUNG PATIENTS Jonathan Fullerton and Ryan Sklerwk secelve ghetto-blasters’ recently donated to the LGH chlidren'’s ward by West Van firefighters. Sharing the happy occasion were; (left to tight) nurse Sheila McFadden, firefighter Dave Tyier and ringotte rep Elise Tyler... - ee ee ee wanegueee anes SUNDAY + WEDAEBDAY » FRIDAY 61,562 (average circulation, Wednesday. Friday & Sunday)