UPDATED: An Immodest (And Deeply Offensive) Proposal

 

Accountability is a strange thing these days. People "take responsibility" when the public finds out they did something wrong, but very rarely do any consequences ensue. Errant public officials keep their positions, CEOs often maintain their jobs,  and celebrities simply say "That's not who I am," when caught in a racist or ill-advised social post that earns widespread condemnation from the online community. True accountability is exceedingly rare.

I suspect that for many of the monied amongst us, the very concept of accountability is an irritant, foisted upon them by their 'lessers'. Oh, how they must chafe under the rules of democracy, where every citizen has a potential voice (should they choose to vote) in the rules that govern them. It doesn't seem fair that the wealthy vote, at least in theory, carries only the same weight as everyone else's. Surely a change is needed so that accountability can be set on their terms.

At least that's the view of people like Shopify's Tobias Lutke. His premise is a simple one: voting rights should be tied to one's productivity,

suggesting that seniors and Canadians living in poverty should be denied the vote.

No liberal democracy has experimented with disenfranchising what in Canada would amount to more than 12 million people, or close to one-third of the total population.

In posts on X, Lütke had these words for Canada’s seniors: “New deal,” he wrote. “When you get your pension deal it’s locked in and guaranteed. But now you are a dependent and that means no voting, just like dependents under age. Enjoy the deal, let people with a stake in the future decide.”

As a senior, I find the idea that we have no stake in the future of our country to be deeply offensive. It essentially stereotypes us as layabouts living off the fat of the land, idlers who have nothing useful to offer or say about the policies and direction of Canada. Institutional memory seems to offend, perhaps even frighten, Lutke.

However, his ideas don't stop with simple disenfranchisement. He also says that the wealthier one is, the more votes one should have. He

endorsed a voting system floated by former banker Eric Thor that would see ballots weighted “proportional to the level of income tax you pay.” The system would be progressive and proportional, capped at five votes for those who pay $500,000 a year or more, while those who pay no income tax would not receive a vote. Lutke called it “good,” noting it would “reward productive people with leverage.”

What’s disturbing isn’t just the idea itself — a voting system that distributes ballots based on income tax paid — but also that publicly praising it adds to the public register an approach to self-government that reduces people to their perceived economic value. The next leap, which is barely a skip, is that the government should get out of the way and let the rich lead us all towards a libertarian utopia free from state regulation or any commitment to caring for those who are unable or unwilling to be “builders,” to use the parlance of tech types.

Democracy is imperfect and always evolving. Some shun their civic responsibility, evidenced by perennially poor turnouts at the ballot box. In a democracy, that is their choice, just as it is their right to vote for parties and ideas that some of us may not like. However, all of that is a far cry from what oligarchs like Lutke are suggesting. 

Such individuals may not like democratic accountability, but if they must have it, they want it set on their terms. One has merely to look at people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg to see where that would lead.

UPDATE: If you would like to know more about Shopify and Mr. Lutke, click here.

UPDATED: Corporations And DEI

If one ever wanted further proof of the near-absence of ethics and morality in the corporate world, one need look no further than their rapid dismantling of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. Since the policy has been denounced by Trump and his MAGA cult, corporations seem to be in a race to prove their discriminatory bona fides to the Orangutan-in-Chief so as not to lose government contracts or, in the case of publicly-funded entities, operating grants.

Amongst the notable sellouts are Pepsi and Coca-Cola, Disney, Citygroup, Morgan Stanley, PBS, Amazon and Google. One of the notable holdouts, and I applaud them for their integrity, is Costco, which recently has been threatened with legal action for their refusal to bow to tyranny.

I am sorry to report, however, that the noxious reach of American authoritarianism and exclusion now extends into Canada. Irene Galea writes:

Nearly 400 technology leaders have signed an open letter that condemns Shopify Inc.  for cutting diversity programs and urges Canada’s tech ecosystem to protect equity, inclusion and diversity efforts amid a rollback of support for marginalized groups by influential companies and leaders.

The letter, published Monday morning, warns against the growing influence of unelected and unaccountable business leaders who “prioritize profit over people,” and calls on Canadians to uphold the values of inclusion that are being challenged in the United States.

Now comes word that the Pride Festival in Toronto  is being compromised, again as a result of corporate cowardice.

Pride Toronto says three large corporate sponsors have pulled their funding from the festival this year in a move it says is connected to a backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the U.S.

Kojo Modeste, executive director of Pride Toronto, said on Wednesday that the non-profit organization was given a range of reasons by the three companies for their decisions to end sponsorship. It was told in the last couple of weeks that the companies have either experienced a "shift in mandate" or they do not have the financial resources to continue to support the annual event.

"Every time we lose a sponsor, there is less money that is directed to the festival. And so, it will definitely have an impact on us being able to deliver on the festival," Modeste said.

Who the corporate cowards are is not being revealed, 

because Pride Toronto hopes to do business with them in the future, but said two can be described as "gold" sponsors, meaning they provide $150,000 in cash or in goods, and one as "silver," meaning it provides $100,000.

Now, one might say, "Since I never attend the Pride events, why should I care?" One obvious answer is the economic implications of any downsizing or  ultimate ending of the event, given what it contributes to the local economy. A 2023 report offers the following numbers:

• 4,700+ direct jobs created
• $500 million contribution to the GDP
• $230 million combined tax revenues generated

Beyond that, however, is the attempt to mute, even eliminate, diverse voices in society. The Benighted States, whence this repression emanates, has a long history of intolerance. Racism and bigotry are as American as Mom, apple pie, and baseball. One need only look at those whose voices are being muted by the war on DEI: women and minorities be they ethnic, racial, or sexual.

Canada can do nothing about the ease with which Americans so easily regress to deeply-ingrained, primitive patterns. However Canadians, despite our own often shameful past, now strive as a country for something better, meaning that inclusion and 'wokeness' are virtues, not sins against society. 

Corporate cowards supinely submitting to fiats from Don Trump and his disciples are without question unacceptable and truly, profoundly un-Canadian; they should be repugnant to us all.

UPDATE: According to a report in The Globe and Mail, one of the three withdrawing sponsors of Toronto Pride has been identified as Nissan Canada, which

confirmed Friday it is withdrawing, but the other two sponsors have not been identified.

 Nissan Canada spokesperson Didier Marsaud said in an e-mail the decision was based on changes to the company’s marketing priorities and budget evaluation for its new fiscal year, which starts April 1.

“Unfortunately, we will not be able to sponsor this year’s event in Toronto, a local decision solely due to a re-evaluation of all our marketing and media activations in a variety of activities to ensure we will efficiently support our new product launches and marketing campaigns coming in 2025,” he said.

Of the 14 companies listed as gold and silver sponsors on the Pride Toronto website, several have already confirmed to media that they will continue to fund the event. These include the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., Tim Hortons Inc., Air Canada, Rogers Communications Inc. and Smirnoff.

 The Globe contacted other companies that had not yet confirmed whether they will be sponsors this year. Law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP said it is still participating.

However, Manulife Financial Corp., Bud Light (owned by Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA), The Abnormal Beauty Co., Kenvue Inc., Bubbly sparkling water, Adidas AG and Trojan condoms did not respond to The Globe’s requests for comment.

Canadian observers fear the U.S. backlash against DEI initiatives that followed President Donald Trump’s orders to axe such programming in federal agencies could be seeping across the border.