WRONG GUY FOR THE WRONG JOB

When Kevin Falcon was appointed BC Health Minister recently, I predicted trouble with a capital "T."

Falcon is now saying that he will impose financial penalties on executives in the pubic health care system who fail to meet their financial and performance targets.

Listen to his philospohy in his own pea-brained words:

"That's how most people in the real world operate and it should be no different here."

Really, Kev?

First, this statement shows that Falcon doesn;t understand for a split second the role of government in a modern Western democracy. He also doesn't understand that governments, especially in their management of social programs, are exactly NOT like the private sector. The public governance of health care is a universe unto itself with different rules, targets and agendas.

That does not mean for a second that anything goes or that sloppiness with public funds is to be tolerated or excused.

It does mean that the model is significantly different and that outcomes and expenses need be measured in slightly different ways from say...General Motors! Hahahaha.

Which leads us to Falcon's second problem. Or better, our second problem with the Good Minister.

His role model is "the real world."

He means, we can only surmise, the real world of GM and Enron, Goldman Sachs and Bernie Madoff.

Lovely.

Those are the role models we want to be emulating when it comes to our care of the elderly and cancer and diabetes.

Right.