Shooting the Hippo: Death by Deficit and Other Canadian Myths
Linda McQuaig
Viking/Penguin Books Canada, Toronto, 1995. $29.99
I find myself sitting on my comfortable porch, in old Ottawa South,
on a warm summer day, lemonade at hand, with a brand new copy of
Shooting the Hippo: Death by Deficit and Other Canadian Myths,
the latest in a group of intriguingly titled books by veteran Toronto
journalist Linda McQuaig (her other books include The Wealthy
Banker's Wife and The Quick and the Dead).
I deliberately want to set the stage for this review of what I
consider to be a singularly important book, not necessarily for
you, the reader of this brief review, but maybe for your colleagues,
relatives or in-laws. This is a book for those who might yet be
moved to appreciate that our “corporate” fixation, bordering
on hysteria, on the debt and the deficit, as reflected in the mass
media and the apparent growth of neo-conservative politics
across the country, might have an explanation other than that of
economic determinism.
I'll begin with the title. A baby hippo, born in a zoo, is to be
shot as a consequence of government cutbacks which leave no budget
to feed and care for the hippo. This image jolts the reader into
an unfolding series of other examples of what McQuaig calls “the
popular mythology of the deficit”. McQuaig sets out to debunk,
one by one, a host of current myths about the state of the Canadian
economy. In the process, she urges us to look at the social programs
— ranging from Unemployment Insurance to health care —
that have traditionally served Canadians and defined our identity.
She then asks if we are prepared to see these social programs sacrificed
on the altar of deficit reduction. The prevailing political orthodoxy
would have us believe that there is no option but to make this sacrifice,
a dogma which McQuaig effectively demolishes in the 285 pages of
this book. I am not an economist and neither is McQuaig, but I urge
everyone to run, not walk, to borrow this book (available from Ottawa
Friends Meeting House library and at your local booksellers). This
book explains the history of this myth, and will enable you to counter
more effectively the prevailing arguments of gloom and despair about
our financial health — which are usually followed by the statement
“...so we can't afford our current social programs in today's
economy.”
In the end, McQuaig asks us “to search our souls and see if
we can't come up with some resolve as a nation”. Her fear is
that “we will fail to muster the needed determination”,
but I found her book an inspiration to tackle the enormous challenge
ahead of all of us, to inform, educate ourselves and our friends,
families and neighbours in the difficult days ahead.
Abby Pollonetsky is a former staff member of the New Democratic
Party, and ran as an NDP candidate in the previous election. She
is currently the Ottawa campaign co-ordinator for Svend Robinson,
the British Columbia M.P. who is running for leader of the New Democratic
Party.
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