I listened to Mainstreet as I drove home from work yesterday. 

I had never heard of The Mainstreet Spinbusters but was pleased that they were featured as I am into listening to panels discuss politics. 

I also love to hear a clever analogy, one that makes it easier to understand something complex.

Mr. Chris Lydon - one of the aforementioned Spinbusters seems to enjoy analogies too. But not of the clever variety, more of the - hmmm - push-a-tired-unhelpful-unimaginative-narrative kind. 

Allow me to explain. 

CBC has not yet uploaded this conversation of the oddly named Spinbusters to their site, so I am writing from my memory. I will share the link when it becomes available. 

So, who do you think the person on the street asking for some money supposed to represent? 

Perhaps one of the 25% of children who grow up in poverty in Halifax struggling as a young adult? 

No, that person represents Cape Breton. 

And the person with the money? 

Yep - that would be the HRM. 

Mr. Chris Lydon asked us listeners to imagine how we would feel if we just gave 5$ to a person who approaches us on the street and who then had the audacity to ask for 5 $ more dollars - I am paraphrasing, as noted earlier. 

(I am sure that many people would feel no more than sympathy for the person asking for money but that is not the point that Mr. Lydon wanted to make.) 

You see,  in Lydon's analogy, Cape Breton continually asks for money and this is tiring and annoying for those who live in HRM. It is not money than Cape Breton needs but ... I kind of stopped listening as I wondered whether CBC had been taking over by some kind of Canadian Fox- wannabe station.

I did hear Mr. Lydon note that when he last visited Sydney he saw people with tattos doing interesting things. (?) He also made an adjective with the word "Brooklyn." 

The argument that Mr. Lydon is trying to make is simplistic and boring. 

I encourage CBC to find people who have the imagination and inclination to speak of Cape Breton's precarious financial position with a modicum of compassion and with a eye toward a vibrant future for our remarkable Island, which is part of Nova Scotia. 

The idea behind Mr. Lydon's faulty analogy is that somehow HRM deserves government funding and somehow Cape Breton does not. 

The federal government has a plan called "Investing in Canada."

The "Social" stream under this fund has a purpose:" ...to give every Canadian a real and fair chance at success, in part by making investments in Indigenous communities, early learning and childcare, affordable housing, home care, and cultural and recreational infrastructure." 

The following projects have received funds from the Social stream:

• The new art gallery in Halifax will receive $ 30,000,000.(It is projected to cost  $ 123,350,000.)
• The Neptune Theatre received  $ 499,978.
• The Sack-A-Wa Multipurpose Training Facility received 436, 225.
• The Advancing Women in Apprenticement Program received $ 2,559,855. 
• The New Discovery Centre received  $2,089,620.

There are 25 more projects/organizations that have received federal funding under the social stream listed on the government website, which is updated on a monthy basis. 

In Cape Breton, 5 projects/organizations have been funded using the social stream: 

• The Glace Bay Arena received  $ 3,250,000. 
• The second berth for cruise ships received $ 6,666,666. (Lot's of 6s here.) 
• The development of Youth Homelessness Community Plan received  $ 374,557. 
• The Holy Angles conversion received  $ 5,000,000

Most of this money is being spent in a targetted way that will help people. 

As Nova Scotians, and Cape Bretoners, we are trying to lift people up and provide opportunities. 

Mr. Lydon seems to believe that when Cape Breton stands up and asks for funding for infrastructure that it is asking for something it does not deserve. I do not understand this way of thinking. 

Cape Breton is in a precarious position financially, but it is one of the most beautiful places on our planet and with ecotourism on the rise and lots of smart people finding creative ways to make a living and contribute to our society - our future could be bright. 

So if we ask the government for funding to fix our potholes so that we, and the tourists who visit us, are safer when we drive, or for a new library in Sydney because the one we have has to close when it is too hot outside - it has no air conditioning, perhaps instead of imagining a down-on-their-luck person on the street asking for a handout, like Mr. Lydon  would have you do, imagine a historically resourceful people advocating for what their community needs, not wants.