Provincial

Tax cuts? What tax cuts?

Leave a comment

Tax cuts? What tax cuts?

Listening to the “we’re asking for your input” advertisements from Gordon Campbell and his BC Liberals two points struck me.

The first point was that the ads were formatted to appear to be requests for input from citizens, rather than the rah-rah, self-promotional sales ads for Campbell and his BC Liberals they are. Formatting the ads in this manner means citizens get to pay for being inundated with self-congratulatory, we’re (Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals) wonderful ads. Apparently Campbell and the BC Liberals felt there was no ethical reason they should pay for self-promotional ads when a little formatting can stick BC citizens with the bill.

The second point is that these ads clearly attempt to convey the false impression that Gordon Campbell and his BC Liberals have given tax cuts to all BC citizens.

The true reality is that only wealthy citizens have enjoyed a tax cut and are now paying less money to the government, while the majority of BC citizens are in fact paying higher taxes under Gordon Campbell.

Remember a tax is any sum of money demanded by a government for its support or for specific facilities or services. Thus the $75 fee for renewing your drivers licence is a tax by another name.

What Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals have done is to replace progressive taxes – where those who can afford to pay more taxes (the wealthy) do so and those who cannot afford high levels of taxation (the working poor, those living in poverty etc) pay less tax – with regressive taxes where the poor pay the same tax as the rich.

To the working poor earning the minimum wage that $75 licence fee represents more than a day’s wages (9 hours) while to a highly paid bureaucrat it is less than an hours wage (approx. 40 minutes). Clearly the $75 licence fee (tax) is a much more onerous tax to the low paid worker than it is to the well-paid bureaucrat or MLA.

Across the board and year after year Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals have shifted the tax burden in BC from those most able to pay to those least able to pay. This transfer of wealth was not only from the poorest to the wealthiest; it enriched the wealthy at the expense of the majority of British Columbians.

Any taxpayer can calculate for themselves whether they are now paying more taxes to the government or if they are among the minority of British Columbians who have benefited from Gordon Campbell’s great (for the wealthy) tax shift:

Income taxes plus all fees paid to the government (licences, medical, user fees etc – any fee paid to the government) at the point Gordon Campbell was elected.

MINUS

Income taxes plus all fees paid to the government (licences, medical, user fees etc – any fee paid to the government) at this current point in time.

A positive number represents your savings, a negative number means you are paying more taxes now than when Campbell and the BC Liberals became the government.

Perform this calculation and find out whether you are wealthy enough to be paying less to the government under Gordon Campbell’s great tax shift.

Despite Premier Campbell’s attempt to convey the false impression that BC citizens are paying less to the government, most British Columbians are going to find they are not wealthy enough to have benefited to the extent of paying less and find they are now paying (taxes + taxes by any other name – fees etc) more to the BC government.

Still, they are undoubtedly far better off that the poor who have been devastated by this onerous tax shift. When you are poor you gain no benefit from income tax cuts (when your income is sufficiently low you pay no tax, a cut leaves you still paying zero taxes) but are stuck paying the new fees and fee increases.

Campbell has pillaged the poorest and those least able to afford increased payments to government, robbing from the poor to give to the rich.

Finally, remember that cuts to services represent a cost and are a price citizens pay for the touted tax “savings”. Individual citizens must decide for themselves whether these costs are worth the “savings”.

That Premier Campbell’s government is running these rah-rah, promotional/sales ads touting none existent “savings” suggests not only that they are ethically challenged, but that they are out of touch with the realities of life and finances of the average (non-wealthy) British Columbian.

Federal

Harper – it’s the Economy hebetudinous one

Leave a comment

I hear by the advertisements on radio and television that Stephen Harper has stopped rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic with his “don’t worry, be happy, everything’s rosy economically in Canada” attitude and acknowledged that perhaps, with the rest of the world struggling with economic meltdown, Canadians should have some concerns about the economy.

How have Mr. Harper and his Conservatives addressed Canadian’s concerns about the economy and the future? Have Mr. Harper and his Conservative Party laid out their plans and policies for dealing with what is happening around the world economically? No.

Mr. Harper, rather than say what his plans (if any) are for guiding Canada through this period of economical turmoil are, has continued his practice of scare tactics about why Canadians should not vote for his opponents as opposed to telling Canadians why they should vote Conservative.

This approach leaves one to conclude that the economy is one more area that Mr. Harper and his Conservatives have no vision and thus no plans for dealing with economic challenges.

What did Mr. Harper and his Conservatives, beneficiaries of a booming economy, accomplish economically during their period in office?

They oversaw the increased transfer of wealth from most Canadians to the wealthiest 10% of Canadians, making the rich richer and increasing the economic unfairness or lack of balance in the economy.

Despite their claims to have run what Mr. Harper calls “surpluses”, when you factor in the cost of the war in Afghanistan those surpluses disappear. How can Mr. Harper claim to be fiscally responsible when he chose to ignore the billions of dollars spent on Afghanistan in reporting on the state of the Canadian economy? It was totally irresponsible to be cutting taxes and claiming surpluses without taking the billions being spent on Afghanistan into their calculations.

Mr. Harper and his Conservatives policies resulted in significant increases in homelessness, poverty and working poor; managing to bring about these increases during a time of economic boom. The mind boggles at the thought of how much more homelessness, poverty and working poor, how much more misery Mr. Harper and his Conservatives can cause in a faltering economy.

Sorry Mr. Harper, but considering your performance on the economy over your term in office and in light of the faltering Canadian and worldwide economy, there is no scarier economic prospect than you in charge of the economy and Canada’s economic future in this time of challenge.

Municipal

Give Thanks by sharing.

Leave a comment

Thanksgiving: the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favours.

Thanksgiving came to us from England where it was called the Harvest Festival.

Harvest is from the Anglo-Saxon word hærfest, “Autumn”. It then came to refer to the season for reaping and gathering grain and other grown products.

Harvest Festival used to be celebrated at the beginning of the Harvest season on 1 August although nowadays the festival is held at the end of harvest. Farmers celebrated the end of the harvest with a big meal called a harvest supper.

This is where our tradition of Thanksgiving Dinner comes from.

In Britain people bring in food and the food is often distributed among the poor and senior citizens of the local community.

What better act to give thanks for one’s good fortune, benefits and favours than to share food with those members of the community who are not so favoured or fortunate?

Please, as you gather the items and ingredients for your Harvest Supper, remember the Abbotsford Bank – gathering a few items to share with those in need in our community.

If you cannot publish this letter by me due to the election, please remind your readers in whatever manner you choose to remember those who have less or little to be thankful for.