The appalling ignorance of basic economic reality demonstrated by recent letters and comments based upon the erroneous assumption that only those wealthy enough to own property pay into city tax-coffers does help explain the poor decision making by voters for municipal, provincial and federal representatives.
Everybody pays. Those well off enough to own property merely see the direct costs of the tax on their property in a much more in your face manner. It would appear that most fail to appreciate the hidden city taxes everyone pays. The most easily visible of the non-property owner’s property tax payments is the portion of rent that pays the landlords rental property taxes. One can be sure that landlords who can will pass any tax increases to their tenants.
Only the most gullible would believe that business and commercial taxes are not passed on to the consumer – whether they own property of not. It is unfortunate that all non-property owners could not take all their business to other jurisdictions and demonstrate to the property owners just how much they contribute to city coffers – without the benefits of property ownership to offset the city’s constantly increasing appetite for tax revenue.
One can build a solid case for the fact that the homeless and poor are unfairly burdened in being required to contribute a much higher proportion of their income to city coffers than the much better-off property owners. The basic deductions and differing tax rates at the federal and provincial levels is intended to address the unfair effect taxation has on the poor and those living in poverty. There are provincial and city property tax rebate programs for the poorest of the property owners, but none for the effects city taxes have on those to poor to afford property.
Of course this ignorance is particularly appalling in those who call themselves business people, especially leaders of various business organizations within the city. Although I suppose in the case of the Downtown Businesses the special treatment this area receives, at the expense of other taxpayers, warps their view of who pays into the city coffers and thus into their pockets.
It is just unfortunate for so many of the taxpayers who fund this largess that it failed to cause them to consider the effect driving the poor and homeless out of downtown and into other parts of the city would have on the lives of residents of these areas.
Or perhaps it was just another example of the growing practice of failing to actually think before forming conclusions. Even a situation that appears as simple as who pays into the city’s coffers is more complex than a superficial glance would suggest. Whether financial, social or some other aspect of the decisions, challenges, issues and problems we as a City, Province or Country face they all have a complexity that demands thoughtful consideration. We as a community, as a society, can no longer afford the luxury of not paying attention to what reality IS – as opposed to making decisions based on what we want to believe are the facts.
Time after time people complain about politicians lying, then vote for the politicians who tell them the lies they want to hear or believe. Citizens need to become questers who consider carefully and are willing to vote for those who, while one may not like everything they say and would prefer to believe something else, when examined with careful thought and consideration are found to be not only truthful but aware of the reality of our streets and country.
It is time we begin to stop, examine, learn and think before deciding. Otherwise financial, social and the multitude of other complex problems such as homelessness will simply continue to grow into overwhelming crises. Or we will continue to burden ourselves blindly and unheedingly with politicians mirages such as Plan A.