By Klaus Rohrich
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Like their philosophical counterpart in the U.S., Canada's Left just can't handle good times. They seem to function best when everyone is suffering. So, if times are too good, they'll go to any lengths to find a way to portray the best of times as the worst of times.
A recent report issued by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) claims that Canada's rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer and then lumps the top 10% of earners into the "rich" category and condemning the rest of us into the other. This in light of the fact that since 1976 GDP has increased a staggering 70%, the implication being that "the rich" have somehow appropriated all that additional wealth that should rightfully go to the rest of us.
In a recent radio interview Armine Yalnizian, an economist with the CCPA, explained that the 90% of Canadians who are not rich are working harder and longer today than they did, say ten years ago and the 10% that are rich are working less and earning more. The term "income inequality" was bandied about and made to sound like it was one of those conditions on par with being an oppressed visible minority. In other words, she thought it was something the government needed to remedy.
I'm frankly at a loss as to why leftists are incapable of seeing any good in good news. In January of this year, over 89,000 new jobs were created in Canada. That's NEW jobs, as it took unemployed people off the streets and provided them with an income. Yet the Canadian Labour Congress doesn't think this is good enough. Here's what the CLC's President, Ken Georgetti had to say about the job creation: "It is truly good news that Statistics Canada can report real growth in employment for Aboriginal workers and it is good news that 89,000 new jobs were created last month. However, most of the new jobs are part-time, most of them are in activities where wages are usually low and employment security questionable."
Got it. We have 89,000 new jobs, but they're all crummy jobs, according to the CLC.
Unemployment in Canada has steadily declined over the past three years. The unemployment rate in January 2004 stood at 7.3% and has dropped to 6.2% in January of 2007. Yet somehow this trend doesn't translate to good news with the CLC or the CCPA. In all the sucking and whining these groups do, they never seem to suck or whine about the country's tax burdens. Those concerned that "the rich" aren't paying their "fair share" are either unaware that the average Canadian, not the richest 10% of Canadians, but the average Canadian, pays upward of 50% of family income in taxes. Or that the richest 10% of Canadians pay nearly 78% of all income taxes collected. Currently the highest marginal income tax rate in Canada is a staggering 45.4% of earnings!
The reason that families need two wage earners is so one can pay the exorbitant and punitive taxes, while the other provides for the family's needs. We do not need to increase taxes on the rich in order to make life for the rest of us more bearable. What we really need is less government.
Over the past decade, property taxes in Canada have grown hugely as higher levels of government are downloading social services to municipalities. There are no concomitant tax decreases from those higher levels as their financial burdens lessen. So the feds are running a surplus, meaning they are taking more of our money than they really need. What happens to that extra money? Your guess is as good as any, but eliminating the debt doesn't appear to be on the horizon. The extra money is being used to make sure that whatever party is in power has enough cash on hand to bribe voters during the next election.
We should reduce everyone's tax burden and rely less on the nanny state, as it has demonstrated it is incapable of taking care of us, anyway. The resulting windfall to taxpayers might help to relieve much of the pressure on those who are working harder and longer just to stay in the same place financially. There's a novel thought that the Left doesn't seem to have considered.
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement