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Rah rah rah! |
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The federal government is finally making tax cuts after cutting the budget, and it is about bloody time. Canadians are going broke paying the Goods and Services Tax and Income Tax.It is obvious with all the budget cuts that the government has been making that they should be able to give the country a tax cut. There are taxes on some of our food, on our clothes, on our music and on our textbooks (that is why they are very expensive). For once I would like to buy something in a store without having to calculate the seven percent GST. Think about it: with tax cuts, the price a consumer is given at the cash register will actually be closer to the price on the tag. With tax cuts, there will be more consumer spending, which will eventually cause more jobs for the unemployed. As well, with tax cuts, there will be more money spent on exports, which will result in an increase in net exports. An increase in net exports will result in another decrease in the deficit, which will mean that the federal government can restore money to the budget and make more tax cuts. This cycle will continue until eventually the federal government has a surplus for the budget and the GST has been eradicated. Some people might complain that the federal government should be restoring money to budget cuts made to education and health care. If the federal government did restore money to the budget, instead of making tax cuts, there might not be any chance of a consumer spending surplus. Sure there might be a lot of people who might benefit from more government spending for health and education, but the whole country will benefit from a tax cut. As well, the tax cuts would eventually lead to a surplus budget, which will mean more money for health and education. But an increase in spending for health and education would probably never lead to any tax cut; most likely they will lead to tax increases. Would you rather have the government increase taxes to pay for health and education or decrease taxes which would result in a budget surplus? I would prefer the tax cuts, so I would not have to pay so much taxes on my textbooks. I know that paying for tuition might be difficult right now, but as soon as the government has a surplus budget they will increase spending for education and health. I believe that tax cuts are essential to our country so that consumer spending will increase and unemployment will decrease. Canada would most definitely be a better country when we have a surplus budget, lower GST and a lower unemployment rate. Eventually other countries would be looking towards Canada for exports and to borrow money. You never know, maybe the Canadian dollar might finally equal the American dollar. |
So, the federal government has a surplus in its budget this year, and everybody thinks we should cut taxes because of it.As if! The government has been cutting transfer payments for social programs since 1995, and Canadian health care and education have been hit very hard. For three years now, we've been forced to roll up our sleeves and deal with fewer full time jobs, higher tuition, closed rural hospitals, and now that we at last have a chance at respite from the cuts, we should seize the day. Or rather, the cash. Canada has long been a country that prides itself on its health care, and the cost of Canadian tuition versus American tuition has made post-secondary education accesible to more students, without the incredible debt load that our counterparts south of the border are saddled with. The closing of rural hospitals has also created a very real danger for residents of isolated areas. The opportunity to restore security to these people should definitely not be passed up. Tax cuts are always a popular political move, and it would be easy for Chretien's government to justify using the surplus to give tax breaks plus on income tax, or the GST, but it would show great foresight if they would only restore some of the axed spending. Of course Canadians would respect the Liberals more come next election if they were bold enough to make the less popular move; we're not stupid after all, and we already have Preston Manning to blab about cutting taxes and social programs. If we wanted tax cuts, maybe the Reform party would have won some more seats outside of the traditionally right-wing PC ridings of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Complaining about political moves is Canada's national pastime, but the amount of hubbub raised over the cuts to federal transfer payments cannot be forgotten. After the general uproar about federal offloading, the Canadian public should not be so fickle as to demand tax cuts in lieu of increased social spending. Face it - our parents put us in this hole of deficit and foreign debt. But that doesn't mean we have to suffer poor health care, children living in poverty, and job losses. We must swallow the taxes and repair what our parents did, so that OUR children may start with a clean slate. It is a matter of pride among Canadians that we are distinctly not American. Chopping taxes and maintaining the lowered rate of social spending would be a large step down the path to assimilating the American dream with the Canadian one. Does anyone recall the all American election platform? Tax cuts, tax cuts, and more tax cuts. That is what the American public wants, after all. The use of the budget surplus is a matter of both principle and common sense; it makes sense that social spending should be our principal goal. |