Taxes. They’ve been the trump card for conservatives for the last 25 years. Their message? You should keep more of the money you earn. It’s a simple and highly effective message to which progressive politicians have no answer. After all, who doesn’t want lower taxes? Long gone are the days when we saw virtue in contributing our share to the collection tray with the knowledge that we would get more in return than what we gave. No, today, we’ve lost faith that government can do good. No, government today is, at best, a referee who enforces rules. So today, we give less. So it should come as no surprise that we get less. Today, there a greater sense that we should just look after ourselves, just as we did before the rise of 20th century egalitarianism. And those of us who have the means will probably save a few more bucks. And for those among us with less means, well, that’s their problem. Or so the thinking goes.
It is within this climate that the best progressive politicians can do is a defensive promise not to raise taxes (which some will regret when they arrive and find the cupboard bare). Forget about selling the virtues of public investment, heavens no — just promise you won’t raise taxes! But it’s hardly a level playing field when conservatives can and do offer the much more attractive (and vote-rich) option of cash-back rebates. Indeed, nothing illustrates more than tax cuts how politics has been reduced to merely a transaction. What’s in it for me? What can I get in exchange for my vote? For some, its a $100 cheque every month for every child. For others, it’s a tax credit for books and computers. Even the NDP has started playing this game — they too are offering their targeted voters (“working families”) tax cuts in exchange for their votes (but unlike conservatives, whose goal is to quite literally reduce the size of government, the NDP will shift these taxes to the rich and corporations).
Lost in the taxes debate, however, is the old adage that says “there is no free lunch”. Indeed, the past 25 years has taught us that conservatives, despite the rhetoric, rarely spend less; they merely tax less. Instead, they borrow. In the U.S., until recently, there was no greater borrower than Ronald Reagan, the champion of small government, and his scion, George H.W. Bush. But they’ve been dwarfed by the borrowing of George W. Bush, who has run up the largest deficits in U.S. history. It you don’t tax, you borrow, and pass that problem on to the next guy.
There is little doubt that much works needs to be done to improve the effectiveness of the public dollars we already collect (to ensure we maximize the dollars spent on actual programs with real measurable results). Indeed, one could argue quite convincingly that we already spend enough on health — 40 cents out of every public dollar — and 10% of our GDP (higher than every western nation except for the U.S., whose system is so hopelessly bad that comparing ourselves against it is setting the bar low). But getting the most out of our tax dollars is a far different goal than to buy votes with promises of lower taxes, then turn around and borrow the money needed to pay for essential public services, passing those costs on to our children.
And that’s exactly what we do when we expect tax cuts. Let’s be honest. Ontario is in no position to provide cash-back rebates in exchange for your vote. We carry a debt of $143 billion — $11,200 for every man, woman and child in the province. If we have money left in the kitty, we should be paying our debt down (which is not to say we should have debt — some debt is a good thing — it’s what allows people to own a home, for example). But with an aging population, we’re going to have to stretch every health dollar we already have. With a rapidly growing population in the GTA, we’re not able to meet the demand for infrastructure as it is. And what about the population declines in rural and Northern Ontario? It costs Ontario $9 billion every year just to pay the interest on its debt — 10 cents of every public dollar spent — more than we spend each year on colleges, universities, children and youth services combined. Indeed, debt interest is the third most costly expense we have after health ($36 billion or 40%) and education ($12 billion or 15%). The idea that we “deserve” a tax cut is ridiculous. And selfish, because we know it will be our children who pay for it. Let’s remember there is no free lunch when it comes to taxes. Be wary those who would convince you otherwise.
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