Canadians, along with the West in general, have been fed a neoliberal diet of propaganda and policy for so long that far too many have succumbed to magical thinking, the belief that we can have it all with only minimal pain, the later in the form of low taxation rates. A steady barrage of government waste stories, coupled with the extolment of the individualist giants who walk among us, all, as the mythology goes, self-made men and women, has created the unfortunate but quite intentional effect of equating taxation with government theft of its citizenry.
All of which, of course, is arrant nonsense.
As my friend Dom says about capitalist titans who 'made it on their own,' "Oh, and did they build their owns roads? Were they educated by universities they built? Did they personally educate their skilled employees?
And as one of our finest Canadian thinkers, Alex Himelfarb, has repeatedly asserted, the concept of taxation is not a profanity but an absolutely integral part of a fair, just and balanced democracy. If you haven't read or heard him, be sure to check out my blog links to some of his work.
There is no substitute for critical thinking about such matters, but the cost of riding the low-tax bandwagon can be very high, as this Star letter writer reminds us:
What do Montreal sewage, the Gardiner expressway, the Lac-Mégantic derailment and Walkerton water have in common?
They are the legacy of cynical politicians elected by gullible voters. For decades, the likes of Mike Harris, Rob Ford and Stephen Harper have peddled the Thatcher-Reagan lie that government budgets can be pared without limit until we all live tax-free in Eden North and the wealth trickles down for the good of all.
The troublesome truth is, no matter what book-keeping tricks we use, public debts inevitably come due in the form of failed infrastructure, lowered quality of life, disease and death.
Perhaps the most heartening implication of the Harper Party’s ouster is that most voters now accept that there is a price for being Canadian – one that is well worth paying for the privilege of living in what is still one of the best countries on earth.
Paul Collier, Toronto
With Austerity, low taxes and Trade Deals to name a few tools of Neoliberalism, it has been thoroughly entrenched in our political infrustructure. What is amazing Lorne about this, is that it has made major changes to our government and society without its name ever being mentioned, let alone discussing its worth as a philosophy we should embrace. The secrecy surrounding it both domestic and global is an indicator of it's corrupt nature.The damage that Harper and his regime have left is the damage caused by Harpers Neoliberal mandate.. Let's see how much Trudeau keeps and how much he returns to democratic policy.
ReplyDeleteWhile we all hope for better things from Trudeau, there are no guarantees of that. Time will tell. As for the neoliberal agenda's entrenchment, I think we have a compliant and corporate media to thank for much of that, yet another reason alternative media are so important today, Pamela.
DeleteI agree with your assessment of Himelfarb, Lorne. A superb thinker and public servant.
ReplyDeleteHe is tireless in his efforts, Owen, to get us to rethink our disdain for progressive taxation.
DeleteLorne, Trudeau provides some hope. Time will tell if he will come through. Hurdles are to many given the legacy of Harper or ten years of nightmare.
ReplyDeleteThere is a great deal for him to overcome, LD, given the terrible state Harper left our books in, and the many sources of government revenue that he eliminated.
Delete.. Will have to revisit Himelfarb.. I drifted away when I felt he was far too trusting that Harper Inc would or could be steered by Parliamentry norms protocols & traditional behavior..
ReplyDeleteThat aside.. its my belief that the term 'infrastructure' needs far more incisive publicity definition and examination.. Just add one simple word in front of 'infrastructure' and you have Pandoras Box creaking open.. Try 'oilwell infrastructure' or 'pipeline infrastructure' or 'LNG infrastructure' ..
As Facebook has given us the term 'its complicated' .. we'd do well to use it in regard to 'infrastructure' .. and 'politics' .. especially in regard to the dangerous reality of decaying political parties owned and/or captured by uberpowerful corporate mastadons.
While ranting on the matter, I may as well take a few potshots regarding military infrastructure.. and Coast Guard, Search & Rescue, Navigation infrastructure .. and the complete fools such as Stephen Harper who took us all for fools on those procurement files.. and lets not forget Vets, Seniors Pension fund infrastructure.. Hell, we're still completely in the dark re our new Fair Election infrastructure and Spying & Privacy infrastructure .. and how many pro Harper judicial appointments have been trojan horsed into our Judicial infrastructure ... !
As always, you make some very good points here, Salamander. I agree completely that the term infrastructure as it pertains to government spending needs very precise definition. As I am sure you know, we have a huge infrastructure debt in our country, with roads sewers, bridges, water mains, sewers, etc. beginning for refurbishment and renewal. I remember the Chretien government grants for infrastructure in the '90s. a time when, instead of using them for repairs, municipalities squandered them on things such as arena refurbishments, luxury boxes at stadiums, etc. This must not be allowed to happen again.
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