It’s about how we handle money. Everyone knows that if your cash flow is less (i.e. taxes), to balance your budget you cut your expenses.
The record of the Harper school of economics worries me. They inherited a thriving economy with a $12-15 billion surplus. First they cut taxes by that $12-15 billion and went into a deficit which continued for the next eight years. Harper cut income before he cut expenses, leaving Canada with an additional $150 billion debt.
Harper then cut Canada’s federal corporation tax to 15 per cent; the U.S. is 35 per cent. U.S. corporations pay 10 per cent tax on off-shore profits, Canadians pay zero. These tax cuts were to create jobs, yet we still have a shrinking manufacturing economy and the largest trade deficit in Canadian history. Other tax breaks that benefit 15 per cent of high-income earners have also failed to boost the economy as unemployment increased.
Consequently, our civil service has been cut to the point where they can no longer adequately serve the public.
Then came cuts to the Coast Guard, the RCMP and the military. The military cannot replace needed ships or planes, let alone look after our Afghanistan veterans. We haven’t enough money to establish a proper defence of the Arctic or even a single all-weather ice breaker, absolutely necessary for Arctic defence.
Harper economics is about cutting income before cutting expenses, always resulting in deficit financing. Harper economics doesn’t work.
David Hobson
Chemainus