Paul Martin stood up our House of Commons and tabled a budget that was a Canadian Alliance member’s wet dream and a Canadian Alliance candidate’s worst nightmare. Knowing that the Alliance stands on a platform of tax cuts for the rich, Paul Martin brought down tax cuts for the rich and left the poor in the cold. He slashed capital gains taxes and corporate taxes. He destroyed the surtax on the country’s richest people. And he returned not one thin dime to health care, indebted students, or the unemployed.
In other words, he behaved exactly like an Alliance member. His budget could have been written by Stockwell Day himself.
And all of this wouldn’t be so bad except that then, the prime minister of this country stood in front of Rideau Hall and deadpanned that the election represents a clear choice between two opposite alternatives: the Liberals and the Canadian Alliance. He said it with such complete sincerity that I could tell he practically believed it himself.
I was revolted. Not as a candidate, or even as a member of the NDP, but as a citizen I was truthfully sickened to think that that’s what Jean Chretien thinks of us: credulous cretins who can’t recognize a baldfaced lie when it stares us in the face.
I mean, it’s not as if politicians don’t usually lie, but usually they don’t call press conferences for both sides of their mouths within days of each other.
Man, you silly Canadians with your people who want to give tax cuts for the rich. We never have that problem down here where we’re civilized in the good ol’ US of A.
Yes, and please everyone, let’s remember that only the poor deserve tax cuts, in spite of the fact that a rather staggering number of the poor currently pay an effective tax rate of 0%. The rich never, never should get a tax cut because they are all evil sons-of-bitches whose vast fortunes were all derived from the rape and murder of orphans, nuns and puppies.
Matt, how does the NDP fare in Montreal? I would guess that your main threat would be from BQ (is that right Bloc Quebequios?)
If anybody actually thought that the Liberals were going to lower the GST rate, I have some land that you might be interested in buying. To be honest, I am surprised that the GST rate hasn’t gone up to 9% under the Liberals.
Been checking out the different parties, and yeah, Liberals are getting more conservative, it sucks. Saw you on the webpage, Matt. So far no NDP candidate in my riding, I guess that’s what I’m leaning towards, though.
They’re all “ooh! Budget surplus!” and are expecting us to be impressed but they got it from cutting social services. sighs Choices…
The incumbent in my riding is Liberal, but the Bloc are in second place.
So am I. But the point is they didn’t deliver what they promised because they claimed they didn’t have the money. Now they have the money, and they didn’t do anything they promised at all. (I didn’t hear them running a campaign of cutting capital-gains and corporate taxes.)
LaurAnge, I understand that we’re definitely going to be running candidates in every riding in Montreal. They may just not be listed onthe website yet.
I am Canadian, and I love this country. However, I have seriously considered leaving, in part due to the oppressive tax regime.
I probably will not receive a whole lot of sympathy from the original poster, as I and my spouse are both in the highest tax bracket, and we have no children to support. However, I strongly disagree with the idea which seems to be implied here - that I am not entitled to any tax breaks, nor should I dare complain about paying my exhorbitant tax bill, because I can afford it.
Here are some of the reasons why I am frustrated with the current tax regime and our government’s financial policies:
I was a student for many years, and accordingly had the benefit of government funding to pay for part of my education. Accordingly, I do not begrudge paying my fair share in taxes for education. However, it irks me to no end when university student whine and demand government assistance over and above the subsidy that is already inherent in the cost of tuition. I worked my way through school with no help from my family. I also incurred $30,000.00 in student loans, have always been current in my payments, and, in fact, I am happy to pay these loans back as I gained a substantial benefit from my education. In my experience, the “indebted students” who demand tax relief or an abatement of their government student loans are those who whiled away their four years in undergrad with no clear view of what they would do with their degree once they obtained it.
I am young, healthy, and have never been hospitalized or treated for anything more serious than an infection. I do not see a doctor for every little sniffle, nor do I abuse our state funded medical system. I would benefit significantly from a private medical system where I could take out insurance for my medical need, however, I value the universal health care we have in place and have no objection to paying for it, as long as it is structured sensibly. What I do object to is subsidizing people to go to the emergency room once per month with trifling medical complaints because it’s too inconvenient for them to see their family doctor during the day. Some user fees would not necessarily be a bad thing.
I am self employed, and I employ a staff of four people. My staff all have (un)employment insurance available through the government, and government sponsored maternity leave. I, too, am required to pay employment insurance premiums, but I will never be in a position, in law, to collect should I find myself unable to work. I am my own safety net. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I object to having to pay into a program which I will never, ever, ever receive a benefit from.
In my view, one of the main problems with the country is that everyone expects the government to take care of them. I am tired of working fourteen hours day in a high stress job in order to subsidize the lifestyles of those who choose to live off the public dole.
I know this post is long, and probably somewhat incoherent, but forgive me. I, for one, am glad the political forces that be in the country seem to be assuming a more conservative bent. It’s about time.
Maybe you can attribute it to me being young and idealistic, but I think that we need to look beyond our own personal losses and look towards the greater good.
Sorry if I’m assuming to much in saying this katmandu, but your motives seem, although justifiable, damn selfish. I don’t know about you but every time I walk by a homeless person on the street, my heart plummets. I want to change that, and going more conservative certainly isn’t the way.
Actually, when I walk by a homeless person, I give him a good kick in the nads and then laugh hysterically. :rolleyes:
I’m not a heartless monster. Of course I want to help people who are less fortunate than myself, and I contribute more than my fair share to charities that I believe in. What I object to is the government taking a disproportionate amount of my money and wasting it. I currently pay 44% income tax, and this doesn’t include sales taxes, G.S.T., or property taxes. If I get a tax break, that means I have more disposable income to contribute to causes I deem worthy. I would rather make this decision myself than have the government make it for me.
Oh, don’t worry, I won’t. And my thought is that if you treat the constituants in your riding in the same condescending and vitriolic manner as you have displayed to me by making this comment, no one else will either. If you are truly considering running for public office, you might be wise to address the legitimate concerns of people who are in a position to vote for you rather than than resorting to name calling. Especially when the concerns are expressed in a respectful way, as I believe mine were.
Of course, if the majority of NDP candidates behave as you do, it might explain why the NDP is currently running at 8%.
I’d be inclined to agree with you if there was some evidence that higher taxes would help the homeless guy you passed on the street. As near as I can see, however, my tax money is mostly going to big corporations and blindingly stupid pork barrel projects.
Telling people they’re “selfish” because they want to keep money they worked to earn is the wrong way to convince any rational person to help the needy. Look at it from my perspective as a third party; who should I think is more selfish, the person who wants money he earned, or the person who wants the money someone else earned? Easy choice, isn’t it?
I’m not convinced what the tax rate should be either way or how it should be spent, but “You are selfish to want more of your own salary” is an ad hominem argument, no more valid than “you’re a big fat meanie.” Provide some rational evidence and a solid economic case for taxation and corresponding expenditures.
I echo Katmandu’s comments on matt_mcl’s reply; if “don’t vote for me, bozo” is the best an NDP candidate can do when presented with an honest concern from a Canadian voter, that does not say much for the NDP. As someone running for public office, I think Matt should explain his comment and offer an apology. Matt, you’re a public figure now; you can’t make comments like that or they’ll bite you in the ass. If you expressed your concerns to a candidate and he called you a bozo, how would that sit with you?