[QUOTE=Chasing Dreams]
The whole system of loaning money, charging interest, and printing money is the biggest scam out there. The rich get richer because they have the power to control the economy.
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The thing that made me put up this pointless thread is that I’m currently helping to run a family business and seeing what bills a business has to pay dismays me. You have your GST, municipal business tax, income tax, matching contributions for employees, workers compensation, etc. On top of that you have pay for your business licence, alcohol licence, lawyer fees, food handling licence, etc. Then there are your wages and a whole boatload of other costs. I guess I’m just frustrated with all the bills we have to pay, yet we work so hard at running a family restaurant.
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It sems to me that your comments on the costs of running a small business contradict your critique of capitalism, and your repeated statments of concern for the little guy.
I understand you seem to be saying two different things:
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that capitalism is rigged in favour of the rich, and the little guy is always going to get screwed;
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that it’s hard to run a business because of all of the expenses and that you shouldn’t have to have to pay all those taxes, etc.
Those two things strike me as contradictory, once you take a look at what all those additional expenses are for.
Take the GST and income taxes, which together make up the bulk of the federal government’s revenue. What do the feds do with that money? do they give it to the rich? Actually, no. About 40 % of the expenditures of the federal government are what are called “transfer payments” - payments either directly to individuals for things like old age pensions, social security, income supplements, and employment insurance, or to the provinces for social programs like welfare and medicare. See this Wiki article on Canada’s federal income and expenditures for more detail. So those taxes that you’re objecting to paying is going to insure that people who are having economic problems aren’t destitute, have access to good medical care, and so on. Seems an odd example of the system making the rich richer?
Then there’s the muncipal taxes. They pay for things like roads, police services, fire protection, and again, social programs like youth programs. Again, not aimed at the rich, but rather at things that everyone in the municipality needs and depends upon.
Then you mention matching salary contributions that the employer pays on behalf of employees - you know, the little guys that you’re upset are getting crushed by the system? Those matching payments are for things like the Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance - two federal programs designed to ensure that even people without a lot of money will have a pension when they retire, and that if they lose their job, they’ll have a source of income while they look for that next job, and make sure that they and their families will have food on the table, a roof to sleep under and so on during the job search. Losing one’s job won’t be a crisis. So those matching contributions that you’re upset about paying are designed to help the little guys you’re worried about.
You also mention workers’ compensation payments. The purpose of those is to ensure that if one of your employees is hurt on the job, they have guaranteed income replacement while they get better, guaranteed medical treatment, guaranteed rehab, etc. If an employee is actually killed on the job, their dependants also get benefits. That no-fault system replaced the tort system, by which an injured employee would have to sue the employer for damages - which would take time, plus the cost of hiring a lawyer, without any immediate payments. The workers’ comp system is yet another safety net for the little guy that you’re worrying about. Workers’ comp is also a benefit to the employer - if one of your employees is injured on the job, they don’t sue you, they apply to the WCB for benefits. Granted, not every employer has an employee injured on the job, but from the employer’s perspective, it’s like an insurance policy against the costs of lawsuits.
Then there’s the business licence, alcohol licence, and food handling licence. All of those licence fees are part of an overall regulatory scheme to ensure safe handling of food and liquor which you purvey to the public, the inspections of your kitchen and facilities to ensure that they meet health codes, and so on. If you’re running a business that caters food to the public, with all the health risks attendant on bad practices, you have to pay for the regulatory systems that protect all of your customers (and also protect you, when you go into someone else’s restaurant).
Lawyers’ fees? Yes, they’re high - but you’re paying for a service. At a guess, I’d say most of the lawyers’ fees are related to the lease on the restaruant, which is one of the big expenses for most restaurants. Nothing says you have to hire a lawyer. You could draft the lease agreement yourself. Or you could just sign the lease agreement that the landlord’s lawyer has drawn up, and cross your fingers and hope there’s nothing too unbalanced there. Or you could hire your own lawyer, skilled in the complex matter of business leases, who will act solely with your interests in mind. Your choice - but the professional lawyer is entitled to be paid for professional services, just like the professional engineer is entitled to be paid. 
Wages for your employees? You’re objecting that they’re too high? But I thought you were concerned about the little guy getting screwed by their employers. Guess that doesn’t apply when you’re the employer …