Rather, it is referred to throughout as “investments.” This familiar political euphemism is here stretched to cover a passel of increased payouts to favoured interest groups: seniors’ benefits, EI benefits, veterans’ benefits, the CBC, and so on. Still, one thing does emerge quite clearly from the exercise. Whatever else the Liberal plan is about, it is not about infrastructure.
It seems that the Liberal financial plan is a profoundly dishonest document. I am shocked.
“Infrastructure”
Lib-speak translator= vote buying and patronage welfare system spending
Recall Chretien’s big (da biggest) CAD 6 bn infrastructure program, which paved every bocce court inthegreater Toronto area- real infrastructure, not so much. many municpalities goiot new recreation centres (also not real infrastructure) and thenhad to raise local taxes to operate the things. Shiny Pony also thinks that rec centres are infrastructure.
“Revenue stream, stake holder, community” means hide your wallet.
Any discussion of “government investment” needs to include a discussion of “private dis-investment” that accompanies the funds “invested” which are actually monies withdrawn from invested/productive sectors.
Note the Cambridge definition of “public investment:” “The money that a government spends on public services, such as education and health.”
And infrastructure; and the money is “raised” in exactly the same way, from tax dollars confiscated from the productive economy, oh pardon me, “the richest 1% of Canadians” who must pay their “fair share” by the use of “progressive income tax rates:”
“This progressivity can help us understand why the top 1% of income earners (just over $200,000 per year) paid a staggering 21.2% of the total federal and provincial taxes in 2010. The top 10% paid 54.8% of all taxes while the bottom 50% of Canadian income earners contributed 4% towards the collective personal tax bill.”
http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/taxes/heres-what-the-wealthiest-of-the-wealthy-in-canada-earn-and-pay-in-taxes
That leaves almost 30% to be paid by the rest of us shlubs, representing 49% of income earners – surely you can see how “fair” that is. But, the shlubs get to pay more and more as our progressive government overlords realize they can’t pay off their constituencies and rent seekers by increasing tax rates but failing to increase tax revenues. It happens every time. Remember when Canadians earning over $60,000 paid 54% combined (BC) on earnings above that amount?
Heck, under Trudeau’s grand design, the NB top marginal rate would jump to 58%, with child amount claw backs considered. Is that really showing wisdom for governments to take so much productive capacity away from hardworking Canadians?
Indeed, is any wisdom or vision required to spend more and more and more and make government bigger and bigger and bigger. Welcome to progressislavia.
Yet they argue for shifting the tax burden from people to corporations. But, don’t people pay corporate taxes, in higher costs for goods & services, in lower profit margins for shareholders and employees seeking more jobs, higher pay and better benefits?
No, just the “rich” will pay this, and as we can see from above, they don’t pay “enough,” presumably because they don’t pay all the taxes, just almost all of them.
A great line:
“Whatever other benefits these (investments) may bring, they will do nothing to raise national output. We are not going to get rich looking after each other’s children.”