Give Me Back My Canada

Right before every election, I become very outspoken. So much so that many of my friends and relatives think I'm very politically involved. I'm not. I'm not even a supporter of any particular party. I like to judge each of them each on their own merits and record.

In case you're wondering, I'm not anti-government either, because that would make me an anarchist, wouldn't it? No, I'm one of these rare people who actually don’t mind paying taxes. We need people to run the government, right? They need to get paid. We also need all the stuff the government is supposed to do - improve our infrastructure, develop our social and healthcare programs - lots of stuff. It takes money.

What I don't like is wasting money. Or greed. I work hard for my money. I don't want to give it (voluntarily or not) to be wasted foolishly. Isn’t that reasonable?

Our current federal government believes in trickle down economics which, if I'm not mistaken, means giving tax breaks to corporations who in turn will create more jobs. Guess what? It doesn't work.

A business owner I know (who shall remain anonymous) is actually a huge supporter of unions (imagine that!), and when we discussed the tax breaks our government was giving businesses, he told me he'd gladly take the tax break but he wouldn't be creating any more jobs with it. He just increased his profits. He even went so far as to say if the government cancelled those tax breaks or INCREASED his taxes, he'd be okay with it. He said he could afford to pay more.

Isn't that interesting?

So, we have a Conservative federal government that has operated on the principle of trickle-down economics and what does their record show? I've lost count of the number of criminal charges against members of parliament or the senate. Our environmental record is terrible. Our treatment of First Nations people is shameful. Our rights and freedoms are under attack. We have to deal with a secretive, disdainful government (how many times did Harper prorogue parliament? Remember when he was found in contempt of parliament?) Our national resources are being sold off to foreign interests. The economy is stagnate, unemployment remains the same, and we're actually heading into a recession. Good job guys!

On the other hand, we have a Liberal provincial government who loves to waste money. Cancelled gas plants, the ORNGE scandal, the e-health scandal - not to mention the assets we've lost - selling off Hydro One, allowing beer and wine to be sold in the stores, etc. All to "balance the budget". The provincial debt has gotten so bad, we've had our credit rating downgraded. Even the CEO of Chrysler Canada is complaining that the high costs of hydro is this province may force them to leave. But this is the land of milk and honey, isn't it? So we're going to give the organizers of the Pan Am games millions of dollars in bonuses, and for what? For doing jobs they already are being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars (over $400k to one). Wow. Can I get a 100% bonus too for just doing what I'm paid to do? Where's the rationale for that?

It's easy to throw other people's money around I guess. And when we have no more revenue generating assets left, we can always go back to the trough and raise taxes, right?

I'm becoming cynical. I'm starting to believe the reason these people are in politics is because they are incompetent and would not survive in the corporate world. It's time we start holding our government responsible. It's time to see politicians charged when they breach our trust. Take their gold plated pensions away when they break the rules.

More importantly, it’s time to elect responsible government. A Government with the interests of the people in mind - you know, common people, working people, people like you and me.

Give me back the Canada I was born into.
Give me back the Canada who was respected internationally.
Give me back the Canada that was a shining example of fiscal responsibility.
Give me back the Canada I used to be so proud of.

I don't belong to a political party so I'm not going to suggest who people should vote for. Each one of us needs to examine the leaders we have in power today, and decide what type of country we want Canada to be.

What do you want your Canada to look like?



This work by Suzette Seveny is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License.

Oh, No!! It's Tax Time!!!

I'm not going to get into a debate of why we shouldn't have a yearly tax reconciliation process, especially such a complex one; nor am I going to complain about how the working class just keeps paying, and paying....

No... I'm going to bitch about tax software!! For years it bothered me that every year I had to purchase a new program, created by a foreign company. I used to use CanTax, which was written by some American company, and then TaxWiz, now owned by QuickTax.

I'm annoyed that I have to compare prices at different stores, and purchase a whole new software program. Then I found GenuTax - and I really must recommend it. You see, you buy the program ONCE, at a reasonable price. Then every year they send you an updated file. For FREE. I've been using it for four years now.

If you have an extremely complex situation (which I can't imagine at the moment) it may have its limitations, but I found it handled self-employment situations quite well, and I guess I don't have a complex situation otherwise. I've been very happy with it, and I've used to it help friends do their taxes as well.

So, what are you waiting for... click the link and go get it!!!

http://www.genutax.com/


This work by Suzette Leeming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License.

The Ideal Party

Okay, it's time to spell out what I want, not just for me but for Canada.

HEALTHCARE: I want worldclass healthcare for everyone regardless of income or ability to pay. I want it to include holistic health and other forms of disease prevention. I want it to include vision care, chiropractic care, and prescriptions as required. Oh, and dental... I want dental included for everyone. Not the fancy cosmetic stuff, but cleanings, and routine maintenance. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce. If people are healthy and can work, they can pay taxes, and taxes can fund the healthcare system.

EDUCATION: An educated population is a productive population. Never mind those minimum wage jobs. Let's educate everyone, regardless of income. Money spent on education is an investment in our future. If we're so worried they're going to leave our beautiful country, make them sign an agreement to work in Canada for a set number of years (10?) or else they have to pay some back. 'Nuff said.

HOUSING: Everyone has the right to a decent standard of living. It doesn't have to be the Ritz, but there should be adequate housing for everyone, regardless of income. Let's face it, some people just aren't born with superior intelligence. But why should they be doomed to a lifetime of poverty because they were born with a low IQ? A society is judged by how they treat the least fortunate among them. Let's make sure that affordable housing is available for everyone who needs it. No slum landlords here please!

ECONOMIC POLICY: I want protected envelopes. By that I mean if a tax is collected for a specific purpose (such as the GST which was meant to reduce the national debt) then the money should be spent on that. It should not go into general revenues. Gas taxes should be spent on infrastructure such as roads, with a percentage going to public transportation. How about 10% to public transportation? Can you imagine the transportation network we'd have then? From Oshawa to Hamilton, and up to Barrie and Orillia - trains, buses, LRTs - it makes my head spin. Wouldn't that be great? It's not impossible. Protected envelopes for all taxes.

TAXATION: Flat tax, flat tax, flat tax. Get rid of the loopholes for corporations and the wealthy. Make it fair though - we're not trying to drive them out. Does it drive anyone else crazy that our tax system has become so complex, we're EXPECTED to pay someone to do our taxes? I called with a question about my daughter's taxes and Revenue Canada told me to ask an accountant. She was a student, for heaven's sake. Make it simple, so simple that we don't need that reconciliation once a year. Like England... tell your employer what your situation is, and they deduct the necessary taxes from your paycheque. End of story.

ACCOUNTABILITY: If a politician makes a promise, they have to keep it or we toss them out. If a politician (or even a school board trustee) breaks the rules, is involved in a scandal involving money, we charge them and toss them out. Leaders must lead by example. I promise to eliminate personal income taxes... will you vote for me?? I didn't think so. I'm tired of politicians promising everything just to get elected, and then doing something totally different. I'm tired of the bullshit - that's right, I said bullshit - that exists in our government today. Politicians are like people going for an interview - if you say you're qualified for the job, and you promise to work and keep your word, then you're expected to follow through, or be fired. If you take a bribe from someone, waste OUR money, you're fired!

ENVIRONMENT: We have a lot of experts in this area; let's start listening to them. This is OUR country. Why are we ruining it for future generations. We've now reached the point where we've become consciously incompetent. Time to listen to the experts. Stop letting the mining companies kill our fresh water lakes by turning them into tailing ponds. Time to stop oil sands development that cost us millions (maybe billions) while we sell the oil to the US for bargain basement prices. Time to stop letting foreign corporations rape our forests for the lumber. These are Canadian resources - they belong to every man, woman and child in this country, and they're being given away without OUR permission. That's like stealing from us, and from our future generations. ENOUGH!!!

OPPORTUNITY: Remember when it was believed that only in the US could an ordinary person become President? Well, isn't that a joke now? You have to be rich; you have to be connected. That's why most politicians are lawyers. Who says only the rich have good ideas? Let's change our electoral process so that the playing field is equal.

IMMIGRATION: Let's face it - this country was founded by immigrants. Our ancestors all came from somewhere. We need immigration, but we need to be more selective. No criminals. If an immigrant commits a crime here, deport them. And, while we respect other cultures, we don't have to lose OUR culture. They made a decision to come here, so why should I feel guilty that I'm a Christian and I celebrate Christmas? They must obey our laws and customs; we would if we were moving to another country. I'm not talking about wearing a burka or a turban. I'm talking about carrying knives and beating their wives and following the basic rules of sanitation that we have as Canadians that they may not have had in their country of origin. Respect works two ways. Oh, and we should make it easier for them to qualify in their professions so that they can practice here. That would probably end the doctor shortage. It's a shame for someone trained as a doctor to be driving a taxi. If they need upgrading, let's make it easy for them. Plus, doctors make more money than taxi drivers, so they'd be able to pay more taxes, especially with a flat tax (see TAXATION above).

There's probably more I'll think of later, but now I have to brush my teeth - I have a bad taste in my mouth.


This work by Suzette Leeming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License.