The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
It is often said that governments have no money of their own, that it is all from the taxpayers. Actually they do have some revenue through fees, land rental, etc., but the amounts pale beside the huge dollars gleaned from the taxpayer. Tax dollars are of course needed to pay the costs of running a country, province, or municipality, paying for defence, health care, education, infrastructure, etc. But there is great discussion and differences as to what programs government should offer and how much they will cost. The former Liberal government had a habit of overtaxing the public, then using their large surpluses to promise shared plans to the provinces for such huge and expensive programs as national child care. The Harper government has done things differently, giving back a huge chunk of the surplus to the wage earner by cutting taxes, and giving employment and senior credits. There are also child credits and a return to the family allowance, following the belief that the individual should look after their own money and not always trust government to do it for them. An interesting news release was issued in April by the three remaining Liberal MPs in Manitoba, attacking Minister Monte Solberg for daring to take credit for ManitobaÕs new initiative to create more child care places, claiming it was all provincial money. They conveniently did not mention that 40 per cent of ManitobaÕs latest budget was money from the Feds, which allowed the NDP to budget $300 million more for health care, give a few minor tax cuts, and kick in money for more child care. Included in the extra transfer money was another boost in the Canada Social Transfer, which is for post secondary education and social programs like child care. As political commentator Tom Brodbeck wrote over a year ago, the Liberal plan would have given Manitoba about $35 million annually. Manitoba received $221 million extra dollars of federal tax money, and needed to spend only 16 per cent of it on child care to reach the $35 million. Of course they waited another year and even more transfer money to do anything. By the way, the provinces have jurisdiction over child care, not the Feds. On the topic of partisan politics, a prediction from the Corner is that Ralph Goodale will be the only Liberal MP left in the three western provinces after the next election. It looks now that the Conservatives will defeat the two Winnipeg Liberals and the NDP will take Churchill, unless of course the NDP again runs two candidates. At his partyÕs annual meeting in Brandon, Manitoba PC Leader Hugh McFadyen set a 20-year goal of freeing the province from federal handouts. This will involve major economic and population growth and could depend on major mineral expansion plus a mini oil boom. Hugh claims that the province must change the NDPÕs mediocre mindset. It will be a big change, but a party has to propose ambitious plans if it hopes to lead and change things. How about Òsin taxesÓ in the province? Liquor and tobacco are as heavily taxed in our province as anywhere. These taxes bring in huge revenue and are excused as necessary for paying for education and health care. The heavy taxes lead to continuous smuggling, especially from the USA. Illegal smokes have arrived with cheap cigarettes made in illegal factories run by organized crime and trucked into Canada through border native reserves. Why are they so popular? The price, of course: $35 for 200 cigarettes compared to a cost of $86/carton for regular smokes. Smuggling will continue as no government shows any sign of lowering the tobacco tax, as the Feds, Ontario and Quebec did in the 1990s (there is just too much money to be made). What will be the loss in revenue because of the smuggling? The cost to Canadians is estimated at $1.6 billion a year and for Manitoba a drop of $34 million Ð almost enough to pay for a year of child care! RogerÕs Right Corner runs Wednesdays.
