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I am so sick of hearing the "tax cut" mantra from both of Canada's "leading" parties. We live in a well-to-do nation with a huge federal surplus, yet one in four children in this country lives in poverty. Despite our leaders routinely paying lip service to this issue, it continues to be unaddressed by our various levels of government.
So here's a thought: How about not a single penny more in tax cuts to anybody until we've addressed child poverty, our cities' crumbling infrastructure, and the hugely unmet needs in education and health care wait times.
Do we really want corporate Canada's snake oil salesmen continuing to convince us to take a little short-term jingle in our pocket over reinvesting in our children, schools, cities and hospitals? When did buying a new iPod become more important?
As for Stephen Harper's $1,200 per child under 6 pledge (instead of investment in a national daycare program), that $100 per month translates to about 2 1/2 days' worth of daycare - with no guarantee of available spaces or regulated quality.
Regardless of your party of choice, it's time to demand of all our leaders that they address our social deficits before they cut taxes. They won't deliver on this until you let them know you're not so easily distracted by a few dangled dollars any more.
- reprinted from the Toronto Star