OK I think the editorial writers over at the Toronto Star have officially lost it.
In today's editorial they denounce yesterday's announced tax cuts with the kind of over-the-top left-wing, class war rhetoric that went out of fashion about 100 years ago.
Check this comment: "It has been said that taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society. Yesterday the Conservatives made this country a little less civilized by killing the hope of the poorest in our midst for a fairer society in which everyone has a roof over their head and enough to eat."
Get that? The Star believes allowing Canadians to keep a little bit more of the money they earn will plunge Canada into barbarism!
Get a grip.
Even left wing Star columnist Thomas Walkom doesn't buy that loony spin.
Even stranger than the Star's Retro-Leftism, however, is its urging Liberal leader Stephane Dion to defeat the Conservative mini-budget and force an election over the issue.
Why bring down the government? Well, the Star writes:
"The reasons are clear. If these massive tax cuts are approved, then the Liberals would have to reverse them to be able to carry out a bold, progressive program of social, economic and environmental policies that Dion has promised if the Liberals are elected. And every politician knows that running on the need for tax hikes is a losing proposition."
Oh, I see running on the need for tax hikes is a losing proposition. But running on the need to cancel popular tax cuts is somehow a winning proposition.
Yeah that makes sense.
The Star's political advice would only make sense if they actually wanted Dion to lose.
And hey, maybe that's the answer.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
The Red Rag is just doing what they always do....
Carrying water for the socialists.
... There are few things more pathetic than the self-righteous lust of Lefties to spend other people's money... old hippies still clinging to their childish Marxist fantasies- where forced economic re-distribution (FER) by the state is their only solution to every problem.
It seems that the editors at the Red Star are the only ones in Canada that don't like Taxes to be reduced
When accused of being biased the Star columnists get very defensive and claim to be balanced in their views. They should go back to journalism school for a refresher course--but where?
If you look back to the headline the Star had for the $30 billion in tax cuts that were introduced by Ralph Goodale for Paul Martin's government, it read "Martin's tax cuts steal Tory thunder."
Tax cuts are apparently only good enough for the Star when introduced by a Liberal government.
Hypocrisy.
I think the Star is forgetting that the fiscal imbalanced has been solved and that Ontario was the beneficiary of record transfers in the last full budget.
... Obviously, the old boys behind Mr. Ignatieff are better connected at the Star and the Globe and Mail, than the group behind Dion (though, at this point, it is more likely that Mr. Dion has been unofficially abandoned).
... Prediction: Mr. Dion will step down as leader within a month. As it is now, were it not for the absolutely excessive attention by the media, the Liberals would have merely evaporated into the ether of anonymity.
I agree with Thomas Walkom on this one. I oppose the GST cut since it is the least effective at promoting economic growth, but I support both income and corporate tax cuts. If anything those should have been larger, while the GST should have never been dropped from 7% to 6%.
It is a true that we need some taxes for a civilized society, but paying some taxes is a lot different than paying half of your income to the government. Those calling for high taxes perhaps should take an economics lesson and learn about the Laffer curve which shows that government revenues initially rise with every percentage point taxes go up, but by diminishing amounts and after a certain point government revenue actually falls as taxes increase. The reason for this is threefold.
1. If taxes get ridiculously high there is less incentive to work so people will work less as the gains from every hour of work are less.
2. People are more likely to cheat on their income taxes or hide their assets offshore.
3. Large companies and those with money are highly mobile and can easily pack up and move elsewhere. If taxes are too high they will usually move to lower tax jurisdictions. This happened in BC during the 90s when taxes were considerably higher than neighbouring Alberta and many flocked to Alberta. Thankfully taxes in BC are close to that of Alberta today.
... Not to go on about this... but you have to love the left-wing economic logic of "Oh no, tax cuts, you're taking food out of children's mouths!"
The Toronto Star, the National Post and the Globe and Mail all seem just plainly biased to me.
These papers seem to have all become partisan party presses, and that is why it is at least, refreshing to see an article like Gerry's WIMP coalition article in the National Post that expresses an opinion that is outside the mainstream of all the current parties.
Has anyone ever considered how much of our national debate is actually simply controlled by the Thompsons or the Aspers?
Arguably, the Toronto media has had a significant voice in this country, and seem to be starting to sweat at the idea of other regions that could become equally prosperous.
This is the only explanation that I can come to after recently reading an article in the G&M that implied that Premier MacDonald of NS was a superior premier than Premier Williams of NL...
Yes, a gym teacher like MacDonald who cannot make a decision to save his political life is definitely better than a self-made millionaire/Rhodes Scholar/Lawyer like Williams who is clearly steering his province to future prosperity/independence from Ottawa...
Beside the question no longer seems to be left versus right anymore...
Toronto Star -- Move on, it's now right versus right!
Harper should keep his articles on the Maple Leafs out of the Star because I couldn't care less for either.
NBT:
Good point!
Actually, it was Ontario, ?Alberta and Quebec that were the chief beneficiaries of the "solving of the fiscal imbalance" in the last budget.
What a great federation that we live in where money from oil revenues in Newfoundland/Nova Scotia end up in Ottawa's pocket to subsidize the auto industry in Ontario, the aerospace industry in Quebec and the oil sands in Alberta all solely in the past year.
And we call it "conservatism..."
However, it does seem to fool some of the sheeple here!
I'm sure the corporate heads at the Star and the Atkinson family shareholders will quietly take the corporate tax cuts thank you very much.
Post a Comment