Post the Tenth: Touchy Subject

Okay.

I don't often like to talk politics because I think there is more to a person than their political affiliation. There are many good, warm-hearted and well-intentioned people out there who happen to have wildly different opinions than I do about politics. I place a lot of value in the right to one's own opinion and I don't really like preaching, which is why this post is going to be a little bit difficult for me.

I need to say something about taxes. It has been said before and it will be said again. It has been countered before and it will be countered again. I still need to say it.

Taxes pay for service.

Yes, taxes suck. They REALLY suck! I hate looking at my pay and seeing just how much money the government is taking when I live from cheque to cheque. What they take could pay more than my groceries and power bill.

You know what doesn't suck? Traffic lights. Properly paved roads. Access to a library when you can't afford to buy your textbooks for school. Having a police officer come make sure you're safe when someone throws a rock through your window. Your mother surviving cancer because the government paid for her chemotherapy and radiation. The government pays for these services (and many, many more). They pay for them with our tax dollars.

Why then are voters so inclined to vote for politicians that promise reduced taxes?

Reduced Taxes = Reduced Services.

"Oh the poor people of this country! They are hard at work. They earned that money and it is being stolen from them by the greedy wingnuts in office!"

It's true, we do work hard. We do earn that money. But it is not being stolen from us. The only situation in which it is being stolen from us is when a politician decides to write off a trip to Maui as a business expense (he needed the tan for his election campaign). When this happens complain away about your hard-earned money being wasted.

I can't vote for politicians who promise tax cuts. Sure, it would be nice to be able to put more of my pay towards my personal expenses, but if that means that the services we value are being hacked down to the bare bones or cut completely than it simply isn't worth it.

I value healthcare, safety, education, funding for the arts, care for the elderly, maternity.paternity leave, child care, ... the list goes on. What we each value may differ and how we value certain services may not be equal, and that is fair enough. That's why we vote. We each vote for the political representatives who place value in the same services as we do. If the majority of voters value A, B and C then, hopefully, the next party in office will be the one that also values A, B and C. Consequently, our tax dollars go towards ensuring that A, B and C are top notch.

Wouldn't it be nice though if we could have A through Z?  Wouldn't it be nice if all of our public services were efficient and quality? If crime could be at an all time low and everyone had access to a good education? (Smarter citizens means smarter voters) If, in order to keep our free health care, we didn't have to cut back on another valuable service?

In order for us to have A through Z we have to pay taxes. If we keep cutting taxes we won't even be left with a quarter of the alphabet.

Educate yourself. Ask for info from your MP. Heck, ask for info from all the MPs! Get as much information as you can about political parties before you vote. Vote. Stop complaining about where your tax dollars are going if you didn't vote.

If you value public services don't push for more tax cuts.

Okay, that's it. That's my spiel. I value debate, so debate away. I don't mind if you contest my opinion, in fact if you do I encourage you to respond with your reasoning.