We told you so!

Reprinted from the Oct. 16th issue of People`s Voice

Here at People's Voice we aren't shy about making the case for policies to put people before profits. Occasionally we have been accused of exaggerating the facts to make a political point. So it's great to see mainstream media reports which back up our arguments.

Here are two recent examples, starting with corporate taxation.

For years, we have called to stop the reduction of taxes on corporations, a neoliberal policy that puts an increasing burden on working people.

Don't take our word for it. Turns out that "the tax burden for businesses in Canada is second lowest among 14 major countries and lowest among developed countries, according to a KPMG survey of international tax competitiveness." (That's the Globe and Mail speaking on Sept. 25.)

KPMG's Elio Luongo (probably no relation to Roberto of the Vancouver Canucks) says that "the tax system is often what tips the scales" in attracting investment.

India had the lowest overall tax levels. China, Mexico and Russia ranged third, fourth and fifth. Among developed countries, Britain ranked second, followed by the Netherlands, the United States, Germany, Australia and Japan.

KPMG uses an index composed of corporate income tax, capital taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, local business taxes and statutory payroll taxes, using rates applicable as of Jan. 1, 2012.

Comparing major international cities, KPMG also found that Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are all in the top 10 among 55 cities with populations of more than two million. All 16 Canadian cities analyzed by KPMG had lower tax rates than the least taxed U.S. city - Baton Rouge, Louisiana. So much for all the whining from corporate shills about Canada's "heavy tax burden"!

Then we come to the supposedly complex problem of homelessness. People's Voice has long stated that simply building more low-income housing would be a great way to cut spending on health care, emergency services, policing, etc. Too expensive, according to right-wing politicians and corporate think tanks.

Now, a new study by Stephen Gaetz, director of the Canadian Homelessness Research Network, based on research from across North America, suggests it's far cheaper to give a homeless person a place to live than to provide a patchwork of emergency services.

Gaetz says governments spend at least $4.5 billion a year dealing with homeless people, including the costs of emergency health care, mental‑health services, law enforcement, shelters and food banks. Their use of the health system is high and unpredictable, and many end up homeless again after brushes with the law upon release from jail.

For chronically homeless people who are frequent users of social services, the annual savings are $25,899 per person, enough for a "housing first" approach across Canada, according to the newly formed Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

$4.5 billion would build an estimated 45,000 housing units. Such an investment over several years would end street homelessness across Canada. Too expensive? No, and we'll continue to say "told you so".

Damn it, man, stop wasting my time and money with this friggen' democracy crap!

Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to the NDP: "You waste all that time in the House of Commons last night, and then do this waste of time on the rolling voting [standing up slowly to vote], which accomplishes nothing except wasting taxpayers money in the House of Commons –  because it’s expensive to run the House of Commons –  and then have the nerve to say we want to have Question Period... This is, like, chutzpah, right?"

On the Federal Budget debates, quoted in the Globe and Mail

A budget that cuts jobs and services

"We're gonna cut by this much and then more!"

PV Vancouver Bureau

     Working people wanted the federal government to lay the basis for "a sustained and broadly shared economic recovery," said the Canadian Labour Congress in its analysis of the 2012 Federal Budget. Instead, "we got a budget that cuts jobs rather than creates jobs; which attacks needed public services and social programs; and undermines rather than enhances retirement security."

     While the corporate media praised the Budget as "moderate", the CLC points out that spending cuts rising to over $5 billion per year from 2014‑15 mean a 6.9% cut, with only "very modest" new initiatives.

     Each $1 billion of spending cuts represents about 10,000 lost jobs, says the CLC, divided between government jobs and private and not‑for‑profit sector jobs supported by government purchases of goods and services. The overall negative impact of the Budget on jobs will be about 50,000 when the measures are fully implemented.

Jobs or profits?

Young workers have the highest levels of
unemployment of any age demographic 

People's Voice Editorial

     With the next federal budget looming, the question must be asked: will the Harper Tories put jobs or profits first?

     The so-called "recovery" from the crisis of 2007-08 is sputtering to a halt across the capitalist world, including in Canada. Yes, stock prices and corporate revenues have rebounded, but the ominous signs of slowdown are mounting, including an alarming loss of full-time employment.

     Officially, unemployment in Canada ticked up to 7.6% in January, significantly higher than the 6% levels in mid-2008. This figure only includes the 1.4 million who are "actively looking" for work. Add in those waiting for a recall from a previous employer, who have given up looking for non-existent jobs, or who are stuck working part‑time, and the real unemployment level would soar to 10.6%, or some two million people.

   

Tories sharpening budget knife

RY Exclusive

Thursday’s Globe and Mail online carried a series of reports on the Canadian, US and global economy that provide a snap-shot of the continued internal contradictions and struggles that capitalism is going through, which may be more protracted and serious than even the Marxists have thought to date.

   

The thought comes to mind that if Harper -- who has shown some wack musical “talent” in the past -- were to ditch the piano and write a Hip Hop song about the current budget, he’d have to sample a lot of sharpening knives... Anyway, here are the highlights.

On the Jan. 27 Federal Budget - People's Voice commentary

January 28, 2009


The political mindset has changed in Ottawa since last fall, but not nearly as much as most analysts of the Jan. 27 federal budget suggest.

This is not surprising, since Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's "budget consultations" were conducted almost exclusively with big business and right-wing think tanks. As the global economic crisis deepens, this budget prioritizes bail-outs for the banks and other lenders, and tax hand-outs to business, while ignoring the urgent needs of workers and the unemployed – further proof that the Harper minority government remains a trusted tool of the ruling class and a bitter enemy of working people across Canada. More than ever, a massive struggle by the working class and other democratic forces is needed to drive the Tories out of office.