To the Editor,
Re: Provincial politicians differ on definition of balanced budget, Feb. 18.
For any government to cut funding to all public services (just to make it look like they have a balanced budget and a surplus of cash) is playing a fool’s game and is obviously making fools out of many who support such a deceitful venture. Some are praising the B.C. Liberal party for not increasing existing taxes, yet fail to see that they are creating new taxes every day while continually increasing the cost of public services, and have increased our provincial debt to $64 billion.
We definitely need lots of money to solve this fiasco, and that means raising taxes somewhere. Our system already has the working poor severely overtaxed and strapped for money, so where do we go from here? Our government knows where the money is, but haven’t the guts to go after it. The rich think the poor are the problem, but the poor did not cause the problem. So let those who caused the problem pay to solve it. Ancient civilizations have crumbled because the rich have always felt entitled to a free ride on the backs of the poor.
John A. MartinNanaimo
To the Editor,
Re: Provincial politicians differ on definition of balanced budget, Feb. 18.
Once again, Finance Minister Mike de Jong has managed to balance the budget on the backs of hard-working, middle-class families and seniors.
The Liberals continue to perpetuate the myth of B.C. being a low-tax province – which it is, but only for wealthy supporters, not for most long-suffering British Columbians who have to pay ever-rising and regressive hidden taxes in the form of inflated MSP, hydro, ferry and park-use rates along with ever-greater licence and school fees, to name a few.
Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett recently announced a five-year, $300-million hydro bill deferral plan for 13 mines owned by six companies. This is just one of a series of tax breaks and giveaways handed out to corporations in sweetheart schemes by the Liberals.
B.C. Hydro’s contractual obligations to private power producers are largely borne by hydro’s customers in the form of higher power rates. We all – including hospitals and schools – pay, and yet B.C. Hydro had to borrow $3.2 billion to pay the Liberal government dividends to help balance the budget. Who pays for that? You guessed it – you are. It is time for a change in B.C.
Deryck CowlingNanaimo
