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Monday, March 19, 2007

The crushing burden of the high tax mommy-state

Major cities will suffer from mindless Marxism.

by StFerdIII

Consider the example of Toronto - the economic engine of Canada. The city-state does 2/3 of its business with the USA and supports the growing resource industry in Western Canada with financial expertise and capital. Yet it sits inside a middle-sized country that does not even have internal free trade. In respect of socialist management [and a Constitutional buy-off of regions], Toronto must export $20-25 billion per annum to fund the rest of the country. This does not make economic sense when the infrastructure, tax structure and social/welfare burdens in Toronto are in dire straits. Welcome to the fantasy world of the modern socialist state.

Consider the financial liability of such a state. Canada has the 4th highest debt and tax burden in the industrialized world, and has $2.5 Trillion in total debt and liabilities. The country is technically [if it was a business], bankrupt since each person owes in debt $172.000 and this exceeds assets [unless you want to start selling off land to private buyers]. The Americans are experiencing the same problem. US total debt is now $30 Trillion or about $100.000 per person. Not as bad as Canada but far too high, mandating either huge budget cuts in the future, or more probably higher taxation and debt loads. It is fiscal insanity on either side of the border.

Prior to 1965 the Canadians were the small government, low tax nation – not those hated ‘capitalist’, toothless Americans. How times have changed. Apparently pre-1965 must have been a very dark and grim life for the average Canadian without the mommy-state to take care of them and murmur warm messages of loving support in the ear of each coddled citizen.

Today of course the great socialist democratic republic of Canada now possesses government programs and initiatives that throw a loving blue baby blanket over anything that moves or talks. No action goes unnoticed or unregulated by the mommy-state. Government spending at any level routinely goes up by 10% per annum – far above inflation and population growth meaning that taxes, fees and debt will rise in lockstep. The last time we checked with taxpayers, very few had scored pay increases in income to match these spending increases or the increases in their taxes. Most businesses as well have profit increases that are below such levels. Yet don’t worry, soak the rich! will always be in vogue as a political war-cry.

There is no proof that big government, high spending and dumb protocols like Kyoto, or government public project scams [including the Olympics a pagan financial nightmare that should simply be abolished], are good for citizens. The environment for instance has been better served by technology and wealth than by government regulation. Technology has accounted for the world being in a cleaner state than ever, not government intervention and regulatory taxation.

There is in short, not one single government built project, or government regulated industry or service that is effective, efficient or even ‘fair’. What is fair about government building programs being given to friends of insiders or politicians jumping long lines at the hospital to receive preferential treatment? The Marxist class warriors prefer to remain mute on that. Too bad they could not remain mute on all other issues as well.

Even on the environment – the new eco-fascist cult du jour – government is incapable of protecting our interests. In areas such as forestry and fishing government intervention has actually destroyed the natural resource through various quota’s, regulations [such as clear cutting], and subsidies for inefficient plants and firms using outdated technology. You want to save the ocean? Privatize them.

Thankfully plenty of books and articles are coming out about the hypocrisy of government mandated environmental programs and the ‘eco-fascist’ scare tactics of government funded mouthpieces such as David Suzuki. The government and their eco-fascist allies have never been right about the environment or about its so-called destruction [see Lomberg 2003, the Skeptical Environmentalist]. This includes the $100 billion tax payer funded scam called ‘Global Warming’. Lies, distortions and immunity to think does not constitute reality, nor the scientific method it should be observed.

But populist politicians are only concerned with the next election cycle and spending money to buy votes and accrete more power. Sadly very few citizens care. The result of big government is a decrease in everything from real income growth, to standards of living, to high culture, to personal responsibility, to community pride.

The multi-cult is another example of societal decline and mounting urban frustration. With unfettered immigration from the third world the costs for urban centers will only rise. In Toronto and most major North American cities 100.000 or so immigrants – both legal and illegal – flood the city each year. These cities have no control over immigration or who invades their city. They have little financial and social tools or resources to cope with such a strain.

The cultural and societal impacts of the multi-cult club are enormous. It basically means a never ending stream of tax increases and an ever expanding union-backed government apparatus. Neither is conducive for a healthy and prosperous political-economy. Maybe in the major metropolises immigration should be controlled by the local population using elections and referenda based on what local jobs are available and what skills are needed? But that would be too transparent and democratic and would force apathetic citizens into dialogue and understanding issues. Never a good thing I suppose.

The multi-cult issue is emblematic of the illogic and immorality inherent in redistribution programs. Federal governments supposedly compensate cities with funding to help with immigration issues for example. But that is never the case. In reality the large city-state conurbations export billions of dollars through transfer payments to other parts of the country. This is true in almost every industrialized country. Such transfers destroy the ability of the city-state to build its infrastructure, keep taxes competitive and attract entrepreneurs, new business development and skilled workers.

Sending money over God’s green earth through three or four levels of government is not very intelligent. Subsidizing badly managed areas, or jurisdictions that ignore reality and pursue inane policies of wealth destruction is neither moral nor necessary. Only by stopping regional and intra-state transfers will poorer regions learn the lessons of economic growth and good management. Giving them a blue blanket and warm rhetoric is counter-productive. [Such Marxist posturing is just as prevalent in the US as it is in Canada – though the mechanisms are different.]

Redistribution of monies has massive impacts on society. It drives up spending, impels tax rates upwards, and negates productive economic growth. It also generates a lot of debt. There are some inconvenient facts for the cultural Marxist warrior in comparing Canada with the US model [which is not capitalist or free market oriented but decidedly ‘interventionist’ tending to protectionist] – many of these problems are due to the burden of income and money redistribution:

>Canadian governmental spending is 43 % of GDP vs. 32 % in the USA. The standard of living gap is now 30% and growing.
>Canadians are $9200 poorer per person on average than the average American. [see the Fraser Institute]
>Productivity for recent years has been about 1 % in Canada and 3.5% in the USA. This means that Canadians will be poorer in the future compared to the Americans.
>Taxation in general is 25-35% more onerous in Canada than in the USA. [depending on the state and province of course]
>Serious assaults per 100.000 people is at 140.2 in Canada - double that of the USA.
>Theft per 100.000 people is 4000 in Canada more than double that of the USA.
[Economist World in Figures, 2002-7]
>More people are in Revenue Canada than in the military.
>The Americans field 1 soldier for every 300 people; the Canadians for every 545 [meaning that the Canadian armed forces should have double their current number of 50 odd thousand which would include a quadrupling of the military budget to provide proper training, equipment etc. to stay level with the under-manned American military – itself needing more men and equipment].

The above are facts and what do they say? Big government does not lead to a kinder society [Paris is more dangerous than New York for instance]. Nor does it lead to enlightenment and higher culture [the Americans read more books per capita and attend more high cultural events than anyone in the world]. Nor does it lead to better living standards [most Canadians live at the Mississippi standard].

Cultural and governmental Marxism and its attendant hyperbole about caring, ‘values’, ‘compassion’ and the like [the loving mommy-state!], is intellectual and wordly twaddle. Government is supposed to be by the people, for the people. Not by the Marxists for the socialists. When the productive 30% of society have to work longer and harder to support the ever-increasing demands of the other 70% something has to give. In the case of the heavy handed socialist state that ‘something’ is a lower wealth per capita and a decline in living standards – supported by the quiet exit of productive people who get fed up with it all and move on out.