A Reply to the letter Ontario’s Debt Clock-September 5, 2013

A Reply to the letter Ontario’s Debt Clock-September 5, 2013 Dear Editor; In reading the letter the reader needs to be constantly aware that the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation (CTF) is a staunchly right wing organization and not significantly different than other organizations such as the Fraser Institute and the conservative governments throughout Canada that hide their true agenda behind their battle cry of lower taxes. Perhaps not all, but I am yet to come across an organization on the right of the political spectrum that has any understanding or appreciation of history. An example within the letter is the author’s mention of green energy. The fact that the green energy act is stupendously flawed is not at issue. It is not surprising that a conservative group such as the CTF fails to mention that the green energy act could only have been spawned where public power in public hands no longer exists. The destruction of public power in public hands is laid squarely on the shoulders of the conservatives of Mike Harris despite the fact that McGuinty and Wynne have done nothing to repair the damage. Speaking of history I see the CTF takes aim at Unions. Having such groups take aim at unions is such a regular part of their repertoire that it is almost now cliché. Integrating Detroit into the argument shows complete disregard and disdain for even the most basic understanding of recent history. The taxpaying middle class along with corporations paying their fair share only materialized in the post second world war era. There was virtually no middle class prior to the Second World War as there was limited union density. As the public service and manufacturing base grew through perhaps the first 40 years after WW II union density increased and with it the wave of prosperity, spending and families able to pay taxes to support the infrastructure that supported this robust economic growth and support the prosperity of places like Detroit. Throughout this period governments had not yet entered the era of attacking unions for purely ideological reasons. The CTF suggests that unions should concede (and I don’t care on which side of the ocean this demand comes from as the root cause of corporate greed and government ideology play out equally on both sides of the Atlantic) collectively bargained benefits for the singular purpose of catering to the conservative failings of the 30 years since government and corporations chose not pay their fair share of taxes and to seek out labour where people can be exploited as they have no legislations to protect them. The CTF is just another organization in its ignorance, intentional or otherwise, that seeks to further undermine the union movement and underfund public services such as healthcare and education by calling for concessions and lower taxes. This approach is the antithesis to what is needed. To recreate prosperity the CTF needs to demand that corporations pay their fair share of taxes and that these same corporations cease what has been an intentional process since at least 1988 of sending millions of well paying jobs offshore. In other words come to the table to think for themselves and not to parrot the conservative mantra of lower taxes and attacks on unions.