Famous American supreme court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once stated, “Taxes are the price we pay for civilization.”
At its most basic, Holmes meant that without taxes to pay for police, courts and lawmaking legislatures, there would be chaos.
Of course it goes far beyond that now because our civilization has the advantage of producing enormous wealth (in countries such as Canada, at least). Now taxes pay for a myriad of things we have decided we should share the costs of: medicare, education, transportation infrastructure, fire protection, parks, social assistance and dozens of others.
While most people appreciate what they receive from government, paying taxes is not exactly something people enjoy doing. Politicians who promote the idea of smaller government regularly appeal to people by promising to reduce what they call a tax burden, as if taxes were an ailment that needed to be cured.
When people consider the question of taxes they are deciding just how civilized they want their community to be. You could look at it like this: should we give everyone a cheque equal to their share of the education budget and stop funding schools? Of course not.
But what about the other way around? Should we as residents decide to give up spending on our most coveted consumer product for, say, $10-a-day child care?
At the federal and provincial level, governments for the past 20 years have been giving people (mostly well-off people, but also corporations) some of their money back to buy more stuff. According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), tax cuts at the federal level mean we now have $50 billion less to spend every year, and provincially about $3.5 billion. That buys a lot of SUVs and big-screen televisions, but it could also buy public goods such as a Pharmacare program, or eliminate child poverty.
When people are asked if they would be willing to pay more tax, they give dramatically different answers. Most say no if just asked that simple question, but when the CCPA surveyed BC residents and tied tax increases to actual public objectives, such as eliminating child poverty, reducing tuition fees or providing affordable housing, between two-thirds and three-quarters of those surveyed said they would pay more taxes.
City of Powell River council is now grappling with a shortfall in revenue. Its staff has recommended a very modest tax increase of 1.9 per cent and cuts to services at Powell River Recreation Complex and night buses. I hope council firmly rejects the recommendations.
Raising taxes is one of the most difficult things an elected official can do. It takes trust on both sides. I hope our councillors trust us to support a bigger tax hike and a little more civilization.
Murray Dobbin is a Powell River freelance writer and social commentator.
