Not-Responsible Government

Will voters pick change or more of the same?

The Newfoundland and Labrador financial ship of state, lodged firmly at the headwaters of Shit Creek, an exceptionally large pond known by its original French name Mer de Merde. (Not exactly as illustrated) Photo by Heidi Kaden on Unsplash

The crowd currently running the place are nothing if they are not a funny bunch.

Funny odd.

And funny haha.

Like tax cuts.

You figure which funny it is.

The Dippers used one of their private members motion days before Christmas to debate the idea of removing the provincial and federal sales taxes from home heating fuel as a way to give people a break on the cost of living. Tax cuts to deal with a cost of living problem are inherently stupid, especially in a province where most people are over 65 or under 15 years of age. There are better ways to help everyone with the cost of living.

“I am confused,” deputy Premier and finance minister Siobhan Coady told the House of Assembly during debate on the Dipper scheme. She was confused because the Dipper plan would help rich people more than poor people. Coady also said that “we cannot [remove the provincial portion of the tax] because it is under the federal excise tax.” Coady rattled off all the supposedly wonderful things her crowd are doing otherwise to help the poor people get along with this cost of living thing. Then, towards the end of her brief speech said that “putting a carte blanche tax decrease of removing the HST completely is really just giving a tax break to those that can well afford it, while not giving the supports that are really required to those that are most vulnerable.”

That’s correct but helping The Rich while pretending to help The Poor hasn’t stopped Coady from cutting taxes to disproportionately help well-off people. Nor is it true that she couldn’t cut the sales tax. Maybe that’s why she was confused.

Let’s unconfuse her.

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