Editor, The Times:
The HST, who would ever have thought it would become the tempest in a teapot it has? Never have I seen an issue in B.C. politics sir up such passionate debate. Do I like how the Liberal government brought this tax in? No, of course not. Do understand the anger about it? Yes, of course. Do I like every aspect of this tax? Another no. Do I think the HST is a better tax than the PST? Absolutely.
The simple truth is that we as a society are living beyond our means. The price for the grand party of the last 50 years is coming due, with interest, lots of interest. We are awash in consumer debt; we are leaving a horrendous environmental debt for our kids, grandkids and likely our great grandkids to pay off.
We, as stewards of our children’s future, need to smarten up. And not just us, government needs to smarten up. Any nutritionist will tell you that fad diets don’t work, that it’s all about eating a balanced diet. The same goes for how we run our household finances, and our government finances. No more binge and purge, we need to plan everything we spend, and more importantly than that, we need to cut out the frivolous stuff; we need to brown bag it for a decade or two.
The HST is a tax that cuts out the unnecessary. You pay on what you buy or the services you use. Unlike the PST, you only pay tax on the end product. Under the old PST system, every time a product was passed from one supplier to another, you were paying tax on top of tax. The HST cuts out all sorts of levels of control, all sorts extra paper, all sorts of frivolous costs associated with the supply chain. Anyone who looks at the PST vs. the HST fully and objectively will come to the conclusion that the HST is the way to go.
And the real truth is, we can’t go back now. Even if the HST is voted out in a referendum, whatever replaces it will be have to be essentially the same sort of tax. We will go through all sorts of political wrangling and expensive red tape to end up with essentially an HST under another name.
I get that people are mad at the government; there’s been a lot not to like over the last decade. I would jump up and down and cheer if this government announced an internal audit and red tape commission to look at how it spends your tax dollars. Far too many systems inside government are seen as untouchable. Why? Business and society changes all the time. For government to regain the trust of the people they have to change; they have to lead by example. I’m totally convinced we could live within our means if government figured out how to eat that balanced diet. Government needs to change rapidly or they will continue to be caught off guard by the anger of their constituents.
But let’s not misplace that anger and put it on a tax that is far superior to the one it replaces. I’m a big fan of freedom of speech and of the power of the vote. Speak up for yourself though words or the ballot, but direct your focus at what you’re really mad about, not at an easy target like the HST. With the way things seem to be going politically in this province, you will get your chance soon enough. Be the captain of your own destiny at the ballot box, and then keep that destiny on track by speaking up.
Merlin Blackwell
Clearwater,B.C.