Shut Up And Listen 166

Well, the Liberals are fucked. Good thing they've got four-and-a-half more years until they need to call an election. This past week, it was announced by Dalton McGuinty and the Ontario Liberal Party, the current government, that they will be instituting medical premiums for people who make over twenty thousand dollars a year, and eliminating certain services from the OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan, I believe it is) coverage. Needless to say, people are rather annoyed and angry. I am too. I believe my exact words while I read all about it in the paper were, "Those goddamn motherfuckers." That's what they are: goddamn motherfuckers. I'll admit, the extra charges are not huge (although still a hardship on many), $300 at the minimum (for earners of $20000-$36000) and $900 at a maximum (for earners of more than $200000), and will be taken directly through taxes, but the fact that there's an increase in this while they are eliminating other services does tend to make people forget the exact dollar amount. Services to no longer be covered are eye exams, physiotherapy, and chiropractic services. The first two, I see as essential services that should be covered still; the loss of chiropractic services is not a big one in my mind, as usually it is elective, and much like psychiatric therapy, does not actually fix anything, just makes the "patient" dependent upon it. I would have liked to see them finally add dental services to OHIP's coverage. They claim this extra money is to help improve the healthcare system, but that's hard to believe when they cut something as essential as eye exams as a service covered by OHIP.

What we have here is a case of the Liberals showing that they really are a combination of the Tories and the NDP, except not the best of both worlds as they often claim. No, here we are shown that they are the worst of both worlds. They are cutting service, something the Tories tend to do and they are raising taxes, something that the NDP does. Here I thought that they wanted to be known as the centrist, compromise party because they did took the good parts of both sides and somehow made it work. I knew that was bullshit, and maybe now Ontario voters will too.

I would also take issue with the minimum/maximum they have instilled. $300 as a minimum and $900 as a maximum, and that maximum is achieved at earning over two hundred thousand dollars a year? That's some fucked up math right there. The maximums earn anywhere from five-and-a-half to ten times (at a minimum) as much as the minimums and yet are only being taxed three times more. NDP leader Howard Hampton is right when he says, "This is a tax on middle-income families. The government is literally picking the pockets of the wrong people." I'm not saying the wealthy should be charged a larger percent of their wages than middle-class earners, but the amount should at least be equal. If a person earning twenty thousand dollars a year is being charged an extra $300 a year, then a person earning two hundred thousand dollars should be charged $3000. And a person earning two million dollars should be charged $30000. That's fair. The problem is, they only look at the dollar amounts, not the percents, and the percents are what really matter. This "premium" (aka tax) at its worst is 1.5% of a person's income, and that is what it should be across the board then. This is yet another example where it is clearly illustrated what politicians really thinking of the average person and what they think of the wealthy.

The most harmful effect of this could be in the upcoming federal election, which has not been called yet but is expected to be, and the fact that people are not distinguishing between the provincial Liberals and the federal Liberals. This could be a good thing, as I am no fan of the Liberals, but all that means is that it gives the Conservatives a boost, rather than helping the NDP, as I would like to see. Ontario is the key to the Liberals, hell, it's the key to anyone, getting elected federally. If you can take Ontario, there's a good chance you're going to win. And although, the Ontario Liberals claim they are doing this for our own good (politicians always say that), they may just have shot the federal branch of the party in the foot.

There were other budgetary items of note, specifically more increases in the taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. The alcohol increase is barely anything: forty-five cents on a case of beer and fifteen cents on wine. That's small shit that most people will barely notice, but will bring in a lot of revenue. The cigarettes increase is a bit bigger: $2.50 a carton. That is another jump in a long series of tax jumps on cigarettes. Hardly a surprise though, considering the number of commercials the government of Canada have been putting on TV in an effort to encourage people to quit smoking. They won't outlaw smoking, but dammit, they're going to make it difficult on anyone who chooses to continue doing it. I'm of two minds on this, as I can see the obvious benefits of this, but there are questions of what next after we basically outlaw smoking? What about tobacco farmers and their families? Isn't this just taking advantage of addicts who can't help themselves? Will this ultimately have a negative effect on children of smokers in lower income situations? Hard questions like that. I wish I had some answers, I really do.

The Liberals made some tough choices with this budget, not all of them good choices, in my opinion, and only time will tell if they are going to work as wanted. Hopefully this will open people's eyes to some of the truths about not just the Liberals, but politicians in general too (especially the tax issue), and maybe make them reconsider the way they vote. Sadly, that probably means a shift to the Tories (who would give the wealthy an even easier ride, I should add). Or everyone will forget in a week. What was the sponsorship scandal again?