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Letter to the Editor: Ottawa Sun

Morgan Duchesney 2008

CREATING REALITY

It seems that a number of ostensibly “conservative” commentators believe that NDP leader Jack Layton is out of touch with reality. By reality they seem to mean the world of material exchange where ruthless expediency is the norm. I am no fan of Jack Layton – he has borrowed too much of Tony Blair’s nebulous “Third Way” and damaged the reputation of the NDP in the process.

The editorial board mocks Layton’s suggestion that Stephen Harper cancel billions in corporate tax cuts. They say raising corporate taxes will increase the likelihood of capital flight, higher consumer prices and corporate bankruptcies. While this scenario is a possibility, it also raises an interesting question: what do corporations receive in exchange for their taxes? Perhaps defenders of corporate tax cuts forget that taxes pay for education, health care, infrastructure, public administration, law enforcement and the military. Without these programs there could be no business and large businesses benefit exponentially from tax-funded public services. Corporate taxes have been deceasing in Canada over the last 30 years funded in part by the Employment Insurance surplus, a defacto employment tax introduced in stealthy increments. Where is the outrage over this?