The province simply can’t afford to have your BC Liberals in office for one more term

WOW … I honestly have to say I cannot believe the BC Liberal Party.  Adrian Dix, leader of the BC NDP was here in Kamloops Wednesday, and of course they have some pretty interesting ideas about taxation.

What got me though was the out and out continuous baffle goop that the Liberals put forward to us.  It’s as if they believe if they tell the same crap often enough, people are going to believe it.

Before I continue though, here is that media release from the BC Liberals – the highlighted areas in bold have been noted by me

October 12th -- THE TAXMAN COMETH

KAMLOOPS – Adrian Dix, the chief architect of the 1990’s NDP government, is in town and it’s time for him to be honest about his plan to recklessly raise taxes to pay for pet projects and reward his public sector union bosses.

“The taxman cometh,” says Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Kevin Krueger. “Adrian Dix and the BC NDP want to keep their plans to hike taxes back up to the stratospheric levels of the ‘90s a secret. They didn’t count on Tom Friedman pulling back the curtain to reveal their scheme.”

In an interview on August 26th, Friedman was discussing how to address the revenue challenges expected in the wake of the decision to return to the PST.

Friedman said, “There are other taxes. The HST and the PST were not the only alternatives. There are income taxes. There’s corporate taxes.”

On top of this are comments from Susan Lambert, president of the BC Teachers’ Federation, one of Dix’s major financial backers. While appearing before the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services on September 15th, she said that “government revenue must be increased” and proposed a personal income tax increase of 25 percent.

“High personal and corporate taxes are precisely the last thing British Columbia needs during this time of global economic uncertainty,” says Krueger. “Dix’s approach was disastrous the last time he was in charge – 50,000 people, or over half the population of Kamloops, left British Columbia looking for opportunities elsewhere. We simply cannot afford such irresponsible job-killing policies again.”

B.C.’s economic growth has exceeded the national average over the past ten years, thanks to 100 tax cuts for working families and small businesses since 2001.

“This government’s prudent fiscal management and strong stewardship of the economy is why we have regained our AAA credit rating and why we’re much better positioned to weather these stormy times,” says Krueger. “The BC NDP have voted against every single tax cut we’ve made, and now Friedman’s comments indicate they want to crank taxes back up to ‘90s levels.

“It’s time for Adrian Dix to quit being secretive about his plans to raise taxes. British Columbians have the right to know Dix is auditioning for the role of taxman. Does he agree with the call for drastically raising personal income taxes or not?”

Adrian Dix’s high-tax job-killing agenda is a blast from the past Kamloops and the rest of the province simply can’t afford.

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I know they probably couldn’t care less what I write or say about them, however it was just yesterday that I wrote about Liberal doubled speak and the fact that they had pretty much perfected talking out of both sides of their mouth. Guess what … they’re back heaping MORE lies, deceit, and confusion on the people of BC. 

Looking back at that media release above, here are the things that I highlighted:

• it’s time for him to be honest about his plan to recklessly raise taxes
• want to keep their plans to hike taxes back up to the stratospheric levels of the ‘90s a secret.
• government revenue must be increased
• High personal and corporate taxes are precisely the last thing British Columbia needs during this time of global economic uncertainty
• 100 tax cuts
• government’s prudent fiscal management and strong stewardship of the economy
• quit being secretive about his plans to raise taxes

To respond to the first three items I have noted, may I remind you of 3 letters our BC Liberal government made famous … HST. 

The HST was a tax that did indeed raise taxes, adding to the cost of hundreds of items that had previously not had a second tax on them.

Despite the lie that they were not planning, or looking into bringing in the HST, it was announced just days after the last provincial election. They claimed it was revenue neutral, we all KNOW it was not!

As to items #4 and #5 … may I inform my friend Kevin Krueger, who I ran against in 1996, of the following which he seems unaware of:

• this government has implemented a tax structure that sees the average BC family paying more taxes than any other province west of Quebec
• this government has implemented economic policies that are now causing more people to leave BC, than are moving here
• this government saddled us with the carbon tax, which increased again last July, and that increases again next summer.

These are just some of the reasons why BC’s unemployment rate recently was tied with Ontario for the worst west of Quebec.  

Now let’s look at this governments so called “prudent fiscal management”.

Just days ago BC Conservative Party Leader John Cummins said; “There is no promise to tackle the debt and only a vague indication of some sort of a review of crown corporations operations – no plan to get their borrowing under control.”

He also stated, “BC has a weakening economy and the world is on a brink of another recession. Where is the plan from this supposedly “free-enterprise” government to weather the storm? Where is the vision to be the strongest economy in Canada?”

Despite the high taxes we have been saddled with, provincial debt has grown from $33.4 billion in 2006/ 07 to $53.4 billion this fiscal year … an increase of 60% in only five years.

And what does the Canadian Taxpayers Federation have to say about this government’s deficits and debt?”

“Interest costs will top $2.3 billion this year, more than $500 for every man, woman, and child in the province. That’s more than we spend on our entire university and college system. It’s more than double the cost of the entire provincial Pharmacare programme. With interest costs running at $6.3 million at day, we need to send the politicians in Victoria a wake-up call.”

Remember … that quote is from the Taxpayers Federation … who also said;

“When you run your credit card to the limit, you soon get a bill in the mail, and B.C. is beginning to experience the hangover from this borrowing binge of Olympic proportions. It’s time to tell B.C. politicians that we’re cutting up their credit card – the sooner we balance the budget, the sooner we can start paying down debt.”

As to the seventh item on my list …being secretive about raising taxes … well how many of us heard in advance of the numerous fee increases the government has saddled us with, while they allegedly were decreasing our taxes??

Like the old saying goes, the taxman giveth and the taxman taketh away!

Just one week ago, on October 7^th, these were the words John Cummins spoke; “Every British Columbian deserves a real choice in the next provincial election. As you can see, Premier Clark and the NDP share the same vision for British Columbia. I am here with the new BC Conservatives to provide a common sense, mainstream choice, for all British Columbians.”

The BC Liberals have said that Kamloops, and the rest of the province, simply can’t afford to have anyone but them in office.

MEMO TO CHRISTY CLARK:

Contrary to what you think, Kamloops and the rest of the province simply can’t afford to have your BC Liberals in office for one more term.  Jobs, taxes, and the well-being of families in our province depend on having you and your MLA’s voted out of office in 2013.

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops; with the thoughts of one conservative on this round ball we call planet earth.