The High Cost of Being Poor in B.C.

Victoria, British Columbia
48deg 39min North; 123deg 26min West

Awhile back we noted that Will McMartin scored a TKO when he called out third string Liberal Hackmeisteress Judy Virk for her extremely misleading statements about Commander Campbell's changes to the tax system in the province of British Columbia.

Essentially, Mr. McMartin destroyed Ms. Virk's argument by pointing out how continued tax swindles for the rich are rapidly moving us from a progressive to a regressive tax system. McMartin subsequently laid this all out, in convincing detail, in the pages of the Tyee.

Now, real Liberal supporters (ie. those that don't think there is an 'e' after the 'i') - you know, all those folks that voted for the dither-o-philes that have already jumped ship - could still argue that Mr. McMartin's arguments are partisan, this despite the fact that nobody has ever accused him of having a bleeding heart.

But what if the same argument was inadvertently made by someone who's still working the bridge of the SS Gordo?

Somebody like, say, current Finance Minister and paid-up-in-full 'e' after the 'i'er Colin Hansen who told Vaughn Palmer recently that the revenue lost to income tax cuts has been made up by increases to.........you got it.......increased sales tax revenue.

Actually, as David Schreck points out, it's worse than that, much worse.

Specifically, the $900 million shortfall caused by five figure presents to the rich, every last one of them, is being paid for by increased sales taxes ($400 million), increased MSP premiums ($564 million) and increased Tuition fees ($484 million), not to mention countless increases in day-to-day user fees and transit levies.

Now you might notice that those numbers don't add up.

But that's not the point.

The point is, that measly $34 dollar a year tax rebate that His Hansonness just tossed at the feet of hundreds of thousands of low income British Columbians doesn't mean squat when they are being forced to pay it all back a hundred times over in increased sales taxes, premiums, and user fees.

The upshot of all this regressing masquerading as progressing?

Mr. Campbell, his minions, and his paymasters have made it very expensive to be poor in British Columbia.

And clearly, they like it that way.