The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer in British Columbia, and ten years of BC Liberal tax and social policy has deliberately and systematically moved us towards this inequality.
The large income tax cuts brought in by the BC Liberals, that they promised would leave more money in your pocket, actually benefitted upper-income earners the most. In fact, the richest 10% received the biggest tax break.
Most people assume that our tax structure is progressive, that we pay a greater share of our income as our income rate increases. And most of us believe that this is fair.
But the tax system in BC is no longer fair. When you take into account the total provincial tax rate which includes all provincial taxes (income, sales, carbon and property taxes, and MSP premiums), the wealthy now pay a lower total tax rate than the rest of us.
The result of the recent referendum on the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) has been characterized as a class struggle as regular people rejected a tax policy that will simply increase the wealth gap. Instead of believing the spin that reduced taxes on corporations will somehow result in more jobs for British Columbians, we saw the HST for what it was; a further attempt to transfer the tax burden on to those who can least afford to pay it.
Ten years of tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations have resulted in significant loss of revenue and massive cuts to services in this province.
Too often I hear from constituents who are being told that there is simply no money in the system. Whether it is funding for the East Kootenay Brain Injury Association, travel assistance for low-income seniors to get to medical appointments or supports for children with special needs, the constant refrain from this government is we just can’t afford it.
But let’s remember how we got in this situation. This was a conscious choice; this government chose to reduce revenue from taxes on corporations and the wealthy and the result is less money available for basic public services.
People tell me that they are committed to a strong social safety net and that they are happy to contribute their fair share in taxes. But they are fed up with a system where the tax burden is not evenly shared.
This week, more than half a million children will return to a classroom in BC’s public school system.
Public education in this country has a long history as early settlers pooled their resources to build schoolhouses and hire teachers.
These pioneers understood the value of education and they knew that the only way their new society would flourish was through providing educational opportunities to everyone.
A quality public education system provides a shared educational experience, building social cohesion and tolerance, giving every child the chance to succeed and grow.
But maintaining a quality public education system takes effort and resources. It is not something that we can take for granted, yet the BC Liberals seem to be doing just that.
Premier Clark and the Minister of Education seem determined to approach bargaining with teachers with threats and conflict. Instead of talking, listening and putting students first, the government insists on continuing to underfund the system that is critical to our society.
Before being elected as your MLA I was a teacher and a principal. I am passionate about education. I’ve taught here and in Africa, and I’ve seen first-hand the value of education.
I can even say that the cuts to education that I witnessed during my last years teaching were instrumental in my decisions to run for MLA. I believe we must do better, not just for our kids but for the whole of society.
It is time for the government to roll up its sleeves and get to work on making our public school system the best it can be. That means working positively with teachers, who are absolutely key in the success of our system thus far. The government must address the teachers’ concerns around class size and composition because these inadequate learning conditions are having a detrimental effect on children’s learning across the province. In fact, more than 12,000 BC classrooms do not meet legislated minimum standards for size and composition.
People in this area want the government to protect our public education system, but instead this government is just trying to pick a fight.
We all agree. It’s time for the government to put our kids’ education ahead of political opportunity.