Talking tonight to an Alberta Liberal I was asked 'what do I believe as a liberal'.
I thought at first about what I don't believe in -- the Conservative crime bills, a bellicose foreign policy and abandoning First Nation youth. But then I thought being a liberal is not a 'what am I not' -- it's 'a what I am'.
And I remembered a quotation of a British Prime Minister who said, in 1911, the meaning of liberalism is:
"To raise people up from poverty. To reconcile private interests with public rights. To attack monopoly. To reward enterprise, but not with untrammeled privilege and preference. To exalt the individual over ruler or regulation. To expand freedom at home and abroad. This is our liberalism."
That is as good a credo as any.
9 comments:
Brilliant. Great post James!
You at least acknowledge that telling us what liberalism isn't is a mistake.
You don't like the crime bill or foreign policy. Fair enough. First nations have been neglected for a century under largely Liberal gov'ts. That has nothing to do with the current Conservatives.
The quote is nice but it is not practised by the Lib. party. -
-The wheat board is a monopoly.
- The civil service is privileged at the expense of the public at large.
- Over taxation has lead to a working poor class.
I could go on but you get my point.
The other problem is that the party you support is broken. The corruption led to an abandonment in Quebec. Western support has eroded to fringe levels.
The problem isn't Canada. It might not even be liberalism. The problem is the party. It is time to kill it.
To exalt the individual over ruler or regulation.
And yet the Liberals I've been ruled by seem obsessed with regulating the individual. The nanny state is a Liberal invention. If only Liberals were less interested in telling me what is good for me and more interested in the practical governance of Canada, or each province, I might be interested. By your own definition the Liberal party is not Liberal.
Reasonable taxation is the ONLY way we're going to prevent the bi-polar state-type that exists in the US (uber-rich and uber-poor). Balance that with a small business-supportive entrepreneurial spirit.
I think the world is realizing that being a zombified "tax-hater" with no real idea of the economics behind it (besides what the big corporate media spoon-feeds you) is a theory for dinosaurs and Neanderthals (which didn't live side-by-side, incidentally).
We are living in times of structural deficits - because we "the people" are simply too stupid to understand the costs of running a modern nation with modern services and infrastructure.
Sure, keep your few percentages and taxes... and good luck crossing that bridge to work tomorrow morning... lol...
Taxes are the way we, as a society, do things. They are neither good nor bad -- they are tools. I agree with Western Grit
Most of the taxes goes to wages and benifits etc.The wages are too high. Greece is finally learning that. It must be fixed.
I think we differ on what is "reasonable" taxation.
By all means; Give more of your money to gov't if you wish. You are free to do so. You could start by not declaring your donation to your political party as a deduction.
There is little correlation between tax levels, debt and service.
I find it amusing that conservatives in general, and commentators here in particular are so adept at telling us what is wrong with the Liberal party, and liberalism, but yet are so poor at telling us what's so good about conservatism, and the CPC party under Stephen Harper.
Now that they have the right-wing government they have been desperate for, they still cannot stop denouncing anything liberal.
This year, next year--five years from now it will be the same old story.
Anon, my friend, an unwillingness to PAY taxes in Greece, and in Italy, and a few other nations - but in particular THOSE nations - is the root of their economic failure. NOT high salaries (which trail most of the Western World). In Greece, fewer people pay taxes than don't. That is a major issue. The gov't has to continue raising taxes on the small pool of honest GOOD CITIZENS who actually pay for the services their society needs.
People refusing to do their patriotic, citizenly duty and pay their tax dues are the cause of much of the current doldrums in Greece, in particular, but also in the USA. Infrastructure crumbles, and a smaller and smaller group pays taxes. As the population ages, and the tax base shrinks, there are few choices. You either massively grow the tax base, or you increase the taxes on the payers - to guarantee some of the necessary services gov'ts provide. Since most right-wingers are loath to introduce throngs of foreigners or immigrants to our national equation, there is only one real option: taxes must increase, and they must increase in a big way.
One thing you may not understand (or care to acknowledge), is that a tiny amount of taxes paid by a large base affords us more than waiting around with baited breath while we wait for something to "trickle down". What might - for the average tax payer like you or me - be only a couple of hundred bucks a year (which we'd probably squander on "gadgets" or "stuff") would pay for many pieces of infrastructure our nation needs. I'd much rather pay $50 this year for my share of a new bridge, than pay $5 toll each way, 200 times a year as I commute to work on it... or even use it occasionally for family outings.
I recall my introductory econ classes which emphasized the ROOT of all organized and civilized society: it was taxation. Governance evolved so the synergy of group effort and group finance could be applied to projects which benefited society as a whole - and forwarded the evolution of the civilization. Today's "Reagan-omics" advocates are simply pushing stone-aged logic.
Our future civilization and species survival depends on thinking of the group, over the individual "cowboy" mentality. We are not individual "survivalists" living in a camp in the woods (although some act like it); we are a civilized society. Let's act like it, or we are doomed as a species.
WG;
Good Lord! What tripe.
Too high taxation leads to more people cheating. Lowering the GST probably led to fewer under the table renos. for example.
Greece is corrupt. No doubt most of the politicians there are on the take as well.
You can pay your $50 to build a new bridge if you like but I remind you that the gas tax is supposed to be covering road infrastructure already. I suspect we pay $500-$1000 yr on gas tax alone and still the roads are a mess. They certainly didn't improve in Ontario after McGuinty's latest gas tax grab.
That $50 you pay today could be worth at retirement a thousand if invested properly .
You might "squander" it on "gadgets" but I've got skyrocketing hydro rates to contend with. The $50 is long gone.
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