Comments on: A Democratic Tax Reform for Canada http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2007/03/01/1042/ Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:12:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Rose http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2007/03/01/1042/#comment-195132 Rose Tue, 23 Oct 2007 21:42:41 +0000 http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2007/03/01/1042/#comment-195132 <p>Michael, this boorish behaviour is unbecoming even for a reactionary. I assume you are not illiterate. Can you not read the notice about "intelligent, respectful public discourse?" Your Lenin comment shows you don't understand a thing about economics outside of right-wing orthodoxies. If the means of production were collectively owned, their would be no need of taxation. Social output would just be democratically allocated between: 1. Consumer spending (wages and salaries going to us workers individually to spend how we please); 2. Investment spending (on capital goods etc. for new production, expanded production, and compensation for depreciation); 3. Social spending (provision of public goods & services, like government, healthcare, education, parks, roads, etc). A broad, participatory democracy with socially-owned productive assets could accomplish this easily. It could also protect and restore the environment, increase quality of life, eliminate poverty and unemployment, cut the working day in half, and give everyone meaningful work with control of their workplaces.</p> <p>Billions (trillions worldwide) could be saved alone by doing away with transaction costs and the sales effort - the so-called "costs of doing business".</p> <p>Corporations avoid transaction costs when they expand, because firms are the opposite of markets. Corporations don't like free markets either, they only say they do. Of the world's 100 biggest economies, less than 50 are states; the rest are corporations, i.e., massive command economies. The free market stops at the doors of the firm. So does freedom in general, because workplaces are not democracies.</p> <p>Massive amounts are spent on advertising - basically brainwashing people into consuming all those overproduced commodities. So modern commerce relies heavily on the control and manipulation of the mass media.</p> <p>In addition, corporations are often owned by persons who are not citizen in the countries where their firms operation. So not taxing corporate profits is of no benefit to us citizens. That money just "gets away".</p> <p>As you can see, if you have eyes to read, capitalism is a system of semi-competitive private tyrannies, and belongs in the garbage can of history, having long outlived its usefulness to humanity.</p> <p>Neil Brooks is simply proposing some very mild tax reforms, to put us on par with comparably developed Western European nations. I would like it if he had mentioned eliminating taxes on the first $35,000 of earned income. Workers are already "taxed" because a portion of their labour goes towards enriching the owners of capital. They are wealthy, let them pay. In fact, let them pay twice: Once through corporate taxes, a second time through a progressive personal income tax.</p> <p>If capital can't even make a concession to basic fairness, let it perish.</p> <p>You may have a vision of Canada as an open, free-market frontier, but this is my home. Its people are my people, and their welfare and prosperity comes before that of the selfish few who control the world's wealth.</p> <p>I am curious, Michael: Are you wealthy? A businessman? Or are you just some working stiff with a slave mentality? Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, as the singer said. I hate to see prisoners hug their chains.</p> Michael, this boorish behaviour is unbecoming even for a reactionary. I assume you are not illiterate. Can you not read the notice about “intelligent, respectful public discourse?”
Your Lenin comment shows you don’t understand a thing about economics outside of right-wing orthodoxies. If the means of production were collectively owned, their would be no need of taxation. Social output would just be democratically allocated between:
1. Consumer spending (wages and salaries going to us workers individually to spend how we please);
2. Investment spending (on capital goods etc. for new production, expanded production, and compensation for depreciation);
3. Social spending (provision of public goods & services, like government, healthcare, education, parks, roads, etc).
A broad, participatory democracy with socially-owned productive assets could accomplish this easily. It could also protect and restore the environment, increase quality of life, eliminate poverty and unemployment, cut the working day in half, and give everyone meaningful work with control of their workplaces.

Billions (trillions worldwide) could be saved alone by doing away with transaction costs and the sales effort - the so-called “costs of doing business”.

Corporations avoid transaction costs when they expand, because firms are the opposite of markets. Corporations don’t like free markets either, they only say they do. Of the world’s 100 biggest economies, less than 50 are states; the rest are corporations, i.e., massive command economies. The free market stops at the doors of the firm. So does freedom in general, because workplaces are not democracies.

Massive amounts are spent on advertising - basically brainwashing people into consuming all those overproduced commodities. So modern commerce relies heavily on the control and manipulation of the mass media.

In addition, corporations are often owned by persons who are not citizen in the countries where their firms operation. So not taxing corporate profits is of no benefit to us citizens. That money just “gets away”.

As you can see, if you have eyes to read, capitalism is a system of semi-competitive private tyrannies, and belongs in the garbage can of history, having long outlived its usefulness to humanity.

Neil Brooks is simply proposing some very mild tax reforms, to put us on par with comparably developed Western European nations. I would like it if he had mentioned eliminating taxes on the first $35,000 of earned income. Workers are already “taxed” because a portion of their labour goes towards enriching the owners of capital. They are wealthy, let them pay. In fact, let them pay twice: Once through corporate taxes, a second time through a progressive personal income tax.

If capital can’t even make a concession to basic fairness, let it perish.

You may have a vision of Canada as an open, free-market frontier, but this is my home. Its people are my people, and their welfare and prosperity comes before that of the selfish few who control the world’s wealth.

I am curious, Michael: Are you wealthy? A businessman? Or are you just some working stiff with a slave mentality? Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, as the singer said. I hate to see prisoners hug their chains.

]]> By: Michael http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2007/03/01/1042/#comment-130726 Michael Sat, 19 May 2007 14:02:42 +0000 http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2007/03/01/1042/#comment-130726 <p>"What can be done?" You think you're Lenin? And basing any action on Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives spin (I'm guessing that's where this article finds its cues)would be a major mis-step. It should be clear from the Liberal sponsorship scandal that our government has way more money than it knows what to do with. Redistributive taxation merely kills economic development and jobs. Actually, corporations shouldn't pay any tax. Corporate dividends should be taxed in the hands of shareholders at the same fixed rate as for all Canadians at all income levels. Have you not been paying attention to the way economics works? Not that I particularly care about your flawed analysis since you have no influence on anything; but stupidity leaps off the pages of this publication.</p> “What can be done?” You think you’re Lenin? And basing any action on Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives spin (I’m guessing that’s where this article finds its cues)would be a major mis-step. It should be clear from the Liberal sponsorship scandal that our government has way more money than it knows what to do with. Redistributive taxation merely kills economic development and jobs. Actually, corporations shouldn’t pay any tax. Corporate dividends should be taxed in the hands of shareholders at the same fixed rate as for all Canadians at all income levels. Have you not been paying attention to the way economics works? Not that I particularly care about your flawed analysis since you have no influence on anything; but stupidity leaps off the pages of this publication.

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