Sacred Cows

Welcome to a new decade of getting robbed by this ridiculous government once more. The 2010-2011 Quebec provincial budget was announced this past Tuesday and while no one is surprised that taxes are being raised, many will be surprised by all the other methods that will be enacted to balance this 4 billion dollar deficit.

To name a few...

2% Provincial sales tax raise, in increments of 1% at the start of both 2011 and 2012

$25 annual health care fee, raising to $200 within 3 years
- Future pay per use fee taxable from your income

Increase in rates of electricty of 3.7 per year, approximately $58 a year for average household

Removing the freeze on university tuitions

1.5 cent per liter fuel tax increase

When questioned if it was a good idea to target the so called 'Sacred Cows' of Quebec such as health care and education, Finance Minister Raymond Bachand answered "Sacred cows only exist in India." I for one am certainly glad to hear this because I have a few propositions of my own, some of which might have been considered 'sacred' by some.

The government obviously considers this a period of crisis in which it must resolve within the next half decade, so it has no problems setting precedents for collecting money from areas that have been 'public' for a reason, such as health care. Now if we're going to start charging for health care, let's look at some other ways to cut costs. If nothing is sacred, than lets finally put an end to this ridiculous set of language laws. Put an end to the entire organization that is paid by your tax dollars to uphold a failed language. Yes failed, there's a reason it's never been adopted by the world, it is inferior. So lets stop wasting money on individuals who's job is to visit private establishments and determine whether or not they have too many English memorabilia items on the wall and whether or not they are translated. Lets stop worrying about an English sign that isn't 10 smaller than a French one.

Taxes in Quebec are going to keep rising and we are going to have to continue to pay because this province is a sinking ship. As you see there is no money. And no one cares to spend it where it needs it most. It's 2010 and listen to this, WE JUST GOT A PUBLIC BUS LINE TO THE AIRPORT!!!! Isn't this fantastic! Give it a clever name like the 747 line and the people rejoice. It is pitiful that Montreal still does not have a connected rail from the airport to downtown. The individuals in charge of Montreal, and Quebec and its peoples have lost sight of where they live. Sure they live in this province they wish to uphold as the greatest place on Earth, but that's just that, we live on Earth. There are many other countries, and in today's global world, we all need each other to survive. Quebec cares not for the image it portrays to the rest of the world. It did once, but all that changed in the end of the 1960s

You see in the 1960s, Montreal was the most promising city in North America. Toronto was nothing but an after thought when thinking about cities in Canada. We had all the right dreams. We built ourselves a mighty fine subway system, we even opened our doors for the world to come see at the Worlds Fair. But then somehow I think the wrong ideas sprung into the wrong people's minds. Somehow they came to the realization that this province could be something after all if all of the world was so impressed with it. We didn't need Canada, they only held us back. We took our identite nationale and moved forward. Ran the damn English out of town. We also ran the Montreal Stock Exchange out to Toronto, and all of the prospect this city had.

So why is the government now not taxing the wealthy or businesses but the everyday middle class people? Well they at least realize that if they start taxing those people, they'll straight out leave and Quebec will be in a bigger hole than it is now. They already realize they could probably live better elsewhere, but if things get any hotter here, they've already got one step out the door.. may it be West or South.

The wealthy and the corporations fortunately have a team of individuals to defend them. We as people in theory elect our politicians to defend us. The wealthy acquire large lobbyist groups to make sure the government acts in their favor if they want their money. So that's why we're the ones getting taxed. You want the most intelligent thing to tax? Lottery winnings. Why this isn't taxed already is ridiculous. If earnings are all taxable, why not lottery ones? That's your money pot right there at your fingertips. Wonder why that's not happening? You can only imagine the lobbying group that follow the steps of every politician in defense of Lotto-Quebec.

In closing, one thing I can fully agree with is the unfreezing of university tuitions in Quebec. I think this is long overdue. It is ridiculous that you still only pay $1500 for a semester at a major university in 2010. The students can protest all they want, alot of people would beg for tuition at twice that price.

So what is it really going to take for people to realize that this place isn't really that great?