Absent significant tax reform, persistent deficit spending compounds the regressive nature of Canada’s tax system.  It contributes to the redistribution of wealth from working people to the rich by extending it across generations.

That does not mean government should cut services to balance the budget: rather, it should reform our tax system to maintain and expand services.

Maintaining social programs through deficit financing, so long as the rules invite the elite to evade taxation, means that the programs we receive today will be paid for by tomorrow’s working people.

Governments should raise enough money to maintain and expand social spending, at least across the business cycle, by taxing it where it lies – in the pockets of wealthy people and corporations.  We do not have a problem of over-spending – our health care and education systems are not over-priced.