Consumption Tax Rates: The Wrong Move

I met the not-so-famous and struggling to cling on to the leadership of her very own fringe party Elizabeth May just over a month ago. She was there with all four of her supporters, and I asked her about the position she would take if a bill concerning the harmonized sales tax was brought forward in the House of Commons. She told me that she wouldn't vote for it in its current form, and noting the interesting wording, I asked under what circumstances she would vote in favour of the HST. Ms. May then responded saying that she would support it if it shifted to consumption based transportation fuel (read: gasoline). Let the raising of the left eyebrow commence.

So let me get this straight Green Party, you support raising taxes for gasoline, which we all use? We have no alternatives the middle-class can purchase that will help save the environment without destroying our financial future. So in essence, the Greens support raising taxes for us because we use vehicles. Thus, if I understand Green policies correctly (I probably don't to be honest, policies that fail to become full circle just don't click in the old brain), they would eliminate taxes on most other products such as groceries.

At first glance, this doesn't sound too bad. But when you think about it, you realize that this is another burden that out of touch politicians want to dump on the middle-class. Groceries among other products are driven, flown and even shipped into Canada, and they all use fossil fuels. The corporations running this, all will be taxes as well, and as a result for the corporations to make a profit, they will raise the prices for us. I fail to see the positive light in this poorly thought out Green policy.

I'm amazed with platform points like this that the Green Party has done as well as they have. People must be converted simple due to name only. Ask any Green voter and they'll tell you they are supporting them "because they care about the environment." Yet, they fail to articulate how the Greens will initiate this change of heart toward the environment, and also don't mention about the protection of the middle class. The reason? They don't care about families like yours and mine. They're similar to PETA in that manner; they are so supportive of a cause, that they are willing to harm other aspects of society to get their point across.

The Greens along with the Liberals and Conservatives support raising taxes for hard-working families. But besides this new tax shift, do the Greens have any other policies about the economy? Of course they don't! The unemployed aren't important, at least in their eyes they aren't. No economic policies to get us out of the worst period of economic despair since the Great Depression; a sure fire way to win votes.