It was time for the...
Illustration
It was time for the provincial elections in Ontario and the government was sure it had the election in the bag. If they promised to refund a percentage of each person's taxes, they'd have it made.
The opposition parties warned of dire consequences. "If taxes are cut everyone will suffer," they prophesied. "The poor will get poorer. More people will lose their homes. Both our health care system and our education system will suffer."
To which the government replied, "Whose money is it? Trust us. We'll make sure that everyone is taken care of."
The government was re-elected. They kept their campaign promise and tax refunds were issued. The electorate was happy until the results of the tax refunds began to be seen.
School budgets were cut. Hospitals were closing; home health care services were decreasing. The poor were getting poorer.
Some of the people began to say, "If we had known that receiving a tax refund would have hurt so many, we would not have wanted it."
Others asked, "Whose job is it to build low income housing, to make sure that there is food for the hungry, to care for those who are sick, and to educate our children?"
Still others questioned, "Whose money is it?"
Those who questioned the tax refund found a way to make sure that their refund was once again used to care for those who needed help.
The opposition parties warned of dire consequences. "If taxes are cut everyone will suffer," they prophesied. "The poor will get poorer. More people will lose their homes. Both our health care system and our education system will suffer."
To which the government replied, "Whose money is it? Trust us. We'll make sure that everyone is taken care of."
The government was re-elected. They kept their campaign promise and tax refunds were issued. The electorate was happy until the results of the tax refunds began to be seen.
School budgets were cut. Hospitals were closing; home health care services were decreasing. The poor were getting poorer.
Some of the people began to say, "If we had known that receiving a tax refund would have hurt so many, we would not have wanted it."
Others asked, "Whose job is it to build low income housing, to make sure that there is food for the hungry, to care for those who are sick, and to educate our children?"
Still others questioned, "Whose money is it?"
Those who questioned the tax refund found a way to make sure that their refund was once again used to care for those who needed help.
