Dear Editor:
The March 29 Ontario budget is a status quo budget. It does not do enough to help people in our riding who are struggling to make ends meet. The HST is taking $800 a year out of the average family budget. The budget should have focused on making life more affordable for families and seniors instead of giving additional tax breaks to big, profitable corporations who do not create any new jobs.
In addition, there is no new money for affordable housing. While the provincial government is creating more spaces at colleges and universities, those same students will be facing skyrocketing tuition fees.
The Ontario NDP wants to help families and seniors with their household budgets by removing the HST from hydro and home heating bills. The NDP would also replace the general corporate tax rate cuts with jobs-focused refundable tax credits for capital investment, training, and innovation. These tax credits would reward businesses for investing and creating jobs.
One welcome item in the budget is the assistance given to farmers through the extension of the risk management program.
When it comes to spending restraint, the NDP believes that the McGuinty Government should stop spending billions of dollars on high end consultants and on corporate tax giveaways. The NDP would also put a hard cap on public sector CEO salaries.
Overall, the budget fails to put people first while continuing to give tax breaks to the richest corporations who won’t commit to create new jobs.
Yours truly,
Brian Lynch, Cornwall Ontario
I’m not an NDP supporter but I agree with changes needing to take effect to offset HST. With gas and hydro going up so is the cost of everything else. I don’t have a car but I’m feeling gas prices because business have to incrfease there prices to make up for there increased expenses. Including the there labor costs since the increase of minimum wage. Jobs are scares and prices are climbing. Thanks McGuinty.
Not sure I agree with a ceo salary cap though. Your just going to limit the talent Ontario companies will be able to hire.
Brian, why would you not want a status quo budget when everything is sailing along as it should? When you were a Liberal you would have applauded this budget. Stop playing party politics because even the NDP have not chosen you as their candidate.
Sorry Brian, I can’t agree that the answer for every point of fiscal woe is the government finding new ways to spend our money. Sometimes it seems that the NDP’s answer is for everyone to go to work on government sponsored employment. I hate to inform you that industry does create jobs and employment far better than government and in a way that creates wealth, not prop it up. It’s time for the NDP to catch up with the thinking of a new generation who are not afraid of competition, not afraid of working hard and don’t need a union or government to make them productive.
We really do need an alternative to current party line thinking, but the NDP haven’t found it.