VICTORIA – I wonder if governments would budget differently if they did it around a kitchen table. At my house we sit around the dinner table and talk about what we can afford. In a typical con- versation, one of us (usually a parent) will say maybe we need a new car? A child will say “You know my friend’s parents just got a great new car with a built in GPS and a backup camera, we should get one of those.” A more practical person in the family (usually the other parent) says, “You know the car we have works pretty well and I think we should save some money because we are going to need a new roof soon.” Talk around the kitchen table usually focuses on how to spend the money you have.
Governments sit around rooms and talk about how they are going to spend – whether they have the money or not. Would the conversation be different if they had to call “Gloria” (widowed and on a fixed income) and say “I know you don’t have much money but I want to take some more of what you have and give it to people who rent because it’s tough for those folk.” What if Gloria responds: “I don’t have any more money, I live off my pension. If you want to take some of that money and give it to renters I can skip lunch a few days a week.”
A government calls Jordan Plumber (married with two young children just bought their first home). “Jordan although we could eliminate your property tax increase this years, we’ve decid- ed to spend your money on bike lanes and building low income housing.” Jordan might respond, “I was totally surprised at the cost of water and electricity for this house, let alone what it costs to clothe and feed a family. Really can’t you give me a break?”
When governments deal with millions of dollars they seem to forget they are spending Jordan’s and Gloria’s money. The budgeting process, particularly at the municipal level, has a tenor of we have money to spend, we need to come up with good programs to spend it on. Indeed we have so many good programs now we need to raise more money and increase taxes. There is another option. Taxpayers only have so much money and we can only afford so much, so let’s set priorities and do the things that are important. Let’s work to reduce the tax burden so everyone has money to spend.
– Bruce Carter is the CEO, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at bcarter@victoriachamber.ca or (250) 383-7191.
Upcomming Chamber Events:
• Tuesday, June 9 – YYJ Eats | 5:00 – 7:00 pm | Location: Market Square
• Thursday, June 11 – Prodigy Group June Mingle | 5:00 – 7:00 pm | Hosted by: Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort & Spa – LURE Restaurant
• Thursday, June 11 – Seminar: Is your business CASL compliant? | 9:30 – 11:30 am | Location: The Chamber
• Thursday, June 18 June – Business Mixer | 5:00 – 7:00 pm | Hosted by: Jim Pattison Toyota Victoria
