Dear Editor,
A letter of response to Mr. Creasy regarding his letter to the Editor in the NGT Feb 10/21 edition. Ms. Rekmans, in her article in the Jan 20/21 NGT, stated three times in regards to taxing millionaires at some higher level than the present amount. At no time did the article indicate that such taxing would be only for the “ultra rich”. I merely pointed out that the “millionaire class” includes the “garden variety millionaires”, estimated to be 764,033 in number across Canada. If Mr. Creasy would tax only the “ultra rich”, (the .5% of families as he states that the Greens are primarily talking about) how many persons would that be? How much would the extra tax be and the gross amount those taxes would raise? In my article it was indicated that there are estimated to be 10,395 individuals having more than $30 million. How much more would he tax those persons? Are they “ultra rich”? Mr. Creasy indicates that taxing such “ultra rich” would reduce the debt “by a considerable amount”. Any specifics? Twice, Mr. Creasy speaks of the “wealthy hoarders” that should be taxed and yet creating an environment where it is attractive to invest in Canada. That sounds like an oxymoron to me. In the USA at this time, many individuals and companies are leaving Democrat states for Republican states primarily to benefit from the lower tax burden and “law and order” governments.
Ms. Rekmans made some astute statements in her article. (1) debt today means taxes tomorrow (2) Everyone expects fiscal prudence. Don’t live beyond your means is an excellent mantra. Perhaps Ms. Rekman read the book I recommended, “The Millionaire Next Door”, for she proclaims “don’t live beyond your means”, exactly what the aforementioned book recommends as a time proven method to gain in wealth. Mr. Creasy claims the book is an outdated “economic policy”. It is not an “economic policy” book at all, but a book that indicates the living and spending habits of the “garden variety millionaire”, their habits of “financial prudence” in “saving for their and their children’s future.” I realize the outdated book may not be “Modern Monetary Theory”, whatever that is, but it is a tried and proven method, and fairly simple to understand and act upon. This book exhorts being responsible for yourself and family, being self-reliant, developing your personal skills to benefit your family, and being generous beyond the home. It seems Mr. Creasy might like to punish such behaviour with more taxes!
Simply put, it is the responsibility of Government to keep its fiscal house in order so as not to become a burden to its citizens. It is the responsibility of the citizen to not become a burden to fellow citizens by conducting themselves properly to the benefit of family and community.
Willem Van Dam
