Tax cuts - good or bad?

[sunshine]

The Finance Minister said that there will be possible tax cuts in order to stimulate Canadians to spend more. Do you think this is good or bad? Do you think tax cuts will stimulate people to spend or this will result in poor public services?

[Steven]

Tax cuts are good as long as the public services are not affected.

[bronto18]

With more tax cuts the roads and all other public services will suffer. Do you see the conditions our roads are in - particularly in Toronto? The snow removal is so bad... I wonder what will happen with more tax cuts - no snow removal for you - shovel it yourself. I don't think tax cuts are a good idea at all.

[trent]

Tax cuts are good, small government is good, free market is good. Unfortunately we don't have these, and I'm not getting my hopes high either.

[Canadian]

Of course tax cuts are good. Canadians and Canadian businesses are over-taxed and we can use some tax relieve right away.

[bullish]

They should cut sales taxes to stimulate consumption. As soon as the Canadian consumers become more confident and start to spend again, we'll see a quick economic recovery.

[heyjude]

Originally Posted by bullish

They should cut sales taxes to stimulate consumption. As soon as the Canadian consumers become more confident and start to spend again, we'll see a quick economic recovery.

Even with the tax cuts I don't see how the economy will recover quickly. People are in the "save mode" now. They won't start spending right away - it all takes time.

[trent]

Originally Posted by bullish

They should cut sales taxes to stimulate consumption. As soon as the Canadian consumers become more confident and start to spend again, we'll see a quick economic recovery.

This is exactly what we DON'T need. We need savings, not consumption. A person can be confident if they have substantial savings and are not at the mercy of greedy bankers and corrupt government.

[Canadian]

Originally Posted by trent

This is exactly what we DON'T need. We need savings, not consumption. A person can be confident if they have substantial savings and are not at the mercy of greedy bankers and corrupt government.

I couldn't agree more! Only when personal savings are replenished, we can look for a meaningful economic recovery. All recession recoveries in the last years, were fueled by credit, which made them unsustainable.

[Tightwod]

I think a Good Ol Canadian summed it up best a long long time ago. Stompin Tom's lyrics to "the Consumer"

The Consumer they call us
We're the people that buy
Well everyone else is out to sell some kind of merchandise
We run to the boss and tell 'em we need a bit more gold
Some tax deductions later and we still wind up in the hole

Oh yes we are the people running in the race
Buying up the bargains in the ol' marketplace
Another sale on something, we'll buy it while it's hot
Save alot of money spending money we don't got
We Save alot of money spending money we don't got

The Consumer they call us
We always get a fair shake
We buy a fridge that doesn't freeze and a stove that doesn't bake
We can't buy nothing lasting unless we get that raise in pay
And they'd only charge us more for the things that cost less today

The Consumer they call us
we're fussy what we eat
we look at the price of t-bone steak and buy hamburg meat
And all those fancy packages we take down from the shelf
They're always full of good fresh air when they're full of nothing else

Oh yes we are the people running in the race
Buying up the bargains in the ol' marketplace
Another sale on something, we'll buy it while it's hot
Save alot of money spending money we don't got
We Save alot of money spending money we don't got

The Consumer they call us
When the man comes in the door
To give us a deal on a vaccume when we buy a rug for the floor
And how do we pay the finance when the monthly bills arrive
They just send down the bailiff to reposes the car we drive

The consumer is what they call us, we're always deep in debt
From buying drawers in Discount stores to fixin' the TV set
We go to the bank for the money and sign for another loan
And hope the lord doesn't see us stop in the tavern halfway home

Oh yes we are the people running in the race
Buying up the bargains in the ol' marketplace
Another sale on something, we'll buy it while it's hot
Save alot of money spending money we don't got
We Save alot of money spending money we don't got