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I now understand I was wrong. It wasn’t others’ lack of financial education, it was mine. Most people who want more government support realize that they will not be paying for it. It will come out of other people’s pockets.
According to a study from the Fraser Institute in 2017, when looking at income taxes alone, the bottom 50 per cent of Canadian taxpayers pay nine per cent of all income taxes. Based on the way Canada’s various benefits work (Old Age Security, Child Benefit Plan, etc), this same group of 50 per cent of taxpayers will also receive more than 50 per cent of the benefits.
To better understand this, you can check out the government’s child family benefits calculator online.
I entered a family with 3 children, with the exact same scenarios and ages. At $50,000 of income, the benefit calculator said I would receive $18,814. At $100,000 of income, I would receive $8,648.
Just as an added component, most of that $18,814 in benefits comes in tax free as part of the Canada Child Benefit.
Not surprisingly, people especially like free when they understand that someone else ultimately pays the bill. Whether you agree or disagree with our tax policies and benefits, I do think it is important that people understand how taxes and benefits are working today because they speak volumes about Canadian values, priorities and votes in 2020.
People especially like free when they understand that someone else ultimately pays the bill.
It is also good to remember this when we see who is out there asking for things and why.
A lot of thought has gone into what changes will happen in society after we get through COVID-19. My concern is that the demands for more from the government will continue and move us further from where we were. Governments will have to pay for these demands with a combination of higher taxes from a small segment of the population, and increased debt which we seem to believe can be kicked down the road indefinitely.
