Rick Lowe
We often hear the argument that taxing consumption is not progressive and hurts the poor. This is usually suggested when talk show hosts and politicos realise that deficit spending is not such a good for future generations and the government must find more revenue.
Seldom does one hear or read someone say, government needs to spend less. Mr. Raymond Winder is a notable exception.
Back to taxes.
"Personally, I'd like taxes – of whatever kind – to be as low as possible. But given that you have to get some money from somewhere, I'd argue that a system based primarily on consumption is simpler, better, fairer and – if handled right – less controversial than the other two options."
Now I wouldn't mind taking credit for that quote, but it's from Robert Colvile a Telegraph columnist in early March.
Read his entire blog post here… and let me know if you agree or not.
All three of our political parties only believe in increase spending and raising tax revenues on the backs of the Bahamian people.. Greece, Spain, Italy and the United States have ardently followed similar policies on the road to economic self-decay.. Why can’t our politician get the message that the Bahamas is on this same path to economic ruin.. Debt, deficits and dollar decline are the road maps we are following down this road of self-destruction.. Unless government learns to be prudent and live within its financial capacity, we may end up like the Greeks taking to the streets.. Let us hope and even pray that government recognizes the need for financial prudence and economic accountability.. But then a wise old man once said, “hope springs eternal only in the minds of fools”.. Sadly in a democracy the voting public-at-large are the fools..
Isn’t it time to cut spending, cut useless business regulations and start to balance the nation’s budget?? We are regulating and taxing our businesses into bankruptcy.. To tax consumption is not the answer as revenues will be used only to increase more wasteful government spending.. All three of our political parties are calling for increase spending and not a word about financial and economic prudence.. Not a word about how this spending will be paid for.. Will it come off the backs of Bahamian taxpayers or will we continue to try to borrow it?? When will the politicians learn that debt, deficits and dollar depreciation is the receipt for economic destruction and ruin.. Time to wake up Bahamas, it is never to late, but the clock is running and time may be running out..
Tradewinds,
I really enjoy reading your comments. It’s encouraging to read people who really understand what’s going on.
We must get the message pass; get the message out to the people that we have been dupe.
\Ignorant people will believe those totalitarian leader saying that :’’ the problem must be solve , we need more government , we must control everything‘’ The totalitarian who made the problem worst are the one to offer the solution which will be more control and less liberty. Just like it happen in Germany when the destruction of their currency happens, it opens to Nazi, totalitarian government.
Liberty you are so correct.. The size of government always expands with the increase in government spending.. Unfortunately the larger a government becomes in size, the less productive (efficient) the public sector becomes.. I cannot think of a single exception to this rule.. What is rather astonishing is that the same phenomenon takes place in the private sector as well.. However, when this occurs in the private sector, corporations begin to downsize until they reach their optimum operational size to maximize return on capital invested.. This is what has been going on in the United States over the last several years as earnings have increased over these recessionary times.. Corporations have become leaner and far more productive.. Cash balances are now at record levels..
Unlike the private sector, the government (public sector) never reduces its overall size as debt become a growing source of revenue to keep the government expanding.. This is most destructive for a nation’s health as debt, deficits and dollar decline reduce the country’s financial surpluses and bring on the ugly horrors of inflation into play.. National savings are destroyed by inflation and the nation’s currency becomes devalued.. This is what is happening today in Europe, the United States, and the Bahamas.. If the politicians do not cut spending and the overall size of government, then the economic forces of recession and even depression will.. These are risky times and the voice financial prudence must be heard and acted upon..
I thought I was the only one who had these view points. I have been using Greece as a prime example of where all democracies are headed if they don’t correct some fundamental issues such as corruption, nepotism, a balanced budget, a limited small government, and reduced regulation. Unfortunately I don’t think it will change. As governments grow so does their power in more ways than one, they gain more spending supporters, by employing more persons both directly and or indirectly. All on the backs of the private citizens, and their tax dollars. This video explains where we are all headed, due to an uncontrolled government spending, which incurs more public debt that the people must pay regardless of who is in power (FNM, PLP, DNA, etc).
And he who controls the debt controls everything, so we can vote who ever we want in, but they will not answer to the people, they will instead answer to the debt holders, banks or governments.
So let us continue to sit back and let our government enslave us, with debt we did not agree too, and we once again will return to slavery, but this time we won’t even know the slave master!!