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So, the budget

Posted by Nicole | February 22, 2008 .

A few weeks ago, the BC Liberal government had a press release - and it was huge. $14 billion dollars for transit improvement (you should say “billion” like Dr. Evil in Austin Powers).

That’s nice. The Tri-Cities will get the long sought-after Evergreen line to extend rapid transit to that area. Great.

Yesterday, Minister Taylor wore a pair of green Fluevogs while she delivered the budget. They’re calling it the “Green Budget” - green, not only in the sense of environmentally green, but green in the sense of putting money back in the pockets of consumers.

Oh, and there’s a carbon tax. Come Canada Day, the price of gasoline will increase by 2.4 cents per litre. All fossil fuels get this tax, including the natural gas you use to heat your home. But don’t worry! The tax is revenue neutral: 2/3 of that will go directly back into the pockets of those who need it, and help reduce BC’s greenhouse gases by 5% by 2020 (or something). The remaining 1/3 goes to business.

Nevermind that the largest polluters - particularly the gas business - aren’t affected by the tax. More on this later.

My first point: the government is passing the costs of greenhouse gas reduction on to the citizenry. Apparently, the government can confer with big businesses on this, but not the people who actually vote for them.

By raising the price of gas, the carbon tax could reduce B.C.’s GHG emissions in 2020 by up to three million tonnes. Go ahead and click that link to see pundit Michael Smyth’s take on it. I think he makes some really good points. Read the comments, too.

Instead of 3 million tonnes, lets look at something we can all understand. That decrease is somewhere around 5%. Which is somewhere around 0.06% of global GHGs.

Lets face it: in BC, we have largely clean energy thanks to hydro-electric power.

Back to the transit thing: this tax is going in before the new transit lines are put in. This makes it a cash grab, despite the fact that its revenue-neutral. Oh, and transit fares have just increased, and the new TransLink board just gave itself a HUUUUUUGE raise.

All of this boils down to: how does it affect me?

Quite honestly, this budget just further alienates me. I drive to work every day. Every month, I burn between $120 and $150 in gas. My West Coast Express pass would cost me $195 for 28 days. It runs in the mornings, and in the evenings, and that’s it. Then there’s the “train bus” on the weekends. And because I have several evening meetings per month, I lose anywhere from 4 to 12 days per month on the pass. You do the math. We live where we do because we simply cannot afford to own a house in the city.

To take the SkyTrain from Vancouver to Surrey is now a $10 round trip.

My second point: if you’re going to tax me for driving, you need to build the amenities on the other end. Start by lowering transit fares. Then we can talk.

Speaking of talking, remember the point above about businesses not being affected by the carbon tax? (Pardon me if I get ranty here - this is the part that gets me MAD) They’re part of a separate process. Representatives get to meet with the government to discuss what to do.

Now, I know a thing or two about democracy. And I know that one of the things about democracy is that people vote, not businesses.

My third point: who do you think you are dealing with big business and ignoring the citizens?

What a fucking insult. Every single citizen, whether you voted for the Liberal government or not, should be deeply insulted at a fundamental level. Not only because business is being consulted and citizens are not, but because this tax is going to hit you whether you like it or not.

My fourth point: I recycle: we throw out one bag of garbage every 10 days. I drive a fuel efficient car; it is as fuel efficient as many hybrids. I buy meat from local growers. We buy local veggies whenever possible and stock up from Darren’s mom’s garden in the summer. Even the beer and wine we drink is local and the wine is organic - well, the wine is from the Okanagan, but that’s local enough. And business doesn’t have to do this and still gets consulted?

Where’s my tax credit for doing what I can? Where are my chits for locally grown meats and vegetables? Why not start there where its something more tangible?

IMHO, this is a great big, “Fuck you very much” to the citizens of BC.

As a follow-up, you should read Crunchy Carpets’ post over at Wet Coast Women.

Note: this is a cross-post from here.


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9 Comments so far
  1. jmb February 22, 2008 9:55 pm

    Excellent post my dear. Nothing could be more ridiculous than this tax which will do nothing to reduce the emissions.

  2. Michelle February 23, 2008 8:59 am

    I agree with so many of your points. The one that really hit home was “it further alienates me”.

    That about sums it up in a nutshell.

  3. crunchy February 23, 2008 9:17 am

    Absofrakkingloutley!

    While I think it is great to ‘encourage’ us to look at how we live and to try to change it..reducing footprints, etc…

    However..it will take more than that.
    Ammenities need to be built closer to people. Work needs to be closer to people again. Schools, doctors etc..all closer again.

    We cannot change the suburban sprawl and commute overnight and taxing us will not help this.

    HELPING us to recycle better would be nice.
    How can you properly get rid of many things without a car to get to the transfer stations?

    And yes, don’t get me started on big business and BC Hydro.

    Are the green houses all over the valley going to get nailed? If they do…it means higher prices for food for us.

    Thanks.

    How about encouraging with rebates and grants more people and big business to go solar and so on.

    Are the lumber companies and other pollutants going to be taxes?

    As said…what pollution we create is a drop in the bucket.

    I think it is a nice idea to lead by example…..but taking money from our pockets is not the way to go.

  4. SmalltownRN February 23, 2008 10:51 am

    I can’t agree more ….ever since I read your post and Crunchy’s post I have been preparing a letter both to my local paper and MLA…you know…has anyone thought about what it is going to cost us to administer the $100 per family they are suppose to give us? And what happens after the so called $100 rebate…then they will hit us up with the tax and so on….we all know we don’t get anything for free with the government…they like to think they are giving us something…they are giving us money back that they have already taken…but anyhow…I personally am going to send my cheque to my MLA and encourage others to do so…and tell their MLA what they want the government to do with the money…persoanlly I think they should use it towards improving healthcare..closer to home services…envrio friendly community…there as so many initiatives that the government could work towards…this $100 rebate is a joke and the tax is an insult…..

  5. crunchycarpets February 23, 2008 10:55 am

    Good idea SRN….I think we all need to be writing letters!!

  6. Nicole February 23, 2008 10:00 pm

    Thanks for the comments, everyone. :)

    I’m thinking of donating our $200 to our local food bank, personally.

    Not that they can afford to buy locally grown foods with it :)

    I’m just a titch jaded.

    Its as easy as giving the local farmers to sell their meat and veggies with no PST. Give the tax break up front, rather than sneaking it in so it looks like you’re greening when, at the end of the day, its probably not going to change a lot.

  7. Barbara Doduk February 28, 2008 10:08 am

    You have all said it.

    What I find most insulting about this, is that in reality, so much of our products are shipped from around the world to our markets? How is this pratical?

    PS Do any of you ever watch the CBC show Marketplace. It is my favorite show.

  8. Starlily February 28, 2008 9:42 pm

    The transit hikes are making public transit less and less affordable. For me to take my two kids across the river to their art classes (what would be a 15 minute drive) and back costs me $17.50.

    Not thrilled to read about the (yet again) huge raises for the execs these hikes are paying for…oh, and the automated ’station call’ for each bus stop. What a waste!

  9. Miscellania « Resolving Timeline Issues June 13, 2008 7:05 am

    […] Speaking of gas, our ever-lovin’ Premier refuses to delay the two-point-whatever “ecotax” on gas, despite the fact this will push it up over $1.50/litre, on average. I can’t tell you who’s getting my vote next year, but I can tell you who won’t. Personally, I think all of this eco-garbage stemming from Gordon Campbell’s liberals is just an effort to steal some votes from the more traditionally greenish parties next year. But you can read my opinion about that over here. […]