The BC Teachers Federation wants big raises for its members—and they want to cut your pay to get it.

In an excellent piece in today’s Times Colonist, columnist Les Leyne reports on BCTF President Susan Lambert’s recent budget submission to the BC Government’s Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. Yesterday, I made a presentation to the same group, asking them to tighten their belt to balance the budget. The BCTF, on the other hand, says tax, tax, tax--and give teachers the money.

From Leyne’s column:

For those who wonder where the money is supposed to come from to pay for teachers' proposed pay hikes, BCTF president Susan Lambert offered an easy answer to the legislature's finance committee.
It should come from higher taxes. All the government has to do to keep teachers happy is raise taxes.

(clipped)

Lambert is one of very few to advocate a hefty general tax hike.

"Taxation is the way we've chosen as a society to redistribute wealth in order to purchase services and products we cannot individually afford - roads, medicare, public education," she said. "The B.C. government has cut taxes substantially over the past decade. In particular, it reduced taxation on corporations and for those with the highest incomes. These tax cuts shrank government revenue, resulting in cuts to public services, including education."
She conceded schools today have the highest level of funding ever. But she said that is "not true of the levels of services that those dollars can purchase."

Lambert said B.C.'s fiscal situation is not the result of out-of-control spending. "It is a case of a decade of tax cuts that have primarily benefited corporations and higher-income earners," she said.

She cited a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives study that showed where a solution lies. If B.C. were to go back to the NDP tax levels of 2000, the government would have $3.4 billion more in annual revenue.

All that would require is a 25 per cent hike in provincial income tax and increases in the 100 or so other taxes that were cut over the Liberal era.

"At the same time, we must acknowledge the HST referendum and articulate a process of public consultation when contemplating an increase in taxes," she said.

Her main point, though, was that "government revenue must be increased."

You see, folks: you just need to be taxed more, and then everyone can get what they want. Sure you already work all the way until June 18 just to cover your taxes and provincial deficit. Why not work until July 6, like you did in 2000, to pay for your taxes and more salary and benefits for teachers?

The BCTF leadership is astoundingly out of touch with the economic situation being faced by many families across BC. First, they demanded $2.184 billion in salary and benefit improvements. To put that number into perspective, the total 2009/10 public school teacher payroll was $2.9 billion. $2.184 billion is 5% of the entire annual provincial budget! They want the highest paid teachers to get a 22% raise and make more than $90,000 a year, plus gold-plated benefits and pension (to see how sweet that pension is, check out the BCTF’s own words here).

Raising taxes will do nothing but cause families problems. Enough is enough! The BC Government must hold the line on its net-zero mandate with teachers. Taxpayers are tapped out, and the BCTF needs to recognize that.