-- CTF Says United Church Moderator Just Doesn't Get It--
OTTAWA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today responded to a news release from the moderator of the United Church of Canada entitled "Moderator says Canadians should pay taxes joyfully." (The full text of the United Church release can be found on the Canada newswire website at
www.newswire.ca/releases/April1999/19/c3489.html.)
The remarks from Right Reverend Bill Phipps show "a fundamental misunderstanding of taxes, the economy, and the mood of Canadian taxpayers. Quite clearly, he just doesn't get it," said CTF federal director Walter Robinson. Mr. Phipps is quoted as saying we have a "misguided worship of the market as God."
"I submit to Mr. Phipps that it is equally misguided to worship the role of Government as God. That would be simply replacing one false idol with another," added Robinson. "No one disagrees that taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society. It is the question of value for our tax dollars and the continuing offensive waste of billions in corporate welfare, stupid Millennium party projects and overlap and duplication in service delivery that has driven Canadians to anger and distraction - or even worse, to leave."
In his news release, Mr. Phipps also notes that taxes are necessary to "pay for services, like Medicare and social programs that our parents and grandparents fought so hard to establish."
"What Mr. Phipps fails to understand is that these programs will crumble under the weight of their own unfunded liability. So the answer is to address the structural failings of these programs now and find alternative solutions so we can ensure that our programs continue to serve us not only tomorrow, but for generations to come," Robinson stressed.
"To joyfully fill out our tax returns and blissfully send our money off to Ottawa while pretending nothing is wrong is an abdication of leadership. It's this type of foolhardy thinking that allowed us to accumulate a $580 billion national debt and over $1.6 trillion in unfunded Medicare and pension liabilities over the past 30 years," concluded Robinson.