Scott Brison, the Liberal’s critic for finance and national revenue, is concerned an increasing numbers of Canadians are being left with less and that those being sidelined could end up causing big problems for businesses if the income gap isn’t addressed.
Brison wants a parliamentary committee to study the issue and report back with solutions. The Nova Scotia MP for Kings-Hants sat down with The Huffington Post Canada this week to talk about his motion, M-315, before MPs vote on it Wednesday.
Q: What is your motion about?
A: My motion simply asks that the finance committee of the House of Commons to study the issue of income inequality. It is a growing issue. We have seen in Canada over the last 30 years, under different governments of different political stripes, both federally and provincially, a growth in income inequality and in the gap between rich and poor. We are also seeing this as part of a global issue. It's notable, however, that income inequality in Canada is growing faster in recent years than it is growing in the U.S. and that is troubling.
We want the finance committee to study the issue to identify some of the causes for that growth in income inequality, to understand what the impact is socially and economically in Canada and to also make recommendations that we should consider. We should look at the Canadian tax system and consider whether or not we need some level of tax reform to build not just a fairer tax system but also potentially a more competitive tax system.
My fear is that if income inequality gets too great, and when citizens lose hope, that they may be drawn towards economic policies and politicians offering economic policies that are anti-market. If people lose faith in the system, that can lead to a rejection of the entire market-based economy and ultimately, that would be really bad for business. We can make a compelling case to business leaders that it is actually in their interest and in the interest of investors to ensure there is good social cohesion and equality of opportunity.
Q: Are we really at that point where the income inequality situation is that acute?
A: I come at it from a different perspective. I’ve been a business person, an investment banker, and I’m still partner in a private equity firm. I’m not some left-wing, rabid anti-business guy or some global-phobic-socialist luddite. I actually believe strongly in the market-based economy but I don’t believe in a market-based society. I think you need to have a level playing field in terms of, particularly, equality of opportunity. I fear that is being threatened now and I think that one of the contributing factors to that is this growth in income inequality.
If politicians don’t take this seriously, once the genie is out of the bottle, once people have lost faith in the system, I think it is then going to be very difficult and it may be too late to bring people back to a point where they do have faith in the system.
For generations, particularly since the Second World War, the strength of the American economy has been that people have had the sense that regardless of what station you are born into in the U.S. that you actually have a shot at it. You actually can succeed. I think that one of the reasons why growth in the U.S. is predicted to be very slow for the foreseeable future is that a lot of Americans have lost hope. They just don’t see what is in it for them. They just don’t believe they can make it. They just don’t have the same level of optimism that their parents had/ I think that when people lose hope that has very significant economic costs, and social costs, and implications even in terms of crime.
Q: How far are we from that point?
A: Income inequality is growing faster in Canada than it is in the U.S. I still believe that we are more socially cohesive in Canada. We have not become part of the gated community model to the extent the Americans have. I think there are more Americans who will say "Hey I pay for my kids private school, I pay for my family’s private health care, I pay for my private security and my private gated community, so I don’t want to pay taxes anymore."
I don’t have kids, but I don’t mind paying for education because I benefit from my neighbours’ kids being able to go to school. Canada benefits. It’s not just about helping your kids and helping your grandchildren, it’s about ensuring your neighbours’ kids and their grandchildren have a shot at it too. And you benefit from it.
So I think it is very important that we don’t go down that road of "What’s in it for me?" and we think, "What’s in it for everybody?" It is a cultural shift I fear is happening in Canada.
Q: So you don’t just want to study the tax code, you are looking at all types of solutions to address this problem?
A: I think we should consider some countries that do a better job on early learning and childcare, I think the Scandinavian countries do a better job of that. I think that the Germans do a better job of training and retraining and lifelong learning. I think that we need to restore the honour of the trades. I think that is just as important as the tax system to be honest.
So when I’m talking about learning, and the trades and early learning and childcare, I’m talking about narrowing the equality of opportunity gap and I think that is a far more constructive discussion then saying let’s tax the heck out of the rich people and turn it into some silly class warfare thing because it is more complex than that.
Q: The Conservative government doesn’t support your motion. They also don’t seem to acknowledge the problem is that severe. Does that concern you?
A: When I talk to Conservative members of Parliament as individuals, many of them understand that this is an issue, they see it in their own ridings. I’m confident and I’m hopeful, maybe I should say that I’m hopeful that the government may commission its own study perhaps at some point in the future or that there may be sufficient numbers of members of Parliament that support my motion.
Again, no single party can be blamed for having created this trend in Canada or any other country and no party has a monopoly on virtue or ideas to address it. So I just want to have a mature, adult discussion where we have open minds and open hearts and are prepared to take a look at what some provinces are doing better than other provinces, what some countries are doing better than other countries and learn.
Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: Althia Raj
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