Would you storm Parliament Hill because of the HST?

People are hot about the Harmonized Sales Tax (coming to a grocery store, hardware store and every other store near you on July 1).

So hot, people want to storm the gates of parliament.

“If Ontarians organized and stormed parliaments in Toronto and/or Ottawa, things would change.” (May 14, Letter to Editor, London Free Press)

It’s not that I don’t feel the writer’s pain, or your pain, or my pain even. A lot of expenses are getting higher. (Please click here to read about Thing$ Going North $$)

But here we are, with personal debt growing into the stratosphere by the minute - most of which we agreed to bear, i.e., when we took out a big mortgage, or big car payment, or bought furniture on credit, etc.


["We want it all. A good thing?"]

And here we are with national debt at record levels, i.e., it’s approaching $600 billion, a Canadian record. Ontario’s provincial debt is approaching $200 billion, another record.

And we know we can’t pay off all our debts by cutting a bit here and a bit there.

Why, recent yelling at the government to be more accountable with its expenses is laudable - but so laughable at the same time.

Certainly, accountability is good. But you could cancel all government expenses, including salaries (and send all MPs and Senators down the St. Lawrence R. on an ice berg), and put the $500 million savings per year toward our aforementioned current debts and what would you solve? Almost nothing, unless you think paying off the debt in 4,000 years is a stellar accomplishment that your grandkids will thank you for.

Really, there has to be a massive overall in how we think and act about our limited resources, financial and otherwise.

Me? I think, if the HST reduces our consumption habits to a small degree or makes us think twice about buying that extra bag of Chips Ahoy cookies, then it’s not a bad thing.

If you want to storm the gates, be my guest.

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