If I wanted to sneak up behind you to steal your wallet, I’d probably try one of the oldest tricks in the book called ‘Hey, look over there. Is that your sister?’
Though you may call the trick by another name, it works like this: I don’t want you to see me slip ten bucks out of your wallet and into mine so I distract you. I point to your left and, in a very serious tone - to make myself sound very believable - I ask you to see if that person walking by is your sister.
Now, this ploy works very well if you in fact have a sister and want to engage her in a long conversation. If you don’t have a sister, then I get caught with my hand in your back pocket. Whoops.
While we speak, Prime Minister Harper is trying the same trick on all Canadians as he makes plans to reform Old Age Security (OAS) by making some or many older Canadians work longer, e.g., to age 67 (for now), before collecting hard-earned benefits.
["Is it out of this world to pay a bit more now than later?": Toon by GH]
Why, only last Tuesday, Conservative Human Resource Minister Diane Finley “tried to persuade Canadians that those changes are indeed necessary, warning doing nothing would create an undue burden on future generations of Canadians.”
Finley’s trick is very slick. She warns that we will all place an undeserved burden upon the shoulders of our grandchildren if we don’t follow the Prime Minister’s plan. Though there’s not a word about anybody’s sister, many Canadians will at least be a little more fearful now of the prospects facing children and grandchildren across this once mighty land. And when people are fearful, they’re a little more willing to sacrifice, a little more willing to spend a few more years at work in their later years.
In my opinion, though the information about PM Harper’s plan is only coming out in ‘dribs and drabs’, at least that’s better than the zero amount of information Canadians are receiving about all the reasons why revenues on the government ledger seem unable to support OAS benefits.
Yes, we hear about how people are living longer (from conservative think tanks, no less) but nary a word about how revenues have been affected by the Conservative decrease in the GST. We hear about more boomers “coming down the pipes” (Feb. 22, Free Press) but about how recent corporate tax breaks have affected the coffers - nada, as in ‘not a word’.
To help with giving Canadians even more useful information, maybe the Conservative Federal Government could conduct a poll and ask how many Canadians would like to see corporations pay 1 per cent more tax now, and be willing to spent one per cent more on the GST now, rather than work longer in the future.
Don’t hold your breath.
If you feel more heat around your ankles than usual, that’s just the smoke and fire our Prime Minister is blowing down your pants.
Get used to it, for now.
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