Canadian taxes

Taxes in our fair country are up, up, up. 1600% since 1961 according to the Fraser institute. That's more than outrageous its scandalous. What's worse is that Canadians keep electing governments that raise their taxes and spend like drunken sailors. Ok, that's unfair to drunken sailors.

The Fraser Institute study finds that Canadians now pay more annually in taxes than they spend on shelter, food and clothing combined. In 1961, the average household earned $5,000 and paid $1,675, or 33.5 per cent, of that in taxes. The average family in 1961 spent $2,824 on food, shelter and clothing per year.

In 2005, the report found, the average family earns $60,903, and spends $28,467 of that, 46.7 per cent, on taxes. The average family now spends $22,167 on food, shelter and clothing per year.

The tide has turned to some degree, from the high point of raising taxes in the mid 1990s, but not nearly enough. Governments will always spend as much as they can - it's up to us to demand that they take less of our money, so that they spend less. The Gipper offered the proper perspective when he said:

Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.

It's time for a change.