Do people care that the government is gouging them?
KAMLOOPS — In a recent column on the provincial government’s not so transparent tax system, there was a comment from a reader that drew my attention. He asked, “Who is listening? Do people really care?”
In general, I believe governments have operated on the principle that voters pretty much don’t listen, don’t remember and don’t care. What other explanation can be given for government’s blatant disregard of their taxpayers’ interests while happily taking care of their own self-interests?
Case in point, as reported by Marvin Shaffer (The Tyee, Nov 16, 2016) where he delved into the relationship between Premier Clark’s LNG aspirations and the building of the Site C dam.
Ms. Clark’s government has agreed to sell 1200 gigawatt hours of power to the proposed Woodfibre LNG plant at the eDrive rate instead of the standard industrial rate.*** Unfortunately for us, the eDrive rate is 40 per cent less than what it will cost to produce the power and will force taxpayers to come up with the annual $34 million shortfall. It is a tax disguised as a subsidy, disguised as an increase in BC Hydro rates and is anything but transparent.