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At the Green Party of Canada Economics Forum on March 5/6 I presented a Finance Policy resolution suggesting that Canada generate government revenue by fees and levies on the use and abuse of the commons, and no longer by taxing income, business and consuption.The resolution includes supporting details and numbers. It is a work in progress so please send me suggestions to improve it. I plan to submit it to the GPC convention in August.------------ Addressing Climate Change At Zero Cost Frank de JongProhibitively high cost remains the justification for limited government action on climate change, that it would require added job-killing taxation and mulit-hundred billion dollar transfers to poor countries. The climate change defenders say this would be money well spent, while the climate change skeptics say it would be a waste of money. But this entire premise is incorrect and should be re-examined. Climate change can and should be addressed at zero cost to taxpayers, by using the tax structure as a policy tool, through tax shifting, i.e. untaxing jobs and business and up-taxing resource use, land values and the privilege of polluting. Green tax shifts are revenue-neutral and cost governments nothing. In fact they benefit the economy by rewarding resource-efficient, clean production which is generally wealth-producing, value-added and job-intensive. Moving the source of government revenue off personal incomes and business profits and onto levies and fees on the use and abuse of the global commons should become policy whether climate change is happening or not. The benefits of green tax shifting include more jobs, a more prosperous economy, less sprawl, more walkable neighbourhoods, increased economic viability of local food and clean energy, resource conservation, nature preservation, less poverty, and fewer diseases like asthma, cancer and diabetes. Higher resource costs for business will be offset by reduced labour costs. This policy program builds bridges between climate change skeptics and defenders, between business and eco-activists by offering a win-win, fiscally-responsible, politically-attractive market mechanism to address climate without additional taxes, unfair subsidies or punitive compliance legislation. This program makes sense for both rich and poor countries regardless of the real or perceived climate change treat and would avoid the need for future international climate change agreements, the intrinsic rewards being sufficient.
Rail Link Plan Badly Flawed The proposed rail link from downtown to Pearson has some serious flaws which should be addressed before the project proceeds.
Second, the trains should make frequent stops and be fully connected to local transit routes in Toronto, Malton and Georgetown with no extra fees above the local transit fare.
Third, the project should be publicly-owned and operated rather than by private interests.
And finally it should be financed not by federal, provincial or city taxes, but by collecting the rise in land values that it generates along the route and especially around the stops. Like thousands of other Torontonians, we here in Davenport riding live near the proposed Union Station-to-Pearson rail link and share the concerns of the Weston Community Coalition. World class cities don't treat their citizens this way. ---------- In the October 10 election, in Davenport, we received over 10% of the vote and came in third, surpassing the Conservative candidate. Ruprecht, Tony - OLP - 12,368 - 41.4% In the upcoming 2011 general election we will be running to win. Please donate to my upcoming campaign this year, in 2010 and in 2011 to help build up funds for my 2011 campaign. Just use the above "Make a Donation" button or by mailing a cheque made out to "Davenport Green Party" to 210 St. Helens Avenue, Toronto M6H 4A3. A $100 donation only costs you $25 after the tax credit, a $300 donation costs you only $75. Join the Davenport greenparty google group for announcements, discussion, etc. Join the Green Party of Ontario to become a provincial GPO member. Improve the quality of life in Davenport:- Support the StoreFront Community Action Network: Creating the future in Davenport area. - Encourage people to shop for local, organic food at Dufferin Grove organic market every Thursday 3 – 7pm year-round. - Build bike lanes on Bloor Take the Tooker, College, Dundas, Lansdowne and Dufferin Streets. - Rebuild Davenport into walkable neighbourhoods linked by transit and pedestrian/cycling paths. - Allow electric vehicles on Toronto's streets. - Establish a permanent police presence at Lansdowne and Bloor, close down exotic entertainment clubs. - Assist local artists with incubator studio space and musicians with performance venues. - Make Poverty History by funding supported housing, assist low income people to purchace housing, and introducing a citizen's dividend funded out of pollution charges, and resource and land rent capture. - Encourage the construction of affordable housing by shifting municipal taxes off buildings and onto land. - Retrofit all buildings in Davenport to be net energy neutral by producing electricity and space heating, active and passive solar. - Fund new infrastructure (transit, hospitals, schools, by collecting the upkick in land values created by the infrastructure. - Register our part of town as a Fair Trade community, require stores to label distance travelled by food. - Raise plastic bag charge to $0.25 and charge $0.25 per item for single use takeout cups and disposible packaging.
"Davenport needs more and better facilities for people of all ages to come together as a community" Frank de Jong, GPO candidate.
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