To the editor,
First off I would like to say that I have never been an NDP supporter and as things are going now I never will be. The 2 per cent increase in HST took effect on July 1, which will make us the highest taxed province in Canada. Thanks Mr. Dexter! You must have very intelligent people behind the scenes working for you to come up with this original idea. I wonder how much they were paid and how much time they wasted coming up with this (wrong) easy solution. All you have essentially done is forced people and businesses from moving to this province and sent some people packing as well. Is this an intelligent way to increase revenue for the province? I think not. You and your advisers should have looked at ways to attract people and business to the province to increase revenue. Wait a minute you did do that by bringing Daewoo here. But with all the taxpayers money that you are giving them, I could have taken over the Trenton plant. Not that I am not happy the plant will be opening again, but I think you could have negotiated better.
So with this shortfall of money, the Dexter government is unknowingly (they are not smart enough to realize) going after our newspaper carriers. Let me explain. With the 2 per cent increase in HST on July 1, the newspaper rate will be going from $6.47 to $6.60 for a two-week period. An increase of 13 cents. My son, who is a carrier, will collect money from the subscribers every two weeks and in a lot of cases he will receive $10 to cover the amount owed and the rest will be a well deserved tip for him. With the increase in HST, the subscriber will still give him $10 (which he appreciates), so the 13 cents will come out of his tips. That might not sound like much, but when you multiply it by 25 people it could mean the carrier losing around $3 in tips. Once again thanks Mr. Dexter! I would say this is like “stealing candy from a baby.”
Our carriers work hard for the money they get, they don’t deserve a decrease in pay. Do you know what is really a shame? Not only do they lose the 2 per cent from their pay, but when they buy something with their money they also have to pay 2 per cent more for it.
All I see from this government so far is broken promises, increase in taxes, and cuts in services. This is in a one-year period. What further damage can they do in the next three years? I’m sure that as we get closer to another election they will start making more promises they are sure not to keep. I just hope people will not fall for it again.
Not an NDP supporter,
Doug Linehan
New Glasgow
