The Progressive Conservatives and their leader, Ches Crosbie, are proving once again where their allegiance lies, and it is not with the people. Their first election platform plank has been laid and it is no surprise — give businesses tax breaks and stop a livable minimum wage with the cynical claim that it’s “not a good time for an increase in the minimum wage.”
But, apparently, the time is always right to give to business. No one should be surprised by this. It is what the PCs are and have always been — representatives of the business class. Occasionally they will give lip service to workers, but don’t be fooled — they see business as much more important than workers.
The PCs are still pushing the long-disproved Trickle Down Theory.
The PCs are still pushing the long-disproved Trickle Down Theory. This theory states that if businesses are given enough tax breaks and incentives, eventually they will pass some of their profits along to their workers. One need only look at the extreme and ever-widening wage gap between workers and business leaders to see the lie here — wage inequality has never been worse in modern history. And it continues to widen, and yet this continues to be the Conservatives’ only answer to a struggling economy. Business backs the Cons and demands they do their bidding, and once again they comply.
Here’s a radical suggestion: how about a Trickle Up Theory? Low-income workers, out of necessity, spend all their wages on the basics like food, clothing and housing. If they are given more, they will spend more, and businesses in turn will thrive because of it. It’s a theory that has as much a possibility of making for a successful economy as propping up business with the hope they will find it in their stony hearts to give more than a pittance to their workers.
Maybe an even greater reason is it will allow low-income workers to simply live with some dignity and have pride in their efforts and not be seen as just a means to their bosses’ success. Please vote accordingly.
Gary Pike,
St. John’s
