I am looking for tax decreases in the mid-term.
>Frank, trust me on this one.. The Canadian system is going
>to be really hurting in about 20 years. The costs are going
>to skyrocket! Stand by for some massive changes, or some
>HUGE tax increases.
Where I live, (Alberta) we have seen our health system put through major surgery in the last 5 years with massive cutbacks, hospital closures, and increased user fees and health care premiums. As a result, the provincial government now has a large budgetary surplus and the big story is what to do with the surplus. Of of the latest initiatives is "re-investment" in health care and education. Also talked about, but not yet delivered (maybe next election) is tax relief. The rational for this major cutback was that health care costs were out of control back in the late eighties and if something was not done, the health care budget would overwhelm us.
There is some pressure for change - ie private health care facilites, but when this happens, the feds scream bloody murder, threatening to cut back on health transfer payments to the provincial government. (federal health transfer payments cover about 20% of costs here, but they want to set 100% of the rules) Nevertheless, it is starting to happen slowly.
Hopefully governments will not let health care costs get out of control again, but one never knows. And of course we do not yet know what the effect of an aging baby-boom population will have on the system. |
