PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1980, WHITBY FREE PRESS w h itb y Published every ednesday -- - by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone 668-61 Il The Free Press Buildin Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor i 3 Brok Street North. Ile only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. PO Box 206, Whitby. 0 g. Int. Michael J. KneII Michael J. Knoll Community Editor Marjorie A. Burgess Production Manager Karen Thompson Advertising Manager Malling PorVit No. 400 Member of the WhItby Chamber of Commerce Government taxnng away our mcome Last Friday, Federal Energy Minister Marc Lalonde announced a 2¼ cent a gallon increase in the price of gasoline wlthout any prior warning either in the national press or In the House of Commons. This incident can be criticized in many ways, but It is an example of the outrageous power of gover- nment to tax without seeking some form of man- date from the elected members In the House. Aside from the plain and obvious fact that Canadians are paying an ever-increasing price for oil products (however, they are somewhat less than those charged in the United States- and the European Economic Community) It is time that we all realized that it Is an articifial one, not based on oil's true value. The problem with oil and gasoline pricing, whether that pricing is done domestically or by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), it is a political, not an economic price. The problem that Canadians must come to grips with is that our government has too great a power to tax. The simplest solution to our economic troubles would be an across-the-board abolition of personal income tax, the 9 per cent federal sales tax, the seven per cent provinicial sales tax; as well as the reduction of capital gains tax, property taxes and all other taxes that Canadians are burdened with. In this country, the government spends the largest portion of the gross national product and if government took a substanlai portion of this money and invested t in the Canadian economy through the reduction of taxes, the individual's disposable income would increase allowing him to spend more of it in the marketplace. The more money that circulates In the market- place produces greater employment and produc- tivity, allows the business or corporate sector to expand creating more jobs putting more disposable income in the marketplace. This Is a circle, ever widening and growing if economic leadership exists. Unfortunately it has not existed in Canada for the last 20 years. As government takes a bigger share of the in- dividual's income, it cuts down on the amount of money that can be spent in the marketplace. If there is no money being spent in the market- place, then jobs are lost, business fails and the' economic picture worsens. There is not a good or service in this country that Is not taxed by some government at some time. This has got to stop. It is acknowledged that government must raise money for many Important things such as defense, health, education, some forms of social security (pensions), the maintenance of our embassies and consulates abroad, however, it is also maintained that government is the biggest enemy of the marketplace through its consumption of the in- dividuals disposable income. What has all this got to do with the 2¼ cent in- crease in the price of gas that was announced last Friday? It is an example of how the government is slowly breaking the economic circle. Every time government raises a tax, It creates a burden on the marketplace and if government con- tinues in this fashion the marketplace will surely collapse. Government has yet to realize the errors of ita ways. Somebody, the taxpayer, should point out to governmenlt the errors of its ways before total economic collapse la inevitable. Reader says that ... No school buses on public routes Dear Sir: As the parent of three (3) teenage children, two of which rely on the school bus for transportation, I would like to present a concerned parent's opinion of the new found 'bus system'. Your survey indicated that there were very few objections to the implementation of a bus system but it seems that the school bus problem was greatly underscored to ensure good survey resuits. The high school's have now made it abundantly clear that there will be no bus service in the fall in any areas where the public service is provided. Why were the general public not made fully aware of this fact even though some concer- ned citizens felt that this would be a definite problem? Had this in- formation been available at the time of the survey, one won- ders if the resuits would have been quite so heavily weighted in favour of the buses. If the public were responding to the new system and supporting it, perhaps the incon- venience to the studen- ts and their families could be justified but we ail know that this is not the case. Families must now 'shell out' daily transportation costs and pay in- creased taxes to sup- port the education taxes so the families with high-school age children are going to pay heavily for the priviledge of watching near-empty buses glide around town. Now I note that the town will be spending further monies to promote the students' use of the bus. The article implies that in September the high school student ridership will help defray the present lost revenue situation. Is it not truly ludicrous to take away the students' transportation and then expect them to support a public system which is less than suitable for their needs? The present bus routes accomodate very few of the studen- ts so most of them will be seeking other forms of transportation, which seems only logical. However logic seems to have little place in the bus scheme. How logical ls it for familles to pay as much as $20 a month (2 per family), plus In- creased taxes for a ser- vice that ls incon- venient and not really justified? L. Majoros 128 Broadview Ave., Whitby, Ont. Congratulations Dear Sir: The volunteers and Volunteer Servies of Whitby Psychiatric Hospital were very pleased that Erika Dovey won the Whitby Jaycee's "Millionaire for a Night" lucky draw. We all shared vicariously in the fun of the evening as Erika relived this special night for us. This same sense of fun permeates her work here at the hospital and helps to make life more pleasant and more meaningful for our patients. Erika is not, as reported, an em- ployee of the hospital but ls one of the many interested and concer- ned members of the community who so freely give both time and talent. She is a W.P.H. volunteer! Sincerely, Mary Dean Samanski, Volunteer Co-ordinator.