EXCERPTS:
For decades, the public has been deluged by a single political message, from every possible source: Government bad. Taxes bad. Free market good.
One of the main proponents of the so-called free-market economy was American economist Milton Friedman, who once said: "I am favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it's possible."
The business community, corporate media and most governments drank Friedman's trickle-down economic KoolAid, and we're all living with the results - a near complete meltdown of the global economy, massive environmental degradation, and an alarming rise in economic disparity between our richest and poorest citizens.
But Friedman also famously said: "There's no such thing as a free lunch." Quite an ironic statement, considering that his followers have been doing exactly that for the past quarter century - dining for free on the public dime.
However, there are encouraging signs that the public is growing skeptical of the trickle-down economic policies that have done little to improve the lives of working families.
Recent Environics opinion research prepared for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that a strong majority of the 1,023 participants in the online survey agreed that high income earners and corporations should pay higher taxes.
Some 68 per cent also said they would be willing to pay more of their own income to support four or more of 11 public policy initiatives presented - including increased access to seniors' home care, a $10/day child care program, protecting BCs forests, and the elimination of MSP premiums.
Younger people (18-44) also get it, and are much more willing to pay more to support public services than older participants.
As the economy has struggled and public revenues diminished due to the very low-tax, deregulatory policies championed by economists like Friedman, more people are realizing that they haven't shared the economic wealth enjoyed by the few at the top.
Simply put, fair taxes benefit everyone. When everyone pays their fair share, we are all better for it.