Canada's new Child Benefit program just kicked in (link to CBC article about it). I have extremely mix feelings about it because it's a fascinating mix of good and bad.
The Good
To establish the program, they merged about 6 benefit programs into one to reduce administrative costs. It's about time the pen pushers running the government take steps like that. The libertarian in me rejoices!
It helps poor kids I guess.
It's straight out Jonathan Haidt's "The Righteous Mind" (a MUST READ for anyone interested in understanding fellow human beings!).
From the CBC article:
"There is a real philosophical difference here. The previous [Conservative] program ... believed that there should be some component of assistance for families that was universal. So just because you made a lot of money personally you shouldn't be penalized, you shouldn't be losing out and not getting any government benefits." says Golombek. "Whereas this new government, the Trudeau government, has said we are going to do this purely on income testing. Wealthier families can carry more of the load ... they don't need additional government handouts" he says.
For those who haven't heard about Jonathan Haidt, he works on exploring how moral values influence people's political choices. In the example above, Sweet Liberal Prince Justin put poor children's needs ahead of the fairness of giving every parent money. It's fascinating to see how predictable it all was when you know how moral values work.
The Bad
- I don't have kids, so I get no free check. Seriously, I tried. "It looks like you don't have any children". I feel a bit judged here.
- It fucks with wealthy people a bit more. The reason I don't have kids right now is because the GF and I are focusing on building some financial stability before pumping out a few rugrats, like most people with the ability to plan ahead do. But now the government rewards that with 1. no money for us and more money for people who didn't plan shit and 2. taking more taxes from us in the future, because we're working really hard to make sure we won't be poor. Hopefully Steemit plays a part in that :D
The ugly
- Tim Moen, our resident Libertarian candidate, didn't properly file the papers for his party, so there won't be a Libertarian party in the next federal elections. That's a double facepalm if I've ever seen one.
That's it fellas! Ride your bikes!