Beware the cruelty of Bob the Bureaucrat

Can you imagine this conversation taking place?

The politician says, “Gee, we really need more money. Any ideas, Bob?”

Bob the Bureaucrat replies, “Sure, we can take it from people with diabetes.” “That’s good, but it’s still not enough.” “Well, we can claw back what we were giving to autistic kids and for good measure we’ll tax those waitresses sucking up free cups of coffee at work.” Then they both laugh. It is hard to imagine that bureaucrats and politicians are that callous, but then, if they don’t talk that way, where do those ideas come from? The Canadian Press reported Sunday that, “Diabetes Canada was among the groups that joined Conservative politicians to publicly denounce what they say is a clawback of a long-standing disability tax credit to help them manage a disease that can cost the average sufferer $15,000 annually.”

Recently the federal government was forced to step back, due to public outrage, from an apparent plan to tax employee discounts at work.

The CRA had said on its website that when an employee receives a discount on merchandise, the value of the discount should be included in the employee’s taxable income.

Prior to that, the Ontario government had to back away from a plan, again due to public anger, to take away benefits from autistic children over the age of five.

It should not take a public outcry to get bureaucrats and politicians to do the right thing.

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, in the midst of a now scaled back plan to tax small businesses, again because of public anger, acknowledged he hadn’t put his financial interests into a blind trust, while his company was doing business with the Bank of Canada.

Politicians talk a big game about transparency and accountability and sticking up for the “little guy”, but they more often stick it to the little guys … and gals.

The CBC recently reported, “The federal Liberal government has spent more than $110,000 fighting a First Nations girl in court to block payment for orthodontic treatment that cost just $6,000, according to documents released under the Access to Information Act and shared with CBC News. Her fight with the government continues. Maybe that’s why they needed to get money back from people with diabetes. Agar hosts the 9 a.m. to noon show on Newstalk1010