Fiscal Federalism Unmasked

Canada's Liberal minority gubmnt has threatened that if there is a new election called soon, and if they are not returned to power, then Canada's cities will not receive a redistribution of gasoline taxes that the gubmnt had promised to the mayors of the cities.

In a posting called "Pimping for the Liberals," Lisa of London Fog lays it on the line:

So here we see one possible way the thieving Liberals will get back into power - if we don't vote them back into power, the trough money might be lost! Those conservatives won't support our 'partisan agenda', so we'll stick to the party that does. As for the billions shamelessly stolen from taxpayers - well, they won't do it again I am sure.

In the interest of securing their own corrupt and blood sucking positions, these mayors forget to mention where all the money comes from in the first place - taxpayers across the country. London's funding Toronto, Alberta is funding Ontario - everyone is funding everyone and no one is getting what they want. Pass the pot and see how much you can grab before the next guy makes a demand.

In an era of reduced mobility costs, surely we should be relying more on allowing and encouraging people to move from one jurisdiction to another if they want to improve their lot. It far less defensible now than it was 50 years ago that we tax people in one jurisdiction or at one level of gubmnt to subsidize people in others; doing so just adds to the layers of inefficiency and bureaucracy.