Four-year-olds and government

Hugh Mackenzie of the left-wing leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives wrote a column in the Toronto Star citing the need for high taxes.

I responded with this letter to the editor:

Dear Sir/Madam:

Hugh Mackenzie likes to look at economic policy through the eyes of a 4-year-old. “Can we have an adult conversation about taxes?” October 26.

And he seems to think a 4-year-old would see the need for high taxes.

Maybe that’s so.

But an adult would understand that lower taxes would allow Canadians to keep more of the money they earn. This in turn would promote risk-taking and innovation and encourage entrepreneurs to do what they do best: create jobs.

An adult would also understand that if government was more careful with its spending, it could make do with less.

In fact, when it comes to spending, government is less sensible than even a 4-year-old.

As Ronald Reagan once put it “Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”

Crossposted at the Libertas Post.