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Judging from the first few days of 2018, Canadians are in no mood to be lectured by the CEOs and politicians who told us low wages, privatization and tax cuts would create prosperity.

And why should we? Rarely has any group been so wrong for so long.

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We cut taxes. In 2000, the federal corporate tax rate was 28%. Successive Conservative and Liberal governments cut it to 15%. The federal sales tax was cut two points in 2007. In 2016, the Trudeau Liberals cut personal income taxes, with the biggest benefit going to incomes over $90,000. In 2018, they’ve cut small corporate taxes and they’ve promised to do it more in 2019.

In 1990, tax revenue — from businesses and individuals — was 35.2% of GDP. In 2000, it was 34.8%. And by 2017, it was 31.7%, according to an OECD report last Fall.

We privatized — a lot. The Ontario Liberals even privatized the province’s electrical grid, making Hydro One a private monopoly. And the Trudeau Liberals are even privatizing financing for infrastructure projects like transit, roads or bridges.