Article content continued

Surely you will now vote Liberal on May 9 as the government showers you with your own hard-earned cash. But isn’t it just a little bit tacky to expect people to be grateful when all you’re doing is giving back what you took in the first place?

That’s like a mugger returning your wallet and then the mugger wants you to buy him a latte to say thanks.

Next week, the Clark government will once again introduce a surplus budget — the fifth surplus in a row.

Here’s how much surplus cash the government has mopped up in each budget year: $347 million (2013); $1.7 billion (2014); $730 million (2015) and $2.2 billion (2016).

That’s a combined surplus of $5 billion in just four years. With a fifth surplus looming, that’s more than $1 billion in extraneous loot extracted from your wallet every year.

Now the money will flow the other way.

“Finding ways to give money back to citizens through lower taxes and lower fees — I’ve always thought that was the wise thing for any government to do,” Clark said.

Wait a minute. Clark “always” thought that? Then why has she waited five years to do the “wise thing”?

The government has been racking up huge surpluses every year. They simultaneously jacked up a wide range of fees and premiums and hidden “stealth taxes” — such as ICBC and B.C. Hydro rate hikes that were then transferred to government in massive “dividends”.

I guess wisdom takes time. Or, if you have a cynical streak like me, you might suspect the Liberals are just trying to buy your vote with your own money.

Clark would not say exactly what “lower taxes and lower fees” are coming. But it better be impressive, given the way the government hyped it.

It’s payback time for taxpayers. And about time, too. But just remember: you’re only getting your own money back.

twitter.com/MikeSmythNews

msmyth@postmedia.com

CLICK HERE to report a typo.

Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com.