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The tax proposals are the worst of all worlds

Moving on to the third combination, farsighted policy that is politically courageous. Here are two instances — the initial decision to raise OAS age eligibility from 65 to 67 and natural-resource legislation that mandated one project, one regulatory review within a defined timeframe (both overturned).

Finally, there are government policies that manage to both enrage voters and undermine the national interest. This worst of all worlds is where the Liberals’ tax proposals belong.

No government intends to introduce bad policy that is also a political loser, but sometimes mistakes are made. Then it should reverse course, or at least take time to genuinely consult and reconsider. That may embarrass Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his boss, but plowing ahead would be worse. There is a parallel to Trudeau’s decision to abandon changing how MPs are elected when he realized a ranked ballot system was unachievable.

No government intends to introduce bad policy that is also a political loser, but sometimes mistakes are made

The prime minister should worry about a growing populist revolt. And we are not talking about his favourite bogeymen, the reviled one per cent. Rather, the revolters are striving small businessmen and women, burdened with operating expenses, who borrow money, take risks, work long hours, hire workers and save for a rainy day or the opportunity to expand. They do it all without a pension, sick leave, maternity leave, paid holidays, employment insurance, job security, severance pay or assorted perks like training or gold-plated medical insurance.