Mr. Speaker, I subscribe primarily to this philosophical premise, and I admit it is a premise that is debated by economists who are much wiser than I am. We ship trainloads of money to Ottawa so that the politicians and the bureaucrats can turn around and distribute it. The premise I believe in because it makes sense to me is that instead of funnelling almost 50% of our gross domestic product, in other words the collective earnings of all of us, into government we would be better off leaving it in the hands of the people, of the families, of the businesses.
That would have a much greater impact on our economy. That money spread throughout the economy would produce jobs, demand for goods and services, and give all individuals more money than they have now.
I remember many years ago looking at my tax bill. At that time my tax bill was only about $600 or $700 a month. I was thinking of what I could do with $700 a month. In the Reform plan we want to arrange government priorities and reduce wasteful spending so we can give that tax cut to businesses and individuals, so we can leave that money out there. That is the root of prosperity.
We will have greater prosperity if we stop robbing the people of the money they have earned. Let them spend it, let them build industries and businesses, let them hire people. This is even for people who are not in business, for ordinary families. If I offered a mom or a dad $300 a month in reduced taxes, that is like earning $600. Now you would have to earn an additional $600 to have $300 in your pocket. They say no when I ask them if they would decline that offer and they ask if I am paying off the debt. They are concerned about the debt and the interest payments we are making.