They said the existence of a surplus means that a government is overtaxing.
We cannot have it both ways. The member has got it right: there has to be a balance. Sometimes there must be tax cuts. There also has to be orderly debt repayment so that we can continue to reduce debt servicing costs. There would be a savings annually each and every year for matters like investing in Darfur, foreign aid or energy retrofits for low income housing.
I want to congratulate the member, but would he like to explain to his own colleagues a little further as to why it is important to have a balanced approach toward spending, debt repayment and tax reduction?