The federal Liberal Party just announced that they will reduce GST tax payments on some items for a two-month period and many Canadians should receive a cheque for $250.
Why is this news so topical in the media and on “The Hill?”
Are Trudeau and his party trying to boost their popularity? Recent polling numbers suggest a drop-in support for Trudeau and his party.
Generally, when you give something, you pay for it yourself. This gift will be paid for by Canadians and not the Liberal party. Think of your reaction if you received a lovely gift from someone and then learned that the payment of that gift was done with your money.
One option to finance the gift could have been to review all government spending in the next year. Work hard and find areas for cost reduction. Use the cost savings as a way of paying for this holiday season gift.
That is what a business would do if it was losing money and had high levels of debt. Find a way to reduce costs.
We currently have more debt than we will be able to pay off so increasing the debt is pushing our problem to future generations. They will be left with the task of cleaning up our financial mess.
Peter Watson, of Watson Investments MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI offers a weekly financial planning column, Dollars & Sense. He can be contacted through www.watsoninvestments.com
