Posted at 9:00 a.m.
Tailored solutions
The government has a lever to help Quebecers struggling with galloping inflation. All Quebecers declare their income annually. It is therefore possible for the government to target those who need occasional assistance to make ends meet by increasing, for example, GST/QST returns, social assistance checks or those from the RRQ for those whose income is less than a ceiling to be determined. Experience shows that hypertension is temporary. It is better, then, to apply solutions adapted to the circumstances.
Pierre Cyr
Families and seniors
Citizens’ demands are so great that it would be impossible to satisfy everyone. The government will have to focus on families and, above all, on seniors, who have never really had a voice. People aged 65 and over who lived in poverty are even more vulnerable. The government will also have to have the courage to tax the wealthiest, of which the members are part…
Pierre Gingras
Keep the money in Quebec
Above all, do not give in to the temptation to reduce gasoline taxes. Next, we must encourage purchases in Quebec. Thus, even if inflation is high, the money will stay in Quebec. Also, the government should help the producers of goods and services here, who, in return, would have an obligation to sell to Quebecers at a price that is not “inflated”. The challenge is to establish such a mechanism, which remains simple both to manage and to control.
Gilbert Parent
Unrealistic to give to all
I think it would be unrealistic to give everyone checks if there was a significant increase in Hydro-Québec services. If there is money to distribute, it must be to help the poorest. The exorbitant increase in the cost of housing, groceries, essential services that many people cannot afford. I don’t think very high earners need those kinds of contributions. It would be simply indecent.
Beatrice Gagnon, Chicoutimi
Equity
Whatever compensatory measures are taken in the face of galloping inflation, they should be constantly adjusted and not one-off, because the cost of essential expenses is here to stay and there is no shortage of good reasons to increase. These measures should also target, as a priority, less well-off people who are already cutting the essentials and not the extras. But hey, to date, this equity does not seem to have worried this government so much.
Gaëtan Ste-Marie, Sainte-Helene-de-Chester
Some tracks
The government should abolish the QST on all hygienic products as a first step, freeze electricity rates for the first $1,500, force a rent reduction to match the reduction in school taxes it has offered to landlords, increase tax deductions for retirees and offer the possibility of deducting all health costs at 100%.
Claude Beaulieu
Long term
The government will have to think about a long-term budget and avoid short-term monetary decisions. He must do everything to restart the economy before thinking of giving money to any wind. It is not just the government that must provide post-pandemic efforts, but also all Quebecers.
Richard Fontaine, Dudswell
Collective transportation
The government should offer incentives to abandon the solo car and encourage public transport. Reducing public transport tickets (bus, metro, train) would be an excellent way to encourage more eco-responsible behavior while helping families cope with inflation.
Nicholas Pfister
Avoid increases
The government should begin by reinstating the process that prevented indecent increases in electricity. It is not by giving checks that it will really help the poorest. When it comes to housing, it is time for this government to admit that there is a problem. It is inconceivable that housing prices will explode as we are currently seeing and that nothing will be done to prevent renovations from driving up housing prices excessively and forcing less well-off families to move.
Louise Houle
No checks
The Government of Quebec should not compensate Quebecers with checks for the increase in Hydro-Quebec, because these increases will remain in place for the next few years and everyone will be penalized.
Clement Patenaude
False needs
It is now that it is the government that must make the budget for Quebec families. If you don’t have the means, you cancel the superfluous. There would be a lot of cleaning to be done in the false needs.
Rose Mondou
Tax credits and better off
Let’s understand each other. Inflation does not affect the wealthy in the same way as middle-class people. Indeed, the wealthy, once their basic needs have been paid for, still find themselves with money to consume, unlike the middle class, which has all the trouble in the world to make ends meet.
To achieve this, we must target people who already receive solidarity tax credits by substantially improving this tax credit, because they are the ones who are really affected by inflation.
The way to finance this substantial increase in tax credits would be to tax more luxury goods such as cars, boats, motor vehicles, and so on.
I see coming economists predicting disaster if we increase taxes on luxury goods by penalizing certain sectors of the economy that would have an effect on GDP. It is wrong to claim that sales of luxury goods would decrease the consumption of those goods by the wealthy because, no matter how high the taxes, the wealthy will always buy luxury goods to show off their wealth.
Between us, who needs an automobile that costs more than $70,000? To ask the question, is to answer it.
Michael Matte