2023-06-01 04:00:00
No, I will not talk to you about the salary of elected officials. The debate was masterfully missed by the elected officials. That they live with their contradictions, their arrogance and the lack of time for their mother…
Rather, I wanted to address the race for subsidies that governments are engaged in to attract the big car companies.
Nearly $300 million was announced in Bécancour this week for GM-POSCO. Soon, more millions will be announced for the German chemical giant BASF and for Ford’s projects.
This is without taking into account Quebec’s desire to attract a mega-cellar project that will be expensive both in energy and in dollars.
In Ontario, the province and the federal government announced $13 billion for Volkswagen.
A major announcement that whetted the appetite of other companies.
Stellantis, another manufacturer, already had a $1 billion deal with governments. But he suspended the construction of his factory in order to get more money… otherwise it will go elsewhere.
No choice ?
We are told that right now, we really have no other choice but to offer these juicy subsidies to companies whose CEOs earn a few million a year…
We are told that this is the price to pay to adapt to the new industrial era and to embark on the train of energy transition.
Especially since the United States has put hundreds of billions of dollars on the table to attract these companies.
We want our piece of the pie. Investing also creates jobs and supports the regional economy.
Businesses aren’t crazy. They will go where it pays the most.
They will not come to Quebec just for our good looks, our clean electricity, our territory, our workforce, our stability, our resources… These are no longer sufficient selling points.
So you have to take out the big checks.
We must also invest because we left the field open for too long to China with the development of batteries. We are in a much too dependent relationship.
Europe suffered from its dependent relationship with Russia during the conflict in Ukraine.
We want to avoid replaying in the film with China and Taiwan.
A reflection is necessary
Unfortunately, we have not learned from the escalation of tax cuts in which governments are engaged. Tax expert Brigitte Alepin talks about a dangerous race that only benefits the rich.
We lower taxes, we give subsidies to keep jobs… All that out of taxpayers’ pockets.
Paying the $300,000,000 to GM will require just over 10,000 taxpayers who earn $100,000 a year.
It’s a lot of money that will not go into our public services, our road network, our health system, education…
Why is it easier in Quebec to increase the salaries of elected officials and to get along with big companies than with our nurses and teachers?
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