Stormsmith wrote:I'm pleased to see high speed Internet access has been declared a right. I just wish the feds would make it more affordable. The price just keeps going up, the service, not so much.
Well, that is a good point. If internet services are to be considered a basic service, as with water, garbage, sewage, roads, then maybe it should be de-commercialised (heaven forbid that I should use the term 'nationalisation'). But then provision of electricity, education, health care and legal representation are also essential services.
Surely a society which was serious about social justice would provide all the above at basic cost, possibly cross subsidised to make services in remote areas affordable, and with progressive taxation to fund them. In effect only those who can afford to pay will sustain these services as they would be paid for through taxation. Income tax and rates look like good tax instruments for this purpose. GST isn't progrssive tax but if the well off were to mean hearted to support funding through progressive tax, that is a possible alternative.
The highest cost essential service is health care. There is a problem here but possibly transformative technology in the form of regeneration of tissues might turn out to be more economical that current medical technology. Certainly it offers the potential to keep people fit to work well into their old age and thus greatly increases the tax base to paid for public health care.
Anyway, I applaud the Canadians for continuing to push toward a more equitable society.