There's no question that people's standard of living will decline if we reduce taxes and reduce the collective goods that we provide for one another. It's really difficult to make the case for higher taxes because people tend not to make the connection between taxes and the goods and services that they in effect buy with their taxes. All the evidence is that it is more equitable to deliver many services through the public sector, because they're services that we all benefit from. Even though we personally might not be receiving them, we benefit because others receive them. It is also clear that we can deliver most of those services more efficiently through the public sector.
Health care is the most obvious example.
The Americans, who deliver most of their health care through the private sector, consume more than 14 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product on it, and yet more than forty million Americans aren't covered by the system. In Canada, we spend only about 10 per cent of our GDP, and absolutely everyone is covered. As an example, let's take child care. Even though I might not have children, I clearly have an interest in other people receiving high-quality child care. And if we don't provide child care through the public sector, then low-income people might be forced to put their children in their neighbour's home, where the children sit all day watching television.