And how much will this family cost Canada over the course of their lives? It's unlikely, given our progressive tax system, that the father will ever earn enough to actually pay income taxes, so those of us who do are going to have to pay for all the government services, from education to health care, he an his wife and kids use for many, many years and decades to come. The author could have put the money to use helping five or six Syrian refugee families in Jordan or Lebanon, but that wouldn't have made him feel so noble and proud of himself.