...And what have I done for my country lately? Well, I do useful work supporting people towards mental health recovery, which also helps prevent or minimize relapse, makes them less likely to harm themselves and reduces hospital stays. In exchange for my modest wage of twelve dollars an hour I estimate that I have helped save taxpayers thousands more per year in hospital and emergency response costs, simply by faithfully doing my job every day.
I don't commit any crimes. I try to live honestly and with integrity, I never steal and if I ever lie I am certainly not going to tell you the truth about it. In other words, by staying out of the courts and jail and never needing to interact with the police I am saving the taxpayers yet thousands more every year.
I take good care of myself. I neither smoke or drink which does cheat the tax man somewhat, but in exchange, especially because my diet and lifestyle are healthy I have so far not required hospitalization in fifty-five years (when I was three my tonsils were taken out) and I seldom need other medical or doctor's attention. Thus I save the taxpayer yet thousands more.
Since we have had a Conservative government for the last eight years and they seem to obsess over the economy to the exclusion of such frills as affordable housing and protecting the environment I have been trying to gear my patriotism towards being kind to the taxpayer and I would wager anyone reading this post that I am probably one of the least fiscally impactful Canadians alive and well in this country.
How else do I show love of country? I don't drive. I travel by foot or public transit. My carbon footprint would be probably like that of a resident of a developing country. Making a virtue out of necessity, through my simple and non-polluting lifestyle I am doing much to help keep Canada green and perhaps even to slow if only for three or four milliseconds the insidious progress of global warming.
On the other hand, I don't really spend a lot of money. I rarely shop, outside of getting groceries, I mean, coffee and a snack out, and the occasional book (in Spanish if I can find it). I am not putting a lot into the economy. And of course I do live in subsidized housing so this is costing the taxpayer at the end of the day, or night. In fact, I will bet you that if all Canadians lived as simply as I do (did I mention that I get my clothes second hand?) the Canadian economy would come crashing down inside of twenty-four hours.
I love my country. I love the wilderness, the beauty and the cultural diversity. I love the fact that you can get any medical or hospital care (outside of dentistry, dammit!!!) in this country and not have to pay for it. I love the freedoms that we take for granted (and which our current government will do everything they can to claw back if we are not vigilant and keep fighting back), I love the clean fresh air, and clean sweet water that I can drink straight from the faucet and I say we have to do everything we can to see that the air remains clean and the water drinkable and available for free for everyone and not permit our current government to sell us up the river. I love the spirit of freedom, equality and justice that makes us proudly Canadian and I fear that our rights and freedoms are under constant attack as the gulf ever widens between rich and poor and homelessness and hunger fester ever more and more in our streets here in Canada, one of the wealthiest nations in the world.
I love Canada. I love the people and the land but our governments can simply go to hell before they drag the rest of us there with them.
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