Slogan for the New Urban Left: "Say for pay"

Babble on.

In today's Pravda Canada (aka Toronto Star), Gordon Chong and Roger Maloney make the following surprising statement:

Large urban areas like Toronto transfer billions of dollars to Ottawa and Queen's Park annually. They should have greater say over how some of those funds are spent. "Say for pay!" Who can argue that he who pays the piper shouldn't call the tune? (emphasis by Babbler)

Is this really the argument the New Left wants to make? Because according to Statistics Canada:

In 2002, families in the highest after-tax income quintile paid on average $33,500 in income taxes, or just over half (53%) of the aggregate amount of income tax paid by Canadian families.

Are Chong and Mahoney also going to advocate that the 20% of our population who paid the most in income taxes be allowed to "call the tune" for the rest of us? Sauce for the goose, and all that.

If the Left aspired to any sort of consistency at all in their policies, Jack Layton would make the following announcement on City TV News at 6: "Cites like Toronto can afford to give up a little tax money to places like Come By Chance, Newfoundland. The Canadian tradition of redistributing wealth, whether by a progressive income tax or by equalization payments among the provinces, is in keeping with Canadian values. We believe that rich cities, like rich individuals, should pay more because they can."

Yeah, I didn't think so. But when you're an urbanite activist, you use any argument that comes to hand, no matter how hypocritical.

Babble off.