Equality of Opportunity is More Than a Legal Concept

Conservative values series

Equality of opportunity is more than a legal concept

As a group, most small-c conservatives agree on the importance of equality of opportunity.

We believe that all people are born equal in the eyes of our creator. As such, we reject the concept of limiting any individual’s opportunities based solely on arbitrary factors like race or gender. As such, we strongly reject concepts like slavery, which denies freedom, or caste social systems, which prevent individuals from reaching their full potential.

At the same time, we recognize that competition is healthy and necessary. In a world of limited opportunities, we believe that all people should have the chance to compete on a level playing field, maximizing the benefits of their work ethic, skills, and life choices.

We do not believe in equality of outcome, a system that leads to the state strictly controlling and allocating resources and opportunities. We believe that like freedom, the desire to create and achieve is innate in all people. Systems that fail to reward achievement lead to reduced productivity and a malaise that is damaging to the soul.

Legally speaking, Canadian governments have come a long way when it comes to equality of opportunity. We have laws that, when they are enforced, are quite clear that jobs, educational opportunities, health care and other services may not be denied based on certain characteristics.

I write, “when they are enforced,” because our laws are not even close to adequate when dealing with government corruption. Lawmakers of all political parties have been caught repeatedly lining up for their turn at the trough, rather than taking a hard line against cronyism. Meanwhile, police have proven unwilling to investigate such crimes, and the judicial branch to uphold even our weakest laws. Many judges, it seems, have become part of the problem. A recent investigation found that of the 1,308 judicial appointments by the Trudeau government since 2016, 76.3 per cent of the successful appointees who had made political donations had given to the Liberal Party.

Some opportunities are more equal than others, I suppose.

However, when it comes to equality of opportunity, there is a deeper problem present across Canada and much of the Western world, a problem conservatives have been slow to recognize. As I have written extensively, through a collapse in productivity and the standard of living, it is increasingly difficult for the little guy to get ahead.

Working families know first hand the effects of inflation on their household budgets in recent years. However, the collapse in living standards goes back decades, over which time governments have steadily increased spending, debt, and taxes all as real GDP per capita struggled and wages stagnated.

The bad news is we can expect this trend to continue, as the OECD currently predicts that wage growth in Canada will be dead last among its 40 member states for the next four decades.

Both Conservative and Liberal governments have been quick to hand out corporate welfare as some sort of miracle cure for this economic malaise. It’s not working.

Due in part to these policies, we are now living in a Canada where only dual income families can afford to buy a new home; where energy poverty forces seniors on fixed incomes to choose between food and heat.

In this environment, falling living standards have become an equality of opportunity issue.

In response, governments need to:

• Immediately cut spending. Governments need to stop running up debt, and stop printing money. Such failed fiscal and monetary policies drive inflation.

• Cut income taxes. If our goal is to bring back an economy where the little guy can finally start getting ahead, the best way to do it is by dramatically increasing the basic personal exemption for federal and provincial income taxes, which should also be indexed to inflation. For example, if Alberta wanted to truly revitalize our economy and give working families a real chance to get ahead, we could increase our BPE from $20,000 to $50,000. It is a reasonable target. The list of U.S. States with no income tax includes: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

• Scrap carbon taxes. Both Justin Trudeau’s and Danielle Smith’s carbon taxes must be eliminated. In a cold, rural, sparsely populated country, these taxes are particularly heartless as they regressively drive up the cost of basic needs like food, heat, electricity, and transportation.

• Put Canadians first for a change. Our governments need to step back from international agreements and organizations seeking to drive up costs for Canadians. Our major international competitors are not seriously implementing plans designed to hit arbitrary targets, like the Paris Accord. Yet our governments are foolishly charging ahead with centrally planned programs that sacrifice our standard of living. For example, both Ottawa’s Net Zero 2035 plan and Alberta’s Net Zero 2050 plan regressively drive up costs of a basic need – electricity – that governments really shouldn’t be taxing in the first place. This must stop.

At the end of the day, most conservatives agree on the importance of equality of opportunity. But in practice, far too little is being done. Instead, we are sitting back and watching as basic needs, like food, housing, transportation, heat, and electricity are becoming luxuries only available for the rich. That’s just wrong.

If we really believe that equality of opportunity is more than a legal concept, and that the human soul craves achievement, we need to reset our economy in a way that rewards achievement.

We need to encourage the little guy to get ahead.