Dear Editor,
Re: “Health crises not all equal,” Voices, April 16.
Your editorial of April 16 raised some interesting points. It would be great if we had true Keynesian economics over the past decade. Following Keynes, governments would have saved money and increased taxes. We would have built up a “pot of gold” in good times, to support us during tough times.
However, that is not what has happened, and the money being spent now (wisely by the way) to shore up the economy is being borrowed. We, the taxpayers, will have to pay this bill over the coming decades.
Keynes said: If the facts change, I change. The facts have indeed changed. The only solution now is to grow the economy, something only a robust business environment can achieve. All governments will need to seek new opportunities to encourage investment.
Recovery must be aggressive and purposeful if we are to maintain and grow the caring society we have had. To pay for health care, social services, employment insurance and programs to address the opioid crisis, governments must have money.
It is simply not possible to tax those who are still working at a rate that will support all those that are not. We must get people back to work as soon as it is safe to do so. We need to find ways to say “Yes” to sustainable economic growth. We need to remember the lifestyle we have enjoyed for so many years was, and is, built on a strong and prosperous economy.
Dana Westermark
RICHMOND
