FATTER FAT CATS

President Obama didn’t endear himself to the banking community with his outburst against Wall Street banker on 60 Minutes. But the next day, lo and behold, the bankers all seem pleased. Is there a contradiction here? Sadly, I don’t think so.

“Sadly” because The Great Hope for Change seems to have become compromised by Washington’s version of reality. I intuit that Obama was talking to America when he spoke of fat cats. But it was for public consumption, privately, he seems less and less inclined to rock the boat.

Is it possible for me, after all these years of naïve denial, to start believing the truism about there being one law for the rich and one for the poor? Naïve I am because I still do believe that people come first.

Unless you are rich. Then you come first.

This week’s real scandal, far more significant to me than the media-frenzied scandal over the torture of Taliban soldiers by the Afghans; far more meaningful is the continuing “right of privilege” of the affluent. Magnates, millionaires, big-time entrepreneurs – they make their money here, but just as quickly sneak it away into some foreign bank to avoid taxes.

More than any other group in society, it is the wealthy, not as you would suppose – the middle-class – who lead the charge against taxes – any taxes.

It is this attitude that has permeated society. It has made so many of us mean-spirited, stingy, and politician-hating. The plaintive “Just another tax grab..” comes up every time the government – OUR government, you and me (!) decides to raise taxes.

When we were much younger we used to say” I’d love to pay a million bucks in taxes because I would be making a lot of money.”

No, instead, every tax is an unfair burden. People elect governments who promise not to raise taxes. Even worse, who promise to "reduce spending." (That code for stick it to the needy)Not for me.

I love the fact that I pay taxes. I love it that I live in Canada and share with fellow Canadians the freedom we have; share with fellow Canadians the policies that extend safety nets to the less fortunate among us.

As a famous Canadian politician once said: (it may have been Frank McKenna) “It costs money to be a Canadian. I can’t think of any place I would rather live.

But the fat cats don’t agree. They believe it is their god-given perquisite to hide as much income as possible. It may be true that the difference between the wealthy and not-so-wealthy is that the former have the money to hire accountants and tax lawyers who show them how to sequester money so the nasty old government, the government that protects them and gives them shelter, can’t get their greedy hands on their hard earned money.

Those offshore swindlers - that’s the big story.