Whether in business, in society or in your own personal life, if something doesn’t function properly, you should know that you’ve got a problem. And if you don’t know that you’ve got a problem, then you’ve really got a problem. Problems are like cancer: they don’t go away by themselves and, if left untreated, they will grow.

In Canada today, it seems as though we don’t know — or don’t want to know — what our problems are. Whether its our mushrooming national debt or the out-of-control growth in government bureaucracy or our slowly eroding living standards, we’re simply not tackling the major issues facing our country head-on.

So who can Canadians turn to in order to restore fiscal discipline and get our country back on a solid foundation?

It’s unlikely that our elected officials will do what’s required, as much as they may want to. Politicians are trapped in the system they serve. They know that if they try to remedy some of these problems, they’ll face fierce opposition and take a lot of heat from a wide range of special interest groups.

Although most politicians mean well and want to serve the country, their primary mandate is to get re-elected. As a result, their decisions are usually driven by political expediency rather than economic sense. It’s what I call the Achilles’ heel of democracy.

What’s needed is a new political movement to tackle these problems. What I envision is really more of a bloc or a coalition of concerned citizens — responsible Canadians from all walks of life willing to put aside partisan leanings and band together to stop the chronic mismanagement of our country. They could run in elections, but free themselves from the partisan baggage that constrains our current politicians.

To be successful, the coalition should zero in on policies that are easily understood, enjoy widespread support and could help get our country back on track. These include the following five core principles, which could serve as the movement’s key policy planks:

1. Reduce the national debt by five per cent per year over 20 years so the country will be debt-free within two decades. It’s achievable and realistic and sets out a long-term end goal of wiping out the debt. The sooner we start, the better off we’ll be.
2. Reduce government bureaucracy and overhead by five per cent per year over 10 years. Government bureaucracy and regulations have grown enormously over the past 30 years. Requiring the government to cut spending by five per cent per year will force it to prioritize — just as businesses and individuals have to prioritize when it comes to their own spending.
3. Simplify the tax system. Make filing taxes clear-cut, black and white, easy to understand and simple to fill out. Doing so will save billions of dollars in lost productivity on the part of individuals and businesses.
4. Share profits with workers. Any company that has more than 300 employees should be required to share 20 per cent of its annual profits with workers. Sharing profits will ensure that wealth is spread more evenly within society.
5. Unleash small business by removing their corporate income tax. Small businesses with fewer than 300 employees create most of the new jobs in Canada and new products and services. We need to give them the breathing space they need to quickly expand by removing all business income tax and regulations, with the exception of those related to workplace safety and environmental protection. Freed from paying taxes, businesses would be able to grow faster and hire more employees, which in turn would allow the government to collect more taxes from wages.

Any coalition members who get elected on this platform would go to Ottawa with one clear mandate: to help restore our country’s finances and get our house in order. They would stop Canada digging itself deeper into debt, bring in a balanced budget, streamline our government bureaucracy, slash the reams of red tape choking productivity, simplify and untangle our tax system, introduce profit sharing on a national scale and create the conditions necessary for small businesses to flourish.

Even if the new coalition didn’t get a majority, it could still become a powerful voice of economic reason and responsible government in the House of Commons and might even hold the balance of power. But most of all, it would seek ways to build consensus with politicians from the existing parties who want to bring about change.

Canada’s been great to me, and I care deeply about the future of this country.

While I have no intention of seeking elected office, I’d be willing to provide advice and assistance to anyone who wants to get behind a movement to get our country turned around and moving in the right direction. I believe there are many good Canadians who would be willing to take up the cause for the sake of our country’s future and the benefit of future generations.

Credits to National Post, Frank Stronach
nationalpost.com