Canadians want government to take care of them, but someone will have to pick up the bill

Financial Post
Benefit Cheques Canada Financial Post | James Alexander Michie

Increasingly, many Canadians have the belief that the government is supposed to take care of us in some way, maybe even for our entire lives. PETER J. THOMPSON/NATIONAL POST FILES

Ted Rechtshaffen: How did we get to a point where we want and expect free from the government?

“My rent should be waived!”

“Tuition should be free!”

“You can’t take away CERB!”

It seems that more and more Canadians are expecting income support from the government, and increasingly, the government is delivering with direct payments to Canadians. This was already happening before COVID, but the pandemic appears to have accelerated the trend.

It isn’t surprising that people like getting something for free. In tough and unprecedented times such as these, some degree of emergency support can be necessary.

The problem with free, however, is that you usually end up paying for it somehow. But what happens if you can manage to get things for free and always have others pay?

As my 18-year-old daughter reminds me, she is more than happy for me to pay for things. All things being equal, she is very happy for me to continue to spend my money on her.

Hopefully, although not always, as a young adult grows up they become fully financially independent of their parents. They no longer look for or expect their parents to pay for things that they want or need.

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Source: Ted Rechtshaffen | Financial Post

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