The Big Bang Theory (of creating a fiscal revolution)

Deficits are stretching as far as the fiscal eye can see in federal budgets. Major defence spending commitments are looming. Government needs to spend more, some say, to galvanize economic growth. The time is right for a tax increase to close that fiscal gap, or so the argument goes. But even a cursory look at fiscal history shows that governments in Canada do not have a revenue problem (although there is a problem with the mix of revenue they collect). As this first chart shows, the tax bite (from all three levels of government) has been on the rise over the last decade. Sixty years ago, that…