December 17, 2004
Only Santa Claus can give you free daycare


When you listen to advocates of state-run daycare, it's obvious that many Canadian adults still believe in Santa Claus. But now they call him "government."

Santa Claus delivers many gifts, all of them without cost. Santa doesn't suck money out of your wallet when you buy gas for your car, earn your paycheque, or own property. Nor does Santa charge user fees for coming down the chimney. His elves don't belong to powerful public sector unions, and won't threaten to go on strike just before Christmas. Santa can make efficient use of his reindeer without getting attacked by animal rights activists. He doesn't have to contend with Kyoto supporters accusing him of contributing to global warming with his North Pole toy factory.

The wonder of Santa Claus --getting goodies without having to pay anything for them - is appropriate for childhood, and rightfully enjoyed.

But problems emerge when adults transfer the belief in Santa to government. This results in knee-jerk proposals of more government spending as the solution to every human problem, from child poverty to health care waiting lists to teenage pregnancy.
Some claim that there is a shortage of quality child care, so therefore the government should spend billions on running daycare centres, preferably with unionized staff.

But Canada's high taxes make it impossible for many Canadian mothers and fathers to provide quality child care for their own children at home. Taxes are the largest item in the Canadian family's budget, costing more each month than does the rent or the mortgage. When you factor in all taxes paid by Canadians - including GST, income tax, property tax, business taxes - the average Canadian loses 49% of her earnings to support three levels of government.

Canada's high taxes are particularly burdensome for parents, who feed, clothe, house and care for their children. But Canada's tax system doesn't recognize this cost of raising children, let alone the cost of providing a basic standard of living for oneself or one's family. The government's greed for more tax revenues puts pressure on parents to spend less time with their children and more time working, in order to earn enough after-tax dollars for a decent standard of living.

Those who live under the Santa Claus illusion can't see this, because they believe government provides all kinds of goodies for free. They demand that government spend billions on institutional daycare, without recognizing how government hurts children by overtaxing their parents.

Only Santa is capable of providing daycare for free, and somehow also ensuring that its quality comes close to matching dad-care and mom-care. But government can run institutional daycares only by keeping our taxes so high that many parents simply cannot afford to care for their own children at home. Further, government cannot ensure that highly paid unionized staff will give each child the affection and personal attention they would get from mom or dad or another family member. The Beatles said it well a few decades ago: Money can't buy love.

Children and adults alike should enjoy the wonder of Santa Claus, who gives gifts without demanding anything in return. But Santa shouldn't be the basis for public policy.

-- John Carpay
Alberta Director