The Editor:
In 1981 my father (Clarence) retired and as it so often happens when people retire, they schedule a bunch of medical check-ups. So, my father had a hearing specialist appointment in Saskatoon and as I had spent a little time in Saskatoon years ago, I drove him there, and on the way, he gave me a little bit of a history lesson.
When the government brought in the so-called old age pension plan in 1927, they (federal government), didn’t know how much it would cost or how they would pay it out, so they increased income tax by one per cent and placed it in a separate fund to keep track of it.
At the end of the first year, it was found there was a huge surplus. The government therefore decided to roll this surplus into general funds and then pay the “old age pension” out of general funds and ever since then they haven’t been keeping up with the cost of living expenses and have been trying to reduce the old age pension (Old Age Security) payout. But, they keep collecting that additional one per cent.
The financial ministers realized back in the 1960s the old age pension (OAS) wasn’t enough to survive on, so they brought in the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Now we are paying twice for the same service.
So now, is the proposed increase another tax?
Maybe the one per cent tax we’ve been paying for decades, should be removed from general funds and distributed to seniors as it was originally intended.
Reginald Jahn
Roche Percee, Sask.
