Head tax

[politika]

Alright who agrees with me or not? Don't you think that it's getting ridiculus. Everytime I turn around are government is researching a country and/or it's people on whether we owe them or not. It's ridiculus first the Italian and now we are paying the Chinese for somthing that we did 120 years ago! When we have already apologised I think we should give them an apology, but offfering are money is a little too much. We did let them in to are country when theirs was persicuting them because of the war shoudn't that be enough? agree? next were going to be paying the Germany for using poisonous gasses on Nazis soldiers in the 1940's.

-Curtis

[Riverwind]

Alright who agrees with me or not?  Don't you think that it's getting ridiculous.

Current taxpayers should not be on the hook for wrongs committed nearly a century ago. There is a concept of 'statute of limitations' in law that means that someone cannot be held responsible for an offence if too much time has passed since the offense occurred. I believe the same rules applies to gov't liability: if more than one generation has passed since the offense then no compensation is deserved.

[PocketRocket]

I disagree. I say let's pay them.

All those who personally suffered a wrong at the hands of the Canadian government 120 years ago, please step forward.

Anyone??? No???

Okay. On to the next item of business.....

[politika]

I disagree. I say let's pay them.

All those who personally suffered a wrong at the hands of the Canadian government 120 years ago, please step forward.

Anyone??? No???

Okay. On to the next item of business.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Fair enough.

But than we are going to have other countries say "hmm since Canada is spending money wildly on what they have done to people let's think of what they have done to us and go collect are accident inssurance" Every country is going to want a piece of action if we keep on passing out money like this.

Like sparhawk said "There is a concept of 'statute of limitations' in law that means that someone cannot be held responsible for an offence if too much time has passed since the offense occurred." -sparhawk

-Curtis

[PocketRocket]

I think you may have missed the point.

No one is going to step forward to collect monetary reparations from something that happened to them PERSONALLY 120 years ago......because they are DEAD.

At least that's the assumption. How many 120-year-old people do you know of???

[politika]

I think you may have missed the point.

No one is going to step forward to collect monetary reparations from something that happened to them PERSONALLY 120 years ago......because they are DEAD.

At least that's the assumption. How many 120-year-old people do you know of???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know everyone from that time is dead but their families are out for "revenge" and want the money it's on the news. By the way it's not going out to the indivdules but to the community. If you watch the news you will see that their are families that are talking about wanting the money back and are multicultural minister (who is Chinese) has stated that he wants the money given to the Chinese community as well.

-Curt

[PocketRocket]

Exactly my point. No one from that time is still alive to collect.

The "community" as it stands today can hardly be said to have been damaged, so they should not be getting monetary reparations.

In fact it could be argued that the community is stronger as a result of these tribulations of by-gone days.

If there's any truth to the old saw about how hardship builds strength, character and spirit, then perhaps WE should be asking THEM to pay us for helping to make them grow stronger

Hell, if we went that route, think of all the groups, formerly "persecuted", that we could hit up for this type of thing.

We could call it "Character Building Tax"

[Riverwind]

that happened to them PERSONALLY 120 years ago......because they are DEAD.At least that's the assumption. How many 120-year-old people do you know of???

If you accept the principle that they are entitled to compensation then the gov't would likely be on the hook for paying their decendents. For this reason the gov't must take the stand that no compensation is owed because too much time has passed.

[Shakeyhands]

an admission that the ancestors were treated not as they should have been by other ancestors... done.

[Biblio Bibuli]

PR : My deductive logic may not be as sharp as that of Sherlock Holmes', but even I can see that you haven't voted yet.

How?

It's elementary, Pocket Rocket. The only votes that were cast thus far are for giving something, be it money, apology, or both.

And since you're saying that there's no use giving something if there's no one to collect ....... hmmm, GO AND VOTE YOUNG MAN !!!!

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpos...tuals/vote.html

Thanks!

[geoffrey]

Since when does anyone ask for a refund when they willingly pay for a product/service, and receive that service to their expectations. They PAID the tax, they were not robbed of the money in some fraud scheme. They paid, they got what they paid for.

I fail to see how giving someone's descendants money solves any problem whatsoever. It's a cash grab by yet another minority group. First natives, and now Chinese. We owe you nothing, you've found a great place to live, that should be payment enough.

I don't like how my family, being small business owners, pays more taxes than a traditionally employed family on the same income. Do we deserve a big cash payment because we were not exactly equally treated as the majority? Absolutely not, that is a choice we make, and a choice they made when they decided to come across the ocean.

[PocketRocket]

PR :

Howdy, BB, always a pleasure.

My deductive logic may not be as sharp as that of Sherlock Holmes', but even I can see that you haven't voted yet.

You are mistaken, my friend.

It's elementary, Pocket Rocket.  The only votes that were cast thus far are for giving something, be it money, apology, or both.

Exactly right. I voted to give an apology. If you look back you'll see that my beef was solely with monetary reparations.

And since you're saying that there's no use giving something if there's no one to collect ....... hmmm, GO AND VOTE YOUNG MAN !!!!

*chuckle* Not so young as you may think, but thanks.

But, as previously stated, I already did so my good sir (or madam, as the case may be).

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpos...tuals/vote.html

I have not, however, voted for "Canada's Most Beautiful Mind".

Probably won't, either.

Hard to tell whose mind is the most beautiful without actually pulling out their brains and taking photos.

Perhaps we should be exercising that kind of poll on all our politicians.

I think pulling out their brains would probably serve to raise the average politician's IQ by several points.

Thanks!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey, no problem. The pleasure is all mind, uh, mine (sorry )

[politika]

"If there's any truth to the old saw about how hardship builds strength, character and spirit, then perhaps WE should be asking THEM to pay us for helping to make them grow stronger

Hell, if we went that route, think of all the groups, formerly "persecuted", that we could hit up for this type of thing.

We could call it "Character Building Tax"

"fail to see how giving someone's descendants money solves any problem whatsoever. It's a cash grab by yet another minority group. First natives, and now Chinese. We owe you nothing, you've found a great place to live, that should be payment enough."-Geoffry

Agreed, we don't owe these people anything

[plusgood]

There's no denying that the previous policy was wrong and is counter to the ideals that govern our country today. The head tax was an explicitly racist policy. Many of the Chinese immigrants who crossed the pacific to come to Canada could not afford the head tax and as a result wealthly business owners paid their tax in exchange for forced employment. Chinese immigrants also bore the brunt of the labour that built Canada's National Railroad. They were also often responsible for the most dangerous of tasks. Their treatment was wrong, it was typical of its time period, but wrong none the less. An apology and compensation from our current government would correct an historic wrong and help demonstrate Canada's commitment to modern Canadian ideals.

What type of compensation has been propossed?

-A memmorial?

-Communitee centers?

[politika]

"There's no denying that the previous policy was wrong and is counter to the ideals that govern our country today."-plusgood

Exactly my point We have ideals today that it is wrong to do this and for that fact it won't happan again. But this happaned 120 years ago.

"that govern our country today. The head tax was an explicitly racist policy. Many of the Chinese immigrants who crossed the pacific to come to Canada could not afford the head tax and as a result wealthly business owners paid their tax in exchange for forced employment. Chinese immigrants also bore the brunt of the labour that built Canada's National Railroad. They were also often responsible for the most dangerous of tasks. Their treatment was wrong, it was typical of its time period, but wrong none the less. An apology and compensation from our current government would correct an historic wrong and help demonstrate Canada's commitment to modern Canadian ideals."-plusgood

We do owe them apology but compensation no. Like previous posters mention. They did come to live in this great country after all and the family of those people who paid are whining and complaining now of what? That they got to live in this great country because their geat grandparants fled communism and oppresion? I say we send the people who are complaining to North Korea for a day and see how they like it and whether it was worth paying to come here 120 years ago.

[plusgood]

We do owe them apology but compensation no.  Like previous posters mention.  They did come to live in this great country after all and the family of those people who paid are whining and complaining now of what? That they got to live in this great country because their geat grandparants fled communism and oppresion?  I say we send the people who are complaining to North Korea for a day and see how they like it and whether it was worth paying to come here 120 years ago.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well depending on how explicit an apology is it pretty much will result in the granting of compensation. Your position essentially says, we did wrong, an apology is owed, but we don't want to fix the mistakes made.

Granting compensation to the relatives of those who had a Head Tax imposed on them is not that much different than a family sueing someone after they ran over their relative in a car crash. It is not direct payment to the victim, but the victim's family. Sure it doesn't correct the wrong fully, but it is an attempt at making ammends. I think government compensation in form of funds to the Chinese communittee would serve a similar purpose.

I don't believe that Chinese immigrants were escaping communism 120 years ago. I know there were civil wars in China around the early 20th century, perhaps they were escaping that.

I think where our arguements diverge is the fact that I think in order to maintain the integrity of the ideals we claim our 'great' country are based upon, we should be willing to look back and where possible correct the mistakes of the past.

[politika]

"I don't believe that Chinese immigrants were escaping communism 120 years ago. I know there were civil wars in China around the early 20th century, perhaps they were escaping that."

I didn't say that I was saying that if they wouldn't have paid to come in to Canada they would have been living in communist China still or at least that's what is was 20 or so years ago.

THey shoudl be thanking us because of that and are govenment should mention that to them.