Budget a case of lost opportunities

Another year, another budget and, surprise, surprise, another surplus.

Despite overwhelming objections expressed by the public with regard to annual handouts that divert resources from long overdue improvements to our social structure, our politicians have not taken heed.

If the administration continues to reduce annual tax on income, we will end up with a situation where there will be an outcry from the already low number of residents who pay salaries tax.

Many middle-class taxpayers have voiced opinions that instead of dishing out a few thousand dollars that make no difference to their lifestyle, they would prefer the accumulated sums to be spent on addressing some of the problems our community faces.

There would also be concerns over another one-month rent rebate for public housing tenants. Hundreds of thousands of residents, shelling out substantial proportions of their salaries to cover mortgages and rents on the private market, would strongly object to more largesse for those lucky families, sometimes comprising four or more wage earners, who are paying peanuts in rent for their homes.

A glance at the payroll of any large corporation indicates that many recipients of comfortable salaries live in public housing.