The first rule of focus groups or research groups is quite simply this. If you say yes to one, then you shall forever be on the call list of every research company that has ever existed. And they do call quite often. Extrapolating from the frequency that I receive offers, people who are willing to participate in studies and opinion groups are few and far between.
The call I received was from a company doing research on for the federal government of Canada. I thought to myself, woo-whee, the Feds want to know my opinion? How could I say no to that (well that and the included honourarium)? We were not told the details of what the discussion was going to be about beforehand. It turned out to be a rather mundane discussion on the tax system in Canada and what our opinions and thoughts were on it, along with other issues such as debt, sources of debt, and how well off we defined ourselves vis a vis other generations.
Fascinating (ish) stuff. What tweaked my interest was my fellow attendee’s lack of knowledge about Canadian fiscal and tax policy. Like the fact that Canada’s corporate tax rate is miserly 15%, among the lowest, if not the lowest in the G7. People seemed genuinely surprised when I suggested that we should be raising that tax rate significantly and that in the past the tax rate had been significantly higher (around 40% in the 60’s) .
Similar experiences when mentioning terms like neo-liberal (a la Nafta and the TPP) economic policy and trickle-down economics. None of the other people in my research cohort used terminology and concepts that named the economic features we were talking about. There was a good deal of, “oh I agree with what he said,” but none articulated the theoretical features or aspects of the features we were talking about.
The notion of ‘progressive taxation’ seemed to throw a few of my peers for a slight loop, even thought the Canadian tax system is nominally progressive in nature. I boggled inwardly at that, but we all got on the same page eventually when it came to nailing down the concept.
I’m worried though, I am by stretch of the imagination an economist or policy-wonk, but the amount of time spent getting people up to speed on basic economic features and concepts made me take pause. I get the feeling that many people just don’t have the time or the inclination to get the basic facts necessary to have an informed opinion on key features of our tax system and economics in general. Taxes affect everyone in society and not having a base level of knowledge about them and how government policy can change the way taxes work, seems like a glaring oversight in one’s life education.
Ignorance aside, 7 out of the 8 of us present agreed with the legalization of marijuana in Canada so the Feds will at least have positive affirmation that making pot legal makes most of us happy (representative samply-speaking).
7 comments
August 21, 2017 at 6:36 am
bob browning
Your experience here backs the theory that people living under Capitalism are preoccupied with survival ( on whatever level of material gratification ) and relatively uninformed or misinformed ( sadly, by convenient corporate influenced media ) on topics outside their immediate routines.
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August 21, 2017 at 6:45 am
Steve Ruis
I, for one, would like to see more subjects taught in high school that support the role of a modern citizen. Things like statistics, and basic economic concepts (taxation, ROI, etc.) would be nice.
I also notice that people will have opinions on taxes and have no idea what services those taxes provide. It is like asking people for their opinion of how much their new cost. Until you fill in the blank, how can people answer meaningfully?
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August 21, 2017 at 5:29 pm
Richard Woodley
People have been taught that there is only one acceptable answer when it comes to taxation, no matter how low the levels may be it is too high.
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August 22, 2017 at 10:32 am
The Arbourist
@Bob Browning
Sadly I think you may be on to something. If you keep desperate people running on the wheel just to make ends meet, how could they have time for societal matters like politics?
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August 22, 2017 at 10:34 am
The Arbourist
@Steven Ruis
If you ever want to start a heated conversation one must only simply state the following: “I like paying my taxes, they are necessary to provide for the civilization I currently enjoy.”
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August 22, 2017 at 10:35 am
The Arbourist
@Richard Woodley
I think we have to thank the media a great deal for that particular message, particularly when covering our noble right-wing politicians. :/
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August 22, 2017 at 6:47 pm
lovetruthcourage
Glad they are on board with marijuana legalization. However, the lack of real knowledge on the other topics is frightening.
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