Typical me, typical me
Typical me
I started something
…And now I’m not too sure
-Morrissey
Just a quick follow up to a Tweet earlier today where I stated that I would like to see some folks in rural NB have a better understanding of the link between their economy and the cost of public services. We have to understand that public services in New Brunswick are primarily funded by three sources: personal income tax, HST and Federal transfer payments. And, frankly, there is a very wide variance between who pays and who doesn’t in New Brunswick. See the chart below it is self explanatory. Now I am not for apportioning public services based on ability to pay (either at the personal or community level) but I think when there are opportunities for economic development – natural resources or otherwise – as we weigh our gut NIMBY response – we need to think at least a little about the economy and about the taxes needed to pay for public services.
Median Household Income (2005) by County and Selected Municipalities
| Counties: | Median Household Income | After Tax Median Household Income | Spread |
| Canada | $53,634 | $46,584 | $7,050 |
| New Brunswick | $45,194 | $39,984 | $5,210 |
| Sunbury | $55,889 | $47,435 | $8,454 |
| Kings | $57,523 | $49,098 | $8,425 |
| Albert | $54,297 | $46,561 | $7,736 |
| York | $50,524 | $43,881 | $6,643 |
| Westmorland | $48,293 | $42,000 | $6,293 |
| Madawaska | $42,709 | $37,768 | $4,941 |
| Carleton | $43,627 | $38,732 | $4,895 |
| Saint John | $42,216 | $37,328 | $4,888 |
| Charlotte | $40,897 | $36,625 | $4,272 |
| Gloucester | $40,028 | $36,047 | $3,981 |
| Northumberland | $40,166 | $36,448 | $3,718 |
| Kent | $39,286 | $35,741 | $3,545 |
| Restigouche | $38,033 | $34,822 | $3,211 |
| Queens | $37,621 | $34,419 | $3,202 |
| Victoria | $38,403 | $35,644 | $2,759 |
| Municipalities: | |||
| Paquetville | $34,040 | $33,839 | $201 |
| Blacks Harbour | $36,575 | $34,815 | $1,760 |
| Tracy | $36,301 | $34,531 | $1,770 |
| New Maryland | $83,856 | $67,346 | $16,510 |
| Quispamsis | $74,973 | $63,154 | $11,819 |
Source: 2006 Census.