In this video the speaker Joseph P. Kalt talks about the benefits of sovereignty. He tells ua about a reserve that becomes a city and takes scontrol of its finances to become independent. They implement codes and infrastructure with the mindset "do it yourself and do it better." There is no talk about grants or social programs, but instead there are departments and jurisdiction and an abundance of jobs. As they grow and become experts in their fields, they instill a sense of pride in their people. As their people see what is being created the mindset is changing and they are letting go of their limitations. They set up a tax and the people are accepting of this tax. The tax revenue is used to make up for the shortcomings in the infrastructure. In Nova Scotia we are still of the mindset that we are owed big time by the government, and not paying taxes is our right. But really if we are ever to achieve self government we will need a taxation system in place. The difference will be that we will benefit from it by using it for our own infrastructure.
This kind of thinking I believe is years and years away from Potlotek especially since we are still in the grant mindset. I can see it coming in Membertou and Truro sooner rather than later. This is just one of the areas we need to change our thinking if we are going to advance.
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