Eco Fees - Where do they go?

The newest tax-grab from our government: Eco fees. When I bought my new computer I paid $24.00 Eco-fee. Today I bought a spiral lamp for my aquarium. I paid $2.00. Then I got charged 15 cents Eco-fee, 11 cents GST, and 15 cents PST. In other words I was charged 12% tax on top of tax (Eco-fee). A double-whammy! Okay, we're talking two pennies here, but this was a small bill. What about higher amounts? It adds up. And I really would like to know where this new Eco-fee goes. Of course, we'll never find out. Just like the recycling fee on every bottle of beer or soft-drink. Where does that money go? I remember when our government introduced the GST years back (Conservatives at that time). It was supposed to be used to pay down the national debt. And it  was supposed to be only a short-term tax. Ha-ha-ha. That's what they said a hundred years or so ago when income tax was introduced. But everyone knows: don't believe the government. Once a tax has been implemented it will never go away. Every new party that comes into power promises to get rid of the GST, but none have so far.  The Liberals had their 'Blue Book'. What happened to that?

I realize we need taxes to pay for services, pensions, health care, high government salaries and pensions (oops, that one slipped in), and other things. Without people paying their fair share on taxes a country cannot function. Look at what's happening in Greece. Everyone there wants to retire with 55 with a full pension, but they have a large underground economy and many people don't pay taxes. And the government spends more money than comes in. That's a perfect recipe for disaster.So I'm not really complaining when I have to pay some taxes, but it would be nice to know that  the money is used for the purpose it is collected.

Eco-fee. Apparently it is charged on computers and other electronic stuff. I can see that. We're living in a wasteful society. All these computer parts end up in landfills, but how is an Eco-fee going to prevent that? And why charge it on light-bulbs? The 'energy saver' bulb I bought is supposed to last for 9 years. It'll be a long time until I will throw it out, not like computers, printers, and all the other stuff that is out-dated a month after you bought it. Nothing gets fixed anymore, not like in the old days. You can buy a new printer, for instance, cheaper than it costs to replace the ink-cartridge. So you throw the old printer into the dumpster and buy a new one. What a waste! Years ago, if your TV or Radio didn't work anymore, you went to the drugstore to buy a new tube and voila, the thing worked again. Young people probably don't even know what a tube is. Poor kids, they don't know how to repair anything. It is so much easier to replace it when it's not working anymore.

And we call this progress.