petr, what you fail to take into consideration is the fact that small business, in theory, has no income ceiling and the average wage earner in our society does. If it weren't for the incentivives of not being subject to an externally imposed ceiling, in regards to the rewards which can be garnered for exemplary commitment and dedication and the freedom from the elementary school authoritarianism, imposed upon most wage earners, most small business operators would not take the risks required or endure the hardships that are part and parcel of sticking our necks out in the market place.

That being said, there is a considerable number of trades and professions which are vital to our collective, social and economic well being, that can never be addressed by the small business community and consequently it comes as no great surprise that workers in those larger working environments, seek some semblance of the right to determine the worth of their efforts and their right to fair treatment.

This is not different from those of us in the land of small business/free enterprise who set our prices as we see fit and refuse to engage in commerce with those we consider to be unreliable, untrustworthy, too cheap to subsidize and last but not least, just too stupid to waste any time with. Please understand that this perspective comes leavened and perhaps informed by the reality of three decades of operating a small business (by choice) without a safety net, save for education and health care.

My strongly held belief as a small business person is that, I much prefer, to carry on my activities in a society where the majority actually earns enough to be able to participate fully as individuals capable of being consumers and subequently contributing to the economic health of the private sector and those public arenas which seek to find funding from the citizens of the society at large.

but I still hate the fact that I have to do GST calculations and act as the government's tax collector for no compensation whatsoever.