A spring federal election seems very likely
- Thread starter shelphs
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Not a wise move. I think a responsible politician would say something along these lines:
"I promise to try to reduce government spending, but failing that, will support tax increases if necessary to balance the budget. After all, I'm but one MP, and so if the majority of MPs support raising spending, then it would obviously be foolish of me not to respond to the new reality by supporting tax increases to sustain the new spending increases while continuing to campaign to reduce government spending."
What we seem to have from Harper is:
"I'll cut taxes no matter what."
Looks like deficit spending to me. Sooner or later the piper will have to be paid. Harper is only looking for short term brownie points in order to get a majority. Then duck when the shoe drops, because it will be aimed straight at our heads.
Huh?
But Cliffy, that's how you win an election: Promise tax cuts and increased spending. Never mind where the money's coming from for those cool jets.
Unfortunately, most politicians are like that, and that's why they win time after time. Imagine an MP saying:
"I'll cut government spending but promise no tax cuts until our debt is paid."
Ouch, so no cool and nifty gadgets anymore, no expansion of social programmes, AND no tax cuts?
He may be a responsible politician, but he sure won't be a popular one.
Spend more, earn less, and still with debt to pay. You posted in between my post, and what I intended to be an addendum.
OK, now I get it. While a responsible politician would adopt a tax-and-axe policy until the debt is paid off and inflation and interest rates kept low, what we're seeing now is its exact opposite, borrow-and-spend.
Problem is, there is not one tax-and-axe party to choose from, or is there?
Martin was good fiscally but also pretty sneaky- he off loaded stuff to the provinces (like healthcare) . I think the deficit should be paid off by the ones who caused it- those with their snouts in the trough. What other job do you qualify for a full lifetime pension after 6 years of service?
I fully agree that they temselves need to roll back their own perks. But even with that, we still wouldn't be able to pay off the debt. Sure if taxes will go up and spending drop, we need leaders who are prepared to set an example by biting the bullet along with the rest of us. But again, simply cutting taxes as a be all and end all is not a panacea.
Which makes perfect sense- Gov'ts. by nature increase spending during hard times in the private sector. But when you look at it, it is not all that bad - as it's turned out. Gov't bailed out G.M. (preferable to seeing them go belly up, then those jobs are lost forever) but within a year G.M. had the entire debt paid back. Eventually infrastructure has to be repaired, upgraded or replaced. That takes man power that may not be available when the private sector is going full tilt, but does provide jobs rather than E.I.
It is obvious that the bozos don't have a clue but they are also not interested in what you or I think, need, want. They are only beholding to their puppet masters. An X vote would make it clear that people are tired of being second fiddle to corporate interests. The X should stand for something - a symbol for a major reform. It should have a platform, a system in place to be implemented to bring about that reform: like a civil committee charged with collecting ideas from Canadian citizens, holding Town Hall meetings to discuss what people want, collating information, drawing up drafts, holding consultation with communities and making recommendations. Their finding should be binding on an interim government that is made up of those who managed to get elected crossing party lines.
I would push to weaken centralism, giving the provinces more autonomy and tax collecting rights. The federal government should only be concerned with inter-provincial and foreign trade and policy. Any involvement in the internal affairs of foreign governments or declarations of war should be ratified by the premiers of all the provinces. Get rid of the monarchy and allow the Premiers to elect the Prime Minister based on ability, not party affiliation. In fact, get rid of the party system altogether and model government on a consensus model like Nunavut. But that is my idea and of course, in the end it is up to everyone to contribute. It may even get people interested in our politics again - you never know.
The present system is corrupted beyond repair. It doesn't need to be fixed, it needs to be replaced by one that represents the will of the people - a true democracy or social democracy. For me, nothing less would be acceptable.
I see what you're saying, but a few points here:
1. Had GM gone belly up, some other car plant would have bought it out, one that knows how to budget. Will we run into the same problem with GM next recession? There is also the principle of equality. Did the restaurant down the street get a bail out too?
2. The deficit had already begun even before the recession. Ideally in good times, governments raise taxes, lower spending, pay off debt, keep interest rates and inflation low, so that in good times, they can increase spending possibly even by printing some money and not have to o into debt without risk of inflation and high interest rates since, after all, if interest rates and inflation are low in good times, we'd certainly be experiencing a deflationary spiral in bad times anyway, making printing money even desirable. But if even in good times taxes are low, debt is rising, and we have some inflation and higher than ideal interest rates, then when recession strikes, there really is not much wiggle room to print money and so we need to borrow at interest, thus benefiting lenders at taxpayers' expense.
3. Stimulus spending should never be about make-work jobs but rather about preparing the economy for the next boom(which always happens) by educating the unemployed in the skills they'll need in the new economy, and yes, as you'd mentioned earlier, possibly fix and expand and modernize infrastructure, but always focussed on preparing for the upcoming boom, and never just as a make-work project.
Some of this "make work"- improving infrastructure can be viewed as an investment - one example is the Hwy. 401 into Vancouver, right now we have a situation where thousands of vehicles many of them transport rigs sitting in a line for hours idling, polluting the air, wasting fuel, wasting money paying operators for idling, all costing the economy $10 s of thousands every day. All this in turn drives up freight costs and cost of goods to the consumer.
he tried to come out of the gate with a little more Stature than his predicesor Mr. S Dion, However his character was assinanted out the gate by Harper saying he spent more time in US than Canada. In his canada wide tour (which I went to when was in my city) he never made any real strong action plans. He only went about to see about raising funds for the liberals, to try to rebuild a faltering party. I actually asked him about an issue he said he would have looked at and reply which never happened. Mabe a campain contribution may have gotton some results (not). The lies he has told will have him on a spit (at least where I am concerned). If all he wanted was funds mabe he should have held fund raisers instead of question periods. May his arrogance fall harder than Dion's green shift!
Hate to say looks like Harpie will once again get it, but for gods sake please if so only a minority, for whomever gets in we need parties to work together to repair the hit from the world economey depresion.
Over and over I hear the voices of Canadians saying the system is to blame for nothing happening.
Nonsense, the problem is we as individuals don't get involved in the system and make our views
known. you can make whatever system choices you want if you as a citizen don't become involved
it will not make a speck of difference. It is the process, what can be more plain than listening to the
people running, determining if they are believable, and if you as a voter would like to see them
represent you in Parliament. Yes there is compromise and so their should be without compromise
we would have government like they do in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The problem is we don't listen, we don't demand change, and we don't vote. That in short means
it is our fault we get what we get.
When this election is over, Iggy will be gone, the Greens will be looking for a new leader, Jack he is
on the way out and Harper will be gone if he does not get a majority and he won't. The Bloc is the
only secure leadership group. It is also because, the Bloc holds the balance of power and as long as
they are strong there will be no majority.
I believe we are in trouble now and we will be again over time, when that happens, we must have
governments work with people of other political persuasions come together to solve the issue and
forget this is it left or right policy. A good well thought out solution is not right left or center, it is just
a good idea.
The whole prospect of an election will be determined by the number count at the polls, if a party now
believes they have a chance of increasing their power base. How do I see it?
Liberals will not win one more seat than they have right now.
The Bloc will hold their own and may gain a few from the Tories
NDP they won't implode but they won't exactly gain much, maybe slightly in BC
Greens, too funny to consider, they are going nowhere.
Harper and company? They will hold and might gain a couple in Ontario but they could
lose a bit of what they do have Quebec and east.
Unless Harper gets a majority, he will be gone in 18 months. The other problem for everyone is that
there won't be an election after this one for quite a while.
I think there will be an election this year.
Nonsense, the problem is we as individuals don't get involved in the system and make our views
known. you can make whatever system choices you want if you as a citizen don't become involved
it will not make a speck of difference. It is the process, what can be more plain than listening to the
people running, determining if they are believable, and if you as a voter would like to see them
represent you in Parliament. Yes there is compromise and so their should be without compromise
we would have government like they do in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The problem is we don't listen, we don't demand change, and we don't vote. That in short means
it is our fault we get what we get.
When this election is over, Iggy will be gone, the Greens will be looking for a new leader, Jack he is
on the way out and Harper will be gone if he does not get a majority and he won't. The Bloc is the
only secure leadership group. It is also because, the Bloc holds the balance of power and as long as
they are strong there will be no majority.
I believe we are in trouble now and we will be again over time, when that happens, we must have
governments work with people of other political persuasions come together to solve the issue and
forget this is it left or right policy. A good well thought out solution is not right left or center, it is just
a good idea.
The whole prospect of an election will be determined by the number count at the polls, if a party now
believes they have a chance of increasing their power base. How do I see it?
Liberals will not win one more seat than they have right now.
The Bloc will hold their own and may gain a few from the Tories
NDP they won't implode but they won't exactly gain much, maybe slightly in BC
Greens, too funny to consider, they are going nowhere.
Harper and company? They will hold and might gain a couple in Ontario but they could
lose a bit of what they do have Quebec and east.
Unless Harper gets a majority, he will be gone in 18 months. The other problem for everyone is that
there won't be an election after this one for quite a while.
I think there will be an election this year.
The pattern of the conservatives from day one has been to work to undermine and distort our democratic system to place their party above the nation, the first step Harper took as PM was to metaphorically give the finger to voters in Vancouver-Kingsway and by extention the rest of the nation. If our political system wasn't so mucked up by the separatist issue and special interests like the petroleum sector voters would have sent Harper and his minions packing years ago.
Our political system will keep crippling along until somebody finally decides to put it out of it's misery. If Harper gets a majority then kiss what little openess and accountability we have left at the federal level goodbye, it would be like a permanent state of prorogation. If nobody finally figures out a way to include Quebec then eventually it will split and take the Maritimes with it(can you say 51st. state) and the west won't be far behind.
It's a game of political chicken, I think one thing you can say with confidence is that nobody at the federal level truly seems to care about the future of the nation(and in some cases the future at all if you accept all the scientists warning about climate change). Any election won't be in our interests but in the interests of parties that have come to see themselves as above us all, something the conservatives can't claim to be free of.
Our political system will keep crippling along until somebody finally decides to put it out of it's misery. If Harper gets a majority then kiss what little openess and accountability we have left at the federal level goodbye, it would be like a permanent state of prorogation. If nobody finally figures out a way to include Quebec then eventually it will split and take the Maritimes with it(can you say 51st. state) and the west won't be far behind.
It's a game of political chicken, I think one thing you can say with confidence is that nobody at the federal level truly seems to care about the future of the nation(and in some cases the future at all if you accept all the scientists warning about climate change). Any election won't be in our interests but in the interests of parties that have come to see themselves as above us all, something the conservatives can't claim to be free of.
The Conservatives squandered the billions in surplus that those bad guy Liberals left them and increased our debt by a huge amount. Where is the money going to come from to pay down the debt when they say they are not going to raise taxes? Harper is full of sh-t
just like every Conservative leader before him.
Canada's debt under Harper the liar.
Canada Sinking Under Harper's Debt - mike watkins dot ca