If the Liberals were to take office tomorrow, they claim that they would reduce the deficit by 2/3 in their first two years in office. Seriously??? What about all the spending promises from Thinkapalooza? Does this mean that they are throwing away national daycare, Kyoto compliance, extended stimulus, higher EI payouts, etc, etc. Just a note to Scotty Brison, it will be impossible to rein in government spending if you form government with the NDP. The big government party will want to take advantage of their political leverage to make large payouts to their base.
The idea that a party promising big spending initiatives is suddenly going to become the party of fiscal responsibility is laughable. Their plan to pay for EVERYTHING is cutting a tax cut that hasn't even happened yet! What about the GST? Would they raise the sales tax to balance the budget? I'm curious to know if anywhere in their speeches Goodale or Brison promised not to raise taxes. There are two ways to try and balance a budget, reduce spending or raise taxes. As Dalton Mcguinty is learning in Ontario, raising taxes can have a very negative impact on economic output.
The promise of reducing the deficit to their promised goals in their first two years in office will likely be easier than it should be because they aren't likely to form government before the stimulus is over, after which Jim Flaherty will be able to significantly reduce the deficit. The stimulus (which the Liberals demanded as a condition of relinquishing their attempted coup) is a really big chunk of our current deficit.
When the next election comes I'll anxiously await a visit from the Lib candidate Roger Carranci. I'll be asking him what services the government is going to cut.
ReplyDeleteI also know such a question will be replied to with "well its a very complicated issue" or some other BS.
You know where it goes from there, I respond with "I already pay too much taxes, why do you want to raise them?"
Roger will point out thats not what he said, but I'll say "yes but you're a liberal, and you, like Dalton never admit during a campaign that you intend on raising taxes".
BTW
ReplyDeleteIf they promised they could balance the buget tomorrow, that promise is only good until tomorrow midnight.
Iffy has been noticably quiet on the environment.
ReplyDeleteIffy campaigned in 2006 on a carbon tax. Dion borrowed the plan from the 'big idea' guy and called it the Green Shift.
He would tax carbon to meet Kyoto targets.
Iffy the Job Killer.
If Ignatieff can't remember the private Bills he voted for, how do we expect to remember him to keep his words on balanced budgets?
ReplyDeleteI don't blame his lackeys for following orders and repeating the script.
Muclair and Layton were correct when Ignatieff walked away from the coalition. They have no ideas on how to balance the budget. They will rely on the four years of CPC work to bear fruit, (European trade deal est $ 12 Billion annual addition) and the revenue from the Oil sands in Alberta and Shale Gas in QC.
Ignatieff will name a cat Copenhagen like Dion just for fun.