So, after years and years and years and years of Liberal and Conservative corporate tax-cuts and tax-cuts that benefited the wealthiest, the federal Tories have managed to pull off a deficit of $517 million.
Perhaps they've been listening to their old pal Dick "deficits don't matter" Cheney. I doubt it though. Y'see, Cheney was arguing for more tax cuts and more spending on imperialism in Iraq and Afghanistan. Harper and Flaherty have a more substantial welfare state left to demolish. Therefore they'll decide that deficits do in fact matter and point to the results of theirs and Paul "I killed democracy in Haiti" Martin profligacy as evidence that the time has come for "hard choices" and "painful cuts" to OTHER PEOPLE'S entitlements.
The way to fix this insignificant problem is simple. Tax the beejeezus out of the sorts of pukes who vote right-wing, and spend the money on stuff that ordinary people need. Punish our enemies and reward our friends. Politics.
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5 comments:
Thanks for spelling out, in plain language, the NDP philosophy - as opposed to the the high-minded principles crap that the NDP usually tries to feed us.
Thanks for also spelling out, for those who haven't figured it out, why the NDP never has, and never will, get more than about 15 percent of the popular vote.
I am surprised at the outrage that the Grits have brought out due to the return to budget deficit situation.
There is now more room for government spending by the Feds. The key is to make sure that it is targeted and we tax accordingly.
mushroom,
You've noticed the Grits making big with the outrage? Okay, but then the rest of your comment eludes me. Why is there more room now?
Mark,
I guess we all see what we want to see. I don't know how you got most of your conclusions from my post.
The Grits have balanced the budget by putting the clamps on government spending. Employment Insurance cutbacks are a good example. Same as the dwindling of transfer payments to provinces vis a vis health care. Federal government spending now accounts for only 16 per cent of GDP in Canada, which is one of the lowest among the G7 not including Russia. Most developed countries spend around 25 to 33 per cent of GDP. Thus you can attack the Feds for being frugal.
This would be a good time to modernize our social programs through a combination of government spending and taxing the highest income earners. Just what you are proposing.
Okay, I see where you're coming from now. T'was Paul Martin who bragged about bringing government spending down to 1950s levels. We could do so much more as a society if we'd stop drinking the neo-liberal snake-oil.
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