LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Thursday, December 01, 2005

A Real Economist Responds to Harper

The Harper told the press he was an economist when announcing his GST cut.
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion. George Bernard Shaw
Hmm, I thought he was a policy wonk for the National Citizens Coalition.....anyways here is a response from a REAL economist to Harpers 2% GSTcut.(which still leaves 5% GST, the Harper is not bold enough to eliminate it entirely so why bother fiddling with it). It is appropriately entitled; Dumb and Dumber.

Harper Hates Government

"I believe that all taxes are bad," Harper said "Better taxes are lower taxes. Government has money to waste, government has money to steal, government has money to spend on benefits for a few. It's time for benefits for mainstream Canadians, hard-working people who pay their taxes and play by the rules." So the Harper hates government why is he running for Prime Minister and why is his neo-con Republican Lite party running to be the government if they hate taxes so much. Taxes fund the government. The government then spreads the wealth around through programs like oh Healthcare, Transfer payments, CPP/OAS, the military, etc. Whats with the rightwing speak about 'benefits for the few'..who are these 'special interests' farmers? Seniors? University Students? Autoworkers? Are these not hard working Canadians ?
Now there has been alot of talk about the hidden agenda the the Conservatives have. It ain't hidden its right here. Its the Harpers former employer, the National Citizens Coalition Agenda for Canada.

We call our vision "The Agenda for Canada".

The Agenda for Canada addresses these key issues:

Financial Accountability
Canada needs to cut big government spending, find innovative ways to get a better return on our health-care investments, and allow Canadians to keep more of the money they earn.

Representative Accountability
The scandals must stop. Canadians need to push for a democratically elected senate, a strong military, a privatized CBC and more direct democracy.

Individual Freedoms and Responsibility
Canada needs to entrench property rights, repeal the gag law and end the Wheat Board monopoly. Canada needs to restore rights to union workers, end CRTC censorship and restore language rights to English speaking Quebeckers.

If Canada’s political leaders will not promote a new vision for Canada, then the NCC will. But we need your help!

Have a read through our Agenda for Canada and let us know what you think. Or, better yet, help us fund an ad campaign that will make the Agenda for Canada part of the national debate.

We need to let Canadians know that there is another option to the failed big government solutions of the past.

Your generous contribution to this campaign can make the Agenda for Canada a reality. With your support we can print more Agenda for Canada booklets, print newspaper ads, run radio commercials and use the internet to get the message out.

Now more than ever Canada needs a positive vision. The NCC’s Agenda for Canada is that vision. Help us get the message out.

From Black to Iraq and Back

Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!

Lord Black is on his way to Jail, like his role model Al Capone. Black granted $20m bail after pleading not guilty to fraud

And like Capone he is protesting his innocence, for in his mind he has committed no crime. He is after all a Baron of Capitalism, and for him it was business as usual. But his days of wine and roses are soon to become days of whining about the nosy lawyers and media he has so vilified in the past. And like his other hero and role model, Randolph Hearst, his cumupeance is based on their shared belief in the idea that the rules do not apply to men like them.

The Wall Street Journal article noted that he had a portrait of Capone on the wall of his directors’ room in New York —

Conrad Black & the Hollinger Kleptocracy

Warren Kinsella's Hero

Making Warren Happy.
Chretien files Gomery sponsorship challenge
"This couldn't come at a worse time for (Liberal Leader Paul Martin)," said CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Bob Fife.

Take That Paul Martin

CBC vs. CTV Election Blogs

CBC has a blog on its site, covering the blogs covering the election. Its a one man show written by John Bowman. It has no links to any other blog sites nor does it seem interested in adding any other blog comments. John seems to have penchant for ONLY commenting about rightwhingnut bloggers. Do I detect a bias here? Could it be that the CBC long hated for its supposed liberal/left bias by the rightwhingnuts is sucking up to the right?

On the other hand CTV's Election Blog is written and edited, by a collective! Bill Doskoch who has his own very good blog. Also CTV Parlimentary Reporter David Akin, who also has his own blog, and writers Angela Mulholland, Corey Bellamy and the anonymous CTV Election News Editor. And they are cherry picking comments from the blogosphere and are open to bloggers comments. They have links to the Party Blogs and to the various political blogs; BloggingTories, Liberal Bloggers, Dippers and Progressive bloggers etc.

And the winner is....CTV.

Hey CBC clean up your act or I will take down my I Support CBC banner on my blog (ohh scary threat that).

GST Fall Out

With a bit of cut and paste here is what folks think of the Harpers proposed creation of a 5% GST. While consumption taxes are regressive in principle, they do impact more on the rich than the poor. So consider this another tax break for you know who.....

Speaking at a suburban electronics store near Toronto, Harper said the tax relief will save Canadians a total of $4.5 billion. While he he admitted that will not necessarily stimulate investment, he said "it's more effective in stimulating consumption Heading into the holiday season, the idea of consumers paying less GST is a happy thought for Future Shop salesman Jafra Husein. "As a retailer we love it," he told CTV News. "It motivates the buyer." Among the criticisms levelled at the GST cut is the disportionate 'savings' it would afford people who spend more. Lower-income Canadians, because they're not spending as much, would not realize as much savings. New Brunswick Finance Minister Jeannot Volpe says Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's promise to slash the GST would hurt this province. But party loyalty hasn't stopped Volpe, also a Conservative, from criticizing the plan. He says municipalities that have finally received a piece of the GST will suffer without it. "One per cent is over $90 million for us," said Volpe. "It means that the money will have to come from somewhere else." Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said reducing the GST favours the rich on Thursday.In an interview with CBC Newsworld, Goodale said lowering consumption taxes such as the GST is good for people who spend a lot of money. "The biggest savings will go to the biggest spenders," he said. Herbert Grubel, a senior fellow at the right-wing Fraser Institute and a former Reform MP, Grubel and Harper, also a trained economist, were once caucus colleagues, told the Vancouver Sun last month that "cutting the GST rather than business or personal income taxes may be good politics, but it is definitely very bad economics."Grubel and several other economists say business and personal income taxes are a much stronger drag on the economy because they create a disincentive for consumers. Jim Davies, who teaches economics at the University of Western Ontario in London, "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid," he said.