But if we take the time to remove our partisan blinders, we would realize this budget is one of the most important in over a decade and has done what it set out to do - take care of Canadians.
From tax cuts for ordinary Canadians, to job creation and infrastructure spending, to frozen EI premiums and a 5 week extension, it hopes to weather to recessionary storm by giving Canadians the tools they need to come out at the end of this thing - money, jobs, infrastructure, stability and LESS TAXES.
It is a budget for Canadians, and they will not care that our debt is increasing, it's already over half a billion, so what's 34 billion more? If you really want to own some of the debt, buy a Canada savings bond, keep our debt in Canada.
What could the government have done in a recession? (Still not convinced we are in one yet.)
Monetary policy - reduce the bank rate to stimulate spending. That's what the Bank of Canada has been doing, but with our bank rate at 1%, there is not much room to reduce it further.
Fiscal policy - reduce taxes and/or increase spending. This is what the budget did, it reduced taxes and increased spending, now we have to wait and see how quickly it works. The problem with fiscal policies is that they are slower moving than monetary policy. We might be out of the recession before the fiscal policies kick in.
What the government did not do, that the coalition would have, is start new social programs like a national daycare program, or carbon credit money sucking scheme. (H/T to MaryT)
I also liked the cap on public service salaries. This was sure to upset our socialist NDP friends and the unions.
According to Keynesian economics this is a good budget. Unfortunately, it's bound to upset fiscal Conservatives. I hope once the budget is passed, we can start talking about program reductions. Think of all the baby boomers who will be retiring, let's not replace them.
Given the liberal bent of the bureaucrats, this must have been an easy budget to put together. Now, if they would only retire, we could get some new thinking into the public service.
The budget, it's okay as long as we see some program reductions after we are out of the rough patch. There is plenty of fat to be cut from programs.
9 comments:
I think I know why Iggy is delaying his answer re the budget. For the past few weeks all attention has been on the Throne Speech and the Budget. PMSH has been in the news during that time.
Iggy is jealous so to make sure all eyes and ears and media are on him alone, he will speak tomorrow at 11.00a.m.
He has known for weeks what he would do, vote for the budget. He has just tried to create suspense.
I really hope I am wrong and he says no so we can have an election.
Perhaps the people realize that we do need a majority conservative govt. Charest and Danny will not get the air time like last time.
If per chance the GG would give the coalition a try, watch for riots and huge protests against that.
Thanks for the h/t.
We have to get the message out re what the coalition would do.
They did write a shadow budget, will they make it public.
"... it's already over half a billion, so what's 34 billion more? "
If the Canadian debt is half a billion (which I doubt) then adding 34 billion, is increasing your debt by 68 times. Doesn't sound fiscally responsible.
Point of order. It isn't $34 more. The "Conservatives" announced over $80 billion in new debt.
Still not convinced we are in one yet.
Then why do you approve of this budget?
Raphael, figure if you have a gun to your head, go big!!
Allright, let's go with the "gun to head" argument.
So what, then, is the essential difference between a coalition government spending $80 billion and a Conservative one?
A conservative government spending the money will be spent wisely and not on entitlements, brown paper bags, and national daycare programs.
What exactly is wrong with national daycare?
Once put in place at a huge cost, staffed by union workers, national daycare would be an Ottawa bus strike in waiting.
In one breath Layton is talking about the unemployed, no jobs etc. and then he says we need nat daycare for working families.
The thought of all children in Canada being cared for by a bunch of union people, with set plans, menues etc is enough to turn one off having kids.
It is your conservitive light that we are now climbing out of. Did you forget so soon?
Eric
Oregon Farmer
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