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 Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 7:57 pm Post subject: Harper Preparing to Run Deficit? |
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I hope to God not! I'd be seriously ticked off if we did and I believe it would greatly damage the party's reputation of economic management.
Cut if we have to. Delay promises from the last platform.Early retirement for public servants. Sell off AECL, anything.
Use this as our excuse to clean up the government and do what the Libs couldn't or wouldn't do in the 1990's.
If the opposition fights it, go to an election if we have to.
Secondly we need to use this opportunity in order to grow the economy and strengthen productivity. Push for harmonization of sales taxes, cut red-tape,reform EI, more free trade, move on security and prosperity plan with USA, interprovincial trade and labour mobility, common securities regulator etc... |
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Craig
Site Admin
Joined: 29 Aug 2006
Posts: 4341
  
votes: 35
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Yeah - lots of people are downplaying it but I think that once you cross that threshold again you will break the stigma associated with it and deficits will once again it will become the norm. |
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:52 am Post subject: |
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In an economy unstable enough to warrant a meeting of world leaders to try to fix the international crisis, our MP would be a fool not to admit the possibility of a short-term deficit. We cannot predict how world fiscal affairs will affe3ct us.
I agree that deficits should be avoided if possible and suspect we will be able to do so. We should not fool ourselves into thinking that avoiding deficits will win us an election. If our unemployment rate runs high and inflation takes off, either we spend money to alleviate suffering or our opponents will. Canada is not immune from foreign fiscal pressures and the CPC is not immune from domestic fiscal pressures. |
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:06 am Post subject: |
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| The CPC has been spending like "drunken sailors", not being too conservative in my opinion........ Cutting the GST was a mistake I think in the long run, with no real benefits for the every-day Canadian....... You can spin it anyway you want, but the fact is the surplus was spent by the CPC and should have been saved for a rainy day like the next 2 years..... |
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cosmostein
Joined: 04 Oct 2006
Posts: 3602
votes: 14
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:52 am Post subject: |
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| hxman wrote: | | Cutting the GST was a mistake I think in the long run, with no real benefits for the every-day Canadian |
In a period of economic boom cutting a consumption tax is a mistake, but making goods and services cheaper during periods of economic detriment is not a bad idea, sort of a foresight tax cut.
We all pay GST on our Gas and Power bills, in a worst case its at least a tax savings for the most basic need of heating your home, in a best case it makes going to the local store slightly less painful for buying goods. |
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cosmostein
Joined: 04 Oct 2006
Posts: 3602
votes: 14
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:54 am Post subject: |
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I firmly believe a lot of the high ticket spending can be scaled back.
Harper was talking about economic prudence when we were still reeling in huge surpluses. Its seems the Tory economic team has been preparing for the worst for a while.
I would like to think we can still balance our budget. |
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marklar
Joined: 03 Oct 2007
Posts: 185
votes: 1
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:58 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Budget 2008 also demonstrates responsible leadership by:
Reducing debt.
Since taking office, the Government has reduced the federal debt by more than $37 billion, including $10.2 billion this fiscal year. The Government’s aggressive debt reduction has resulted in ongoing interest savings of $2 billion per year. Under the Tax Back Guarantee, the benefits of debt reduction are passed on to Canadians in the form of lower personal income taxes. |
link
$37 Billion from the last 3 years in office is a good enough rainy day fund, don't you think? |
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marklar
Joined: 03 Oct 2007
Posts: 185
votes: 1
Location: Toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:03 pm Post subject: |
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| cosmostein wrote: | | hxman wrote: | | Cutting the GST was a mistake I think in the long run, with no real benefits for the every-day Canadian |
In a period of economic boom cutting a consumption tax is a mistake, but making goods and services cheaper during periods of economic detriment is not a bad idea, sort of a foresight tax cut.
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Not to mention, it helps boost spending in the domestic market. With the export sector taking such a beating over the high dollar, inflated commodity costs and foriegn economic uncertainty, this probably helped soften the blow to the overall economy. |
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FF_Canuck
Joined: 02 Sep 2006
Posts: 3360
votes: 17
Location: Southern Alberta
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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| I just saw Flaherty on CBC - he said in no uncertain terms that we will finish this fiscal year with a modest surplus and avoid a defecit next year. |
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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| hxman wrote: | | The CPC has been spending like "drunken sailors", not being too conservative in my opinion........ Cutting the GST was a mistake I think in the long run, with no real benefits for the every-day Canadian....... You can spin it anyway you want, but the fact is the surplus was spent by the CPC and should have been saved for a rainy day like the next 2 years..... |
There's a lot of truth to your first criticism... but because of it I disagree with your other two criticisms.
Cutting taxes, and running a modest surplus, is what you want - you don't want the government raking in huge surpluses because that's a sure sign that folks are being overtaxed, and that the government is more liable to engage in wasteful spending.
The good news is that the Conservatives now have very good reason, even PR wise, for making major spending cuts. And with a weakened opposition, we can likely get some significant spending cuts through as well.
What the Conservatives do next will determine if they are like the heavy deficit spending Republicans in America, or take a truly fiscally conservative stand by making prudent spending cuts. I hope that its the latter. |
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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| FF_Canuck wrote: | | I just saw Flaherty on CBC - he said in no uncertain terms that we will finish this fiscal year with a modest surplus and avoid a defecit next year. |
Really? I'm not 100% sure, but I thought Don Newman interviewed him (I didn't catch it) and then later Newman was talking with someone else and said that Flaherty did not rule out a deficit in '09 in the interview. WTF? Or am I mistaken in what I heard? |
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JDot
Joined: 02 Sep 2006
Posts: 626
votes: 4
Location: Ontario(GTA)
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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I think Harper and Flaherty would walk over glass in bear feet before they ran a deficit. I think the the CPC is trying to lower expectations(hopefully getting ready for some fat cutting).
It is time to start cutting fat in the government, there is no better time then now. |
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JDot
Joined: 02 Sep 2006
Posts: 626
votes: 4
Location: Ontario(GTA)
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Really? I'm not 100% sure, but I thought Don Newman interviewed him (I didn't catch it) and then later Newman was talking with someone else and said that Flaherty did not rule out a deficit in '09 in the interview |
Ya, Flaherty did not rule out 2009 for a defecit. But he should not, if the Government comes out and says everything will be sweet, then the government will not be able to cut.
I just can't see the CPC running a defecit, I understand there is a chance but I just can't see the CPC letting it happen. Like CoolBlue says it would be bad for the brand. |
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SFrank85
Joined: 03 Mar 2007
Posts: 2271
votes: 4
Location: Toronto - Scarborough Southwest
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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No government should ever rule out running a deficit, even if it were for a short time. However now is a good time to cut some programs. Eliminate the status of women, cut the CBC funding (I would rather sell it of, but we know that will not happen), cut some of the arts funding, as most of the country would not mind except in Quebec but who really cares about them now. Cut some bureaucrats, and limit travel expenses to a minimum for most cabinet ministers (with the exception of high profile cabinet positions).
Look through all government programs, you would be surprised with some of the waste going on. Limit government contracting and advertising for the time being as well. |
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Mac
Joined: 02 Sep 2006
Posts: 5497
votes: 35
Location: John Baird's riding...
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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Once again, folks, keep this in mind: there is no such thing as a surplus. That is a code word for excessive taxation. Our governments have been spending money like it was going out of style yet they tax do outrageously that they have left-overs. If you want to call that a surplus, good for us... bad for our wallets...
-Mac |
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