Moonbox

Central Bank rates, sure, but not mortgage rates. No, they're meant to decrease borrowing and thereby spending, so that demand drops and people don't have to deal with prices spiraling out of control, which is what really "hurts them". Trudeau's overspending didn't help inflation, but a quick look at global inflation numbers should dispel the myth that he's uniquely to blame for 2022's spike...if you didn't have Justin hate-goggles on. As for the BoC's forecasts, they couldn't predict the Ukraine war or China's disastrous zero-COVID policy. The folks who bought into variable rates at the absolute bottom of the rate cycle only have themselves to blame. The BoC doesn't promise anything, and it's never more than a best guess. Getting a variable rate mortgage when rates have only one direction to go is a bad gamble, and people who take risks often have to pay the price. The folks who got fixed rates in that very brief interim between the BoC's forecast and when rates started to spike are going to be fine, because they'll be renewing in 2025 or later. It's the folks swimming in revolving credit debt that are going to feel the rates the most. The only thing they're victims of is their own greed. Sure, and if Poilievre can stick to reasonable messaging and cut the demagoguery, he'll win. You don't get a lamer duck than Trudeau as an incumbent to run against. This has 1993 vibes.

He's not a pathological liar. He's just an angry, deluded fool. His critical thinking hat blew away when his train went off the rails, many years ago.

Interest rates aren't going back to where they were. They were unnaturally low and it was bad policy that helped fuel asset and debt bubbles across North America. It was also something that economists were warning about 5 years ago and longer and the reversal was predictable, though it may be painful for many. Victim? Why would you call someone who spends more than they earn victims? Real consumer spending has gone up this year, despite how worried everyone is about their finances. 10+ years of near-free borrowing has given the average consumer unrealistic expectations. I think folks are finally getting wise to how silly it all is. As Exflyer suggests, 2050 is a joke. Anyone who's trying to sell their policies based on results decades away is just trying to sweep things under the rug.

How bad are most Canadians off financially? Does it have anything to do with them borrowing too much and saving too little? Either way, anytime the government says "it'll even out in the long run," you know they're probably either wrong, or they're lying. It's sort of like saying, "the budget will be balanced in four years." 😑

Fixed that for ya. 🫡

It's a thread where our resident Karen has talked to herself in for the last two years, with next to nobody reading anything she says.

I don't know. It wasn't something I paid a lot of attention to. I do know that Rand Paul is a joke and that Fauci humiliated him, and that the latter has about 1000x more credibility than the former.

What does Fauci have to do with the RINO's? This story can be summed up as, "Conspiracy peddler refers Fauci for criminal charges to nurse his butthurt." 🙄

Rand Paul...lol. Here's how this will probably play out: The referral will be ignored, and then he'll whine that the DoJ is compromised on account on their not being interested in entertaining his grudges and butthurt.

Sure, but an income tax cut would have done the same thing but worked better, and it's what the economists generally agreed was the better move. Because the GST was so unpopular and was still a sore spot, that was easy votes. Smart by Harper, not the best choice for Canadians, but the average voter doesn't know anything. That's why all of our political messaging is about things that make people go Reeee.

Sure, but effective vs popular are two different things. The GST was deeply unpopular, but it was good policy. The Harper cuts to GST were not good policy, but they were popular. For what it’s worth I think you’re right about it being a losing issue for the Liberals, much like it was an own-goal for Stephane Dion to push the Green Shift as we were dealing with the Great Recession.

Second generation immigrants, especially minorities in large urban centres (which is where they mostly live) are more likely to vote Liberal, no?

The numbers are what will or won't bear out the efficacy of carbon taxes. Asking Canadians what their opinions are on a tax is like asking a 3 year old whether they want ice cream after dinner. You already know the answer.

Years ago I used to think it was vote pandering. An extra 250,000 immigrants is an extra 250,000 votes for the Liberal Party of Canada. Actually...I still think that.

I've voted nothing but Conservative provincially, and only Liberal twice in my entire life. Presumably others who share some of my viewpoints could be similar? Of course it's a derisive, along the lines of libtard, but more used to describe MAGA conspiracy clowns and folks incapable of higher reasoning.

Ukrainian interests...yep. That's me. I joined this forum in 2008 to serve Ukrainian interests. 🥱 Come back when you're off your bender, I guess. A downvote for manic ranting elicits more lashing out and manic ranting. That's radical centrism, I guess.

There you go, for the 20th time. Nothing is funnier than a deluded muppet parroting Tucker Carlson and Vladimir Putin, whilst questioning anyone else's honor. You'd struggle to find anyone on this forum with less honor, and less bravery than you - pretending as you do that you care for peace whilst cheering for Ukraine's destruction. 🙄 Yes yes, your rumors from the clownweb. With Sweden and Finland joining and its traditional adversary hobbled and humiliated in Ukraine, you've argued that NATO is weakening. That's the sort of donkey-logic you're using to determine whether you're right or wrong. 🤡

Yes, we know you're satisfied with Russia invading its neighbors. Even the average Russian peasant, however, is less deluded than you are about this conflict.

🤷‍♂️ If the argument is that we need immigrants to fill jobs and support an aging population...we should be sticking to immigrants who...do that.

LOL whoops indeed. Go back to Putin’s original rationale for invading Ukraine, and then review the various goal post shifts to what it is today. Regime change? Fantasy. De-militarization? Umm… Halt NATO expansion? Yikes. Annex Donbas, Kherson and Zapo provinces? They didn’t control them when they announced it, and have only lost territory since then. Counter-offensive a failure? Very possible, but compared to Russia’s six month offensive to take Bakhmut, it looks like a master stroke. Ukraine took more territory back from Russia in six weeks than Russia captured in the previous six months. Who needs to save face here? 🤣

Refugees, family+ etc. Last time I checked, something like 25% of new immigrants to Canada were reunification applicants. I don’t know what the percentage breakdowns are beyond that, but I have to admit I rankle at the idea of bringing a new immigrant’s elderly parents over from wherever. We don’t need any more elderly folk in Canada…we have enough. 😐

Yeah I don't get it. I liked the Harper approach to immigration better. 500,000/y is a mental.

You're the only one who's cheered and hoped for anyone to get hurt here bud. 🥴

Yet Tucker Carlson, who's pants-on-fire never go out and whose lawyers have argued "no reasonable person" should believe what he says is the news, is who you trust for your news. 🤣 Hopefully you're taking that with a side-order of Alex Jones, just to complete the picture of a truly gullible and dimwitted ape.