KeyStone

Spending on social programs can be good for businesses, who no longer have to pay for medical expenses, pensions etc. This is a big part of the reason why many auto-manufacturing companies have located here. And how is that low tax rate working out for Ireland? They are on the verge of bankruptcy, and they have to be bailed out by the EU. As for Sweden, you know that they have some of the highest tax rates in the world, right? They aren't moving to Sweden, for the tax breaks. They're moving there for educated employees, infrastructure, and health care benefits. Funny, we had seven budget surpluses in a row before your Conservatives took over. As long as we stop this march to lower taxes to complete, we'll be fine. If we had a nation with free medical, dental, education, and a good pension plan, a lot of good business would locate here for the skilled employees, and the fact that they wouldn't need medical plans. What do you think happens when we lower our taxes to "compete". Other nations do the same thing. Then we all have about the same proportion of businesses that we started with, but with much less tax revenues, creating massive shortages or public funding worldwide. Do you honestly think that enterpeneurs with a great idea, decide not to start a business because they have to pay 18% tax on the profits, rather than 16%? No. All the tax rate does is take businesses from other nations. It's a zero sum game, and the only ones winning with this international price war is business owners, at the expense of government coffers and public services.

Well, that depends on whether or not the Conservatives plan to lower then further during their term. It's going to be very significant regardless. They will certainly be necessary if we want to go into all the wars that Harper would sign us up for. With a non-hawk government, we won't need as many. Well, maybe the companies that are taking Canadian oil and minerals out of the ground should pay 50% tax. They're making money off of depleting non-renewable resources that belong to the Canadian people. Hugo Chavez did something similar and despite all the fearmongering, Venezuela is doing just fine. The corporations always say these things, but ultimately the tax rate doesn't affect the profitability of hiring an employee. It only affects how much money ends up in the pockets of the owners, once all costs are paid for. In terms of affecting jobs, there may be slightly less investment in Canada as a result. Businesses picking up and moving to Ireland to avoid an additional two percent tax, are going to be pretty few and far between. Instead of worrying about helping businesses making lots of money, let's help businesses to survive, by lowering things like payroll taxes, and improving our health care, and CPP so that business don't have to pay for those, for their employees. Not everyone agrees. Heck, there is a group called the Flat Earth society that thinks this round earth stuff is just a bunch of socialist nonsense. But, it's been pretty well established by this point. The nations of the world agrees that carbon emissions need to be lowered, we're just not sure who is going to take on the burden. If Alberta has so much money, that they can have the lowest tax rates, have no PST, and give everyone a cash bonus, then yes, they can afford to clean up their own mess.

I don't really see anyone stepping up. Rae has too much baggage in Ontario. Findlay is too presumptuous (win a seat before running for leader). Kennedy has a rep for treating people around him like krap. Trudeau is a music teacher who has stretched the Trudeau name as far as he can. Maybe Leblanc, but he isn't great. I don't think it matters. Mulcair is going to absolutely dominate as soon as he becomes NDP leader.

Well, let's start with the 30 billion they won't be spending on fighter jets, and the other 10 billion that won't be lost to corporate tax cuts. Once that runs out, we can have a conversation. Where is it exactly that you think they are going to? The US has higher tax rates than us. The kind of industry that we excel at doesn't do well in Bangladesh or Chile. The oil, forestry and mining companies, can't exactly pick up shop. "Owners do not take pay cuts, they just pass it on to the consumer." So, by that same logic, owners could raise prices anytime they want to, and then they would make more money. Are you daft man? If the owners could raise prices, and make more money, that's exactly what they would do. "Do people here understand what cap and trade(carbon tax) will do, do you not think energy and hydro and food is expensive enough." If I eat my lunch in the park, I clean it up. If the government has to pay to clean up for people who leave their garbage in the park, then those people should have to pay. The same rule applies to polluters. If you pollute the country, you should pay more than a company that does not pollute. Why should all companies subsidize the clean-up costs for the polluters? "Can the people of this country hold on while we experiment with a socialist goverment, that has bankrupt ONT and BC," Well, this is just made up. Might as well accuse the NDP of planning an alien invasion while you are at it. "Can everyone here afford to pay more for health care for immigrant's parents and grand parents that are going to come here and have ,to jump right into our health care system, ahead of canadians that have worked hard and long" This point has some merit. We can't be taking eighty year old people into the country that have never paid a dime into our system, and spend hundreds of thousands if not millions on their health care costs. Hopefully, Jack will find a more sustainable solution. Regardless, health care in general needs an overhaul. We can't keep up with the boomers.

It will be John Baird.

Even though Sun News, the CBC and the Conservatives keep saying there will be a coalition if the Cons don't win a majority, that doesn't make it true. We've had plenty of minority governments without a change of power, and there is no reason to think there will be one now. A minority government means that the people did not give the "winning party" a mandate to do whatever they want. It must work with at least one other party, if they wish to get things done. If they are being so unreasonable that they are unable to cooperate with a single other party, and the other parties, then the other parties can form a coalition and try to work out things themselves.

I know you see conspiracy theories everywhere, but the real inconsistency is: 1) Arab deaths are so plentiful, they don't report them in the MSM anymore, whether they are at the hands of Israel or others. 2) American deaths always get 5000 times more press than Arab or Israeli or Asian deaths. But don't let those obvious truths stop you from running around shrieking anti-semitism.

$28.57 That is the average amount spent per employee at the Christmas gala that has your panties in a knot. I understand that the tenants of various social housing projects are not doing well. I find your sudden interest in the welfare of the tenants of social housing to be somewhat disingenuous. It is a false comparison to take the miniscule perks that the employees of the TCHC receive, and talk about how much could have been purchased for the low income residents. I favour property tax hikes, and vehicle registration licensing to improve the quality of living for these people. Now, we are talking about a significant chunk of change that will really improve things. We are not talking about 6k for a planning session or 40k for a Christmas party of a 1k for chocolates, we are talking about tens of millions of dollars. But let me guess, your sudden concern for the poor doesn't extend to raising taxes does it? No, you only care about the tenants, when the fault can be laid at the 'socialists' enjoying their ultra-luxurious $28.57 Christmas dinner.

So, if the US citizens decide it is alright for the US to dump toxic waste in international waters, then the international community should have no say in the matter? So, if every idiot with a new car out there, decides to get an ultra-sensitive car alarm, that doesn't turn off for three hours, and is louder than a rock concert, that's their right? They don't have to be concerned about the community they are disturbing? If someone decides that they want a better view of the city, it's ok for them to cut down all the trees in the park? Look, Rand makes a good sound bite, all about freedom and choice, but he simply doesn't think through what it means for us all to make decisions completely independent and oblivious to the common good.

What a giant load of hogwash. So, you believe that you can be critical of a nation, but you can't compare it to South Africa? Who makes these rules? Can we compare Venezuela to Cuba? Can we compare Canada to Sweden? Can we compare anyone to Germany? You can argue that 'apartheid' is inaccurate, but to suggest it be banned, or that it is racist is absurd. I have no idea how you make the giant leap from using the term apartheid to saying the nation shouldn't exist. However, why not? I don't think the country of Quebec should exist. Some think the country of Palestine shouldn't exist. Does this make them racist hate mongers? And how do you figure that without Israel, the Jews would all die. Do Jews not live in Canada, in the US, in France. Are we rounding them up and putting them into camps? Probably not. Look, Israel does have a right to exist, but for those people displaced by the creation of Israel, who are continually being driven out of their homes, because Israel needs more space for the Jews that it encourages to move back to Israel, I certainly respect their right to oppose what Israel is doing.

What a complete moron. It's about what you can expect from a Tea Partier. First of all, his comparison to pro-choice was idiotic. Secondly, he repeats himself 15 times, and it's not even intended to be a filibuster. Thirdly, he just doesn't get the concept. He believes that all Americans should be free to make a choice, to buy products that may be harmful for the environment in general. He thinks that government should just encourage people to make the right choices, instead of force them. Shall we encourage people not to have slaves rather than take away their choice? Shall we encourage people not to bring Asian karp into the country, rather than take away their choice? Shall we encourage people to pick up their dog's shit, rather than take away their choice? Shall we encourage people not to play super loud music at 5 AM, rather than take away their choice. Shall we encourage people not to have sex with 12 year olds, rather than take away their choice? What Mr. Paul clearly fails to recognize is that we live in a global community. If we purchase and use products that are harmful to the community, and adversely affect the lives of others, that is something we all share the consequences of. Mr. Paul does not live in a bubble where his environmentally unfriendly choices only affect him.

There is some questionable spending, but overall, it's a red herring. $40,000 for a Christimas party? They have 1400 employees. That's about $30 each. Wow, such lavish hedonism. $6000 for a planning session at a lodge? I don't know how many people attended, how long they went for, or whether this would be considered overtime. I would say that if 20 people gave up a weekend, and went at it 12 hours a day, that's a bargain. Other things such as chocolates, massages, and pedicures, sound frivolous, but the money spent is ludicrously small, compared the total budget of the TCHC. It's not uncommon practice to reward employees for working extra unpaid hours, or especially hard, with small gifts, and given that they have 1400 employees, they certainly don't appear to have overspent. I work in the private sector, and I can tell you that I receive far more than the pittance mentioned in the audit report as perks for working hard. I am not sure why there is this assumption that if someone works for the public, that a $30 per person Christmas dinner represents gross mismanagement and excessiveness. Keeping employees happy is an important part of making sure things run smoothly. This money spent is nothing. Instead, they should look at total compensation - that is where the real money is spent - not insignificant perks representing less than one tenth of one percent of wages and benefits. And as for privatization, how exactly would that work? How do you privatize something that is a money loser? There are plenty of private companies building housing, but they don't seem interested in building for the poor, do they? Why would you take something with complex goals such as social housing, and hand it over to a company with only one goal: profit? That makes no sense at all.

All criticism of Israel must be banned. Perhaps we can impose jail terms for anyone caught being critical of the great blameless nation of Israel.

Rex has somehow made an entire article out of the age-old argument of: Gosh, there are worse regimes in the world, why pick on Israel. The subtext of this of course, is that the only reason people pick on Israel is because they hate Jews. Now, there is no doubt that there are worse regimes than Israel, and certainly when it comes to human rights, people are treated worse than Israeli Arabs. However, there are reasons other than anti-semitism, as to why people single out Israel. 1) Israel has an army of apologists working non-stop. One can not go two consecutive days without the National Post needing either to berate Palestinians/Arabs or make excuses for Israel. 2) Israel and the Jewish lobby have more control over Canada's foreign policy than any other body, including the US, and the Prime Minister and Canadians resent it. 3) Some of the people protesting have Palestinian roots, so it is only natural for them to be particularly interested in their own people. 4) Israel believes they are an honourable country, deserving of a seat at the table of respect. There is no such illusions when it comes to Gadaffi, or Hussein or any of a dozen African dictators. Rex does have a point about Saudi Arabia though, but nobody says shit about them, because they buy our weapons and give us oil, so we don't care what human rights abuses go on their, as long as they are willing to play ball with big business. 5) Israel routinely kills Arab children. There are not many other nations in the world that routinely kill the children of other nations. Moreover, there are even less nations that kill the children of other nations and are not condemned for it. 6) I know of no other international protest movement, where the targets of that protest, attempt to stifle free speech, try to make it illegal, ban it from campuses, refer to it as hate speech, and get our pandering politicians to line up to discredit it and find new ways to express how loathsome they find it. This bothers the sensibilities of Canadians. If Israel wants to stop being criticized, it needs to do three things: 1) Stop collective punishment of Palestinians by destroying their property and killing civilians. 2) Stop trying to limit free speech when they are criticized. 3) Ignore the people saying bad things about Israel. The more you provide opposition, the more entrenched the position becomes. Apartheid is the wrong word, and there are far worse things, but how dare the Canadian Jewish lobby try to make it illegal to use the word apartheid, and how dare the Canadian politicians pander to the lobby groups.

Other than dumping our garbage in Detroit, I can't think of a single reason to have a bridge connecting us. Detroit is one of the ugliest cities in North America, so few Canadians would want to visit, and we sure as hell don't need all the criminal element coming up to Windsor to get drunk when they're nineteen. Hopefully, this will be called the Unfinished bridge.

In terms of histories, I would think that Israel would have more in common with Liberia and Haiti - a country born out of a need to escape cruelty, and control their own destiny. As for English, it's not the first language in Israel, and while Israelis understand they need English for business, many Israelis are from Russia and other areas where they don't speak any English. So, I'm not seeing a ton of similarities. Democracy is arguable. Israel's form of democracy is far more advanced than the archaic FPTP practiced in Canada, the US, and the UK. These countries all open their borders to immigration, except that Israel only takes Jews. Unlike Israel, the other nations aren't theocracies. No one calls them the Christian nations, or the Catholic states. unlike the Jewish state of Israel, which the CJC likes to constantly remind us each time Israel is disparaged, in a successful effort to intertwine criticism of Israel with criticism of all Jewry. You mention the many Jews that are in Canada and the US, but you leave out France from that special relationship for some reason, despite the large population of Jews in France. It seems that you have missed the biggest attribute of the special relationship, which is the extremely disproportionate influence that Israel and Jewish people have over the foreign policy of both Canada and the USA.

So, if we have to choose between democracy and an Israeli friendly leader, we pick an Israeli friendly leader? So, all this talk about how important democracy is, really only applies to countries, where the US is looking to effect regime change? And in your opinion, if the people of Egypt would elect a leader who is antagonistic towards Israel, then we should ignore the will of those filthy Ay-Raaaaaabs?

Is this a joke? The pandering to Atlantic Canada is unprecedented. First of all, you have the government supported seal hunt, where politicians of all parties line up to eat seal, wear seal, and promote seal products despite the fact that it's activities damage tourism and trade. Second of all, you have the ludicous offshore oil deal, where Newfoundland basically gets to earn a wage, and collect welfare too, because oil money 'doesn't count' as part of the transfer payment calculations. Thirdly, you have a legacy of fifty years of seasonal workers working for six months of the year, and then collecting EI for the other six. And they've been doing this for 20 years with no intention of looking for other work. It's not unemployment insurance, it's seasonal Atlantic workers top-up salary. Newfoundland didn't even join Canada until 1949, when the fish dried up and they wanted to suck Canada dry. And how we have the APC to whine that Atlantic Canada isn't being treated fairly. Fucking separate already. Good riddance.

Why is that? Israel will only agree to a Palestinian state if they can get rid of all the dirty Ay-Rabs?

Well, they lowered corporate taxes before, and tax revenues went way up, and we are swimming in surplus money. I always hear our federal politicians saying that they have too much cash, and have to invent ways to spend it. So based on that truth, it makes perfect sense to lower corporate taxes even more, so then we will have an even bigger surplus. Hooray!

I've started reading the book - surprised that it's not getting as much coverage as Diary of an Economic Hit Man, but still a good read. Unfortunately, the facts are watered down with pages of soul-searching, and transformation as the authors of these tell-alls have a need to justify themselves. Anyways, a couple of the most interesting things so far are: 1) The Reagan recording that was sent out to stop Medicare. In it, he talks about the slippery slope of socialized medicine, and says that if it is allowed to come in, it will only be a matter of time before the government tells your children where they have to work. 2) Apparently, in the US they have healthcare fairs. Doctors volunteer to give away their services, and they create a makeshift hospital with tents in a field somewhere (sort of like M.A.S.H.), and people line up for days to get this healthcare in dodgy conditions. This apparently was what motivated Potter to change his mind about what he was doing and write the tell-all. 3) Michael Moore's movie Sicko scared the shit out of them, as it was dead-on accurate, and they scrambled looking for ways to counteract it, finally settling on the standard fear of socialism. When Americans say that they have the best healthcare in the world, they are right. They have the best doctors, and the best facilities. If I was a billionaire that is where I would go. But, what they really mean is that they have the top doctors and facilities. The overall delivery of healthcare to Americans as a whole is woefully inadequate, resulting in unnecessary deaths, suffering and bankruptcy. I can't imagine living in a country where HMO's try to deny me basic coverage because of a loophole, or some minor detail missed on a form somewhere. I mean in Canada, you're sick - you go to the hospital and get fixed. Sort the rest out later. That's how it should be in every country that can afford it.

Clearly, the National Socialist party was socialist, or they wouldn't have socialist in their name. Just like the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, must be Democratic or they wouldn't have Democratic in their name.

That's the biggest myth of all. There is no group in Palestine that can completely shut down the attacks on Israel, and Israel knows this very well. So, all their agreements revolve around ending the attacks, so that when an attack invariably occurs, Israel can opt out of the accords, and claim that it was the Palestinians that failed to live up their end of the bargain. If Israel wants to negotiate in good faith, they need to factor in occasional rocket attacks etc, and put in place a mechanism for dealing with them, that discourages Palestine from doing them, but does not completely dismantle all progress towards a solution. The simple truth is that if you have five children killed by drone missiles, you are never going to want peace with Israel. Likewise, if you had your three children killed on a bus blown up by a Palestinian suicide bomber, you will never want peace with Palestine. We need to stop letting the extremists sabotage the entire peace process. But, that of course, requires a will to actually see the peace process happen, which may or may not be Israel's aim.