Tories brace for deficit, plan to share blame

[jdobbin]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081022/...eficit_politics

The Conservatives are bracing for the prospect of a return to budget deficits and plan to share the blame with their political opponents if Canada slides back into the red.

They say Prime Minister Stephen Harper laid the groundwork in his election night victory speech and in his next-day news conference, where he struck a conciliatory tone toward opposition leaders.

Well, you could see this one coming.

[madmax]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081022/...eficit_politics

Well, you could see this one coming.

Deficits. Typical Mulroney Conservative.

[scribblet]

Oh gee, what do you call it when the Liberals (in Ontario) announce they will be running a deficit LOL

[Alta4ever]

Oh gee, what do you call it when the Liberals (in Ontario) announce they will be running a deficit LOL

I think Liberals call that fiscal prudence.

[capricorn]

Oh gee, what do you call it when the Liberals (in Ontario) announce they will be running a deficit LOL

Copy cats?

[Keepitsimple]

Harper is being pragmatic about deficits......but there are lots of people who don't like straight answers....and of course the media is always looking for a story. It's just too easy for governments to run "temporary" deficits that end up morphing into structural deficits. That's because it's easy to be the nice guy and do the spending....but no one wants to be the ogre who subsequently has to cut costs. A quote from the article sums it up:

During the campaign, he said he understood the consensus among economic theorists that running the occasional deficit is not a bad thing in tough economic times.

But Harper said the political reality is that deficits are addictive - and, like a shopaholic with a credit card, once governments start incurring them they can spiral out of control.

The popular, postwar, Keynesian economic model - deficits in hard times, surpluses in good times - warped in Canada into a succession of deficits that ballooned the country's debt-to-GDP ratio to 70 per cent by the mid-1990s.

[Mr.Canada]

I for one would like to see them cut some out some of these pet projects and cut down the amount of foreign aid.

That could free up billions of dollars($1,000,000,000's).

Certainly we can cut at least $500,000,000 someplace.

[jdobbin]

Oh gee, what do you call it when the Liberals (in Ontario) announce they will be running a deficit LOL

I call it stupid and think they should be voted out.

If there is a deficit on the national level, would you be saying the same?

[jdobbin]

Harper is being pragmatic about deficits......but there are lots of people who don't like straight answers....and of course the media is always looking for a story. It's just too easy for governments to run "temporary" deficits that end up morphing into structural deficits. That's because it's easy to be the nice guy and do the spending....but no one wants to be the ogre who subsequently has to cut costs. A quote from the article sums it up:

Given Harper's pragmatic overspending in good times, I suspect that that the deficit is going to be hard for him to avoid.

The Liberals should support all the cuts Harper proposes and propose some more. Let's see if Harper is willing to stop his high spending ways and actually avoid a deficit or whether he is going to blame everyone but himself.

[Mr.Canada]

Given Harper's pragmatic overspending in good times, I suspect that that the deficit is going to be hard for him to avoid.

The Liberals should support all the cuts Harper proposes and propose some more. Let's see if Harper is willing to stop his high spending ways and actually avoid a deficit or whether he is going to blame everyone but himself.

He has to make cuts. There are plenty of areas to cutback spending.

[jdobbin]

He has to make cuts. There are plenty of areas to cutback spending.

The Liberals should support all and beyond including on transfer payments. I found it very convenient for the premiers to tell Harper to run a deficit just so long as they didn't cut them off.

[Mr.Canada]

The Liberals should support all and beyond including on transfer payments. I found it very convenient for the premiers to tell Harper to run a deficit just so long as they didn't cut them off.

No matter what the Feds do, Ontario will point the finger at Mr. Harper and say ' See! we had no choice! We had run a deficit because the CPC is uncaring'. I can hear them already.

[jdobbin]

No matter what the Feds do, Ontario will point the finger at Mr. Harper and say ' See! we had no choice! We had run a deficit because the CPC is uncaring'. I can hear them already.

It won't just be Ontario.

[Alta4ever]

It won't just be Ontario.

Thats right because society has a victim mentality. If the provinces looked after their own houses they would have to come whining with hand out.

[jdobbin]

Thats right because society has a victim mentality. If the provinces looked after their own houses they would have to come whining with hand out.

I don't know that I would call it that. I'd say it is a spending problem that exists right across the country including Alberta.

[Alta4ever]

I don't know that I would call it that. I'd say it is a spending problem that exists right across the country including Alberta.

I whole heartedly agree

[Mr.Canada]

I don't know that I would call it that. I'd say it is a spending problem that exists right across the country including Alberta.

Ding, ding, ding, ding...and we have a winner!

Every party, every region.

[jdobbin]

Ding, ding, ding, ding...and we have a winner!

Every party, every region.

Some will have to cut far more than others. Alberta, is one such province.

Ontario is one other province.

[August1991]

Who cares whether a government has a budget deficit? I don't and most economist don't, as long as the government debt is not a Ponzi scheme.

In Canada, we have made a shibboleth of government budget surpluses and it's the kind of superstitious talisman that is not helpful or healthy. Like the notion of "sound money", it can cause great harm.

When it comes to government, what matters is spending - not the budgetary position (deficit/surplus) of the government.

So far, I tend to agree with Dobbin that Harper and Flaherty have been spending like drunken sailors. Harper wants submarines, icebreakers, big airplanes. He threw a whack of money at the provinces. If teh Liberals had been smart in the last campaign, they could have hit Harper on this. Do Canadians want to have big airplanes?

----

In fairness to Harper though, for the past 15 years or so, given Canadians obsession/focus on deficits, it has been easy for our governments to claim responsibility because tax revenues have steadily risen and so governments were free to spend while keeping a "balanced budget".

If government tax revenues fall, then the story will be different.

[jdobbin]

When it comes to government, what matters is spending - not the budgetary position (deficit/surplus) of the government.

It becomes a problem is spending is one of the main reasons we have ended in deficit.

So far, I tend to agree with Dobbin that Harper and Flaherty have been spending like drunken sailors. Harper wants submarines, icebreakers, big airplanes. He threw a whack of money at the provinces. If teh Liberals had been smart in the last campaign, they could have hit Harper on this. Do Canadians want to have big airplanes?

I personally think submarines have been a black hole and will continue to be for the Navy.

Large cuts across the board are necessary. If we are to avoid the next stage of recession which is unemployment, we need to stop spending so indiscriminately and keep taxes low.

Edited October 23, 2008 by jdobbin

[Alta4ever]

I becomes a problem is spending is one of the main reasons we have ended in deficit.

I personally think submarines have been a black hole and will continue to be for the Navy.

Large cuts across the board are necessary. If we are to avoid the next stage of recession which is unemployment, we need to stop spending so indiscriminately and keep taxes low.

I can't beleive it but I agree with you on most of your posts in this thread........scary

[kengs333]

Oh gee, what do you call it when the Liberals (in Ontario) announce they will be running a deficit LOL

The Liberals aren't affiliated with the federal party, and are much more right-wing--a throwback to the Bill Davis Tories...

[kengs333]

I for one would like to see them cut some out some of these pet projects and cut down the amount of foreign aid.

That could free up billions of dollars($1,000,000,000's).

Certainly we can cut at least $500,000,000 someplace.

The military? The Afghan Mission? Or how about not calling an illegal election?

[Alta4ever]

The military? The Afghan Mission? Or how about not calling an illegal election?

The election wasn't illegal, if you recall I posted the fixed election date bill in the thread about this. It proved that it was still within the PM's right to ask the gg to disolve parliment.

[drewski]

The election wasn't illegal, if you recall I posted the fixed election date bill in the thread about this. It proved that it was still within the PM's right to ask the gg to disolve parliment.

legal or illegal (I agree with you though), I think most of us can agree it was still a waste of money