jdobbin Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStories The Conservatives are planning on tabling a federal budget with a $40 billion deficit, CTV News has learned.The deficit would be the highest since the 1993 budget and $10 billion more than Prime Minister Stephen Harper indicated in a late 2008 interview with CTV. It is going to be hard to put a good spin on this type of deficit. I wonder how much more in deficit this government can go in one year. Yeesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Oh good.....About 5 years of payments....erased.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeyStone Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStoriesIt is going to be hard to put a good spin on this type of deficit. I wonder how much more in deficit this government can go in one year. Yeesh. Good thing they brought in those tax cuts. Otherwise it would have been a 200 billion dollar deficit. Because we all know how tax cuts practically pay for themselves. All we need to do now, is cut taxes more and that will solve all of our problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean_Poutine Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStoriesIt is going to be hard to put a good spin on this type of deficit. I wonder how much more in deficit this government can go in one year. Yeesh. Yep, it will be, but it'll also be hard to pin a global problem on Harper. He's not responsible for the global economic situation, and don't forget that this spending is what the opposition was crying for. The opposition won't let us forget that it's a minority government when it's convenient for them. Well, I remind you that it's a minority government, even though it's not convenient for you at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean_Poutine Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 (edited) Oh good.....About 5 years of payments....erased.... Actually, it's more like two. The Conservatives paid down nearly $40 billion on the debt since they were elected. Edited January 10, 2009 by Jean_Poutine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Actually, it's more like two. The Conservatives paid down nearly $40 billion on the debt since they were elected. They've been in power for three years now. Well, actually, no, they will have been in power 3 years come my birthday February 6th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegreen Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStoriesIt is going to be hard to put a good spin on this type of deficit. I wonder how much more in deficit this government can go in one year. Yeesh. Ignatieff has not missed a single turn of the card, let alone a trick yet. Amongst the electorate, any credit due to this defecit spending will accrue to Ignatieff because of his stern admonishing of Harper. Any disenchantment will accrue to the Conservatives, because they broke their oft repeated solemn election promises. Ignatieff holds the whip hand, while Harper will be the whipping boy for all Canada's economic woes. Ignatieff's team will will work hard over the coming few months, and i think they will take their chance and engineer an election later in the year, when they believe the pump primed for a very strong minority. They might prefer to wait until 2010 when people are good and sick of the recession, and try for a majority. It won't happen on the back of a single poll though. the electorate will be thoroughly prepared before the CPC are overthrown. Anybody want to take a bet that the NDP, and Bloc will be portrayed as the opportunists when the Liberals finally engineer the non-confidence vote? I doubt very much that Ignatieff will ever consent to actually govern in coalition. Why the hell should he, when the mere threat is such a major part of the calculus paving his way to power? This is merely the beginning of the end of another brief Conservative interlude in Canada's political history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdobbin Posted January 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Yep, it will be, but it'll also be hard to pin a global problem on Harper. He's not responsible for the global economic situation, and don't forget that this spending is what the opposition was crying for. The management rests with Harper though and if he can't handle the situation in Canada to the satisfaction of the electorate, it is he who will answer for it. The opposition won't let us forget that it's a minority government when it's convenient for them. Well, I remind you that it's a minority government, even though it's not convenient for you at this time. Harper wanted to go the electorate before May while Dion was at the helm. The situation has changed. If he wants to go now, let him. I think the Liberals will give Harper the opportunity to manage things for a while. If he does well, he might get his majority. If not, he will go down in defeat at the next budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Chriton Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Liberals will give Harper the opportunity to manage things for a while. If he does well, he might get his majority. If not, he will go down in defeat at the next budget. If 'enough' money isn't spent the Liberals will vote no. They've been saying every day for over a month now. The Conservatives have no choice but to spend this money. If they don't work with the Liberals to get the budget passed the Liberals will work with the NDP/Bloc and who knows how much more would be spent in that scenario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normanchateau Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 The Conservatives paid down nearly $40 billion on the debt since they were elected. Yet in the 2007 budget alone, they promised $39 billion in extra future spending thereby increasing future debt: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...me=&no_ads= And guess which province got the lion's share of that future spending? Harper's spending has been totally out of control since he took office. Even when faced with clear evidence of a pending recession, on October 30th, 2008, Harper chose to swell the size of cabinet to 38, increasing the cost of government by millions of dollars. What an incredibly stupid man and what a disgrace to fiscal conservatism. Harper supporters frequently claim that Harper has to keep spending like a drunken sailor because he's in a minority position. I'd like to know which opposition parties wanted Harper to bloat his cabinet. :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry J. Fortin Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Yet in the 2007 budget alone, they promised $39 billion in extra future spending thereby increasing future debt:http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...me=&no_ads= And guess which province got the lion's share of that future spending? Harper's spending has been totally out of control since he took office. Even when faced with clear evidence of a pending recession, on October 30th, 2008, Harper chose to swell the size of cabinet to 38, increasing the cost of government by millions of dollars. What an incredibly stupid man and what a disgrace to fiscal conservatism. Harper supporters frequently claim that Harper has to keep spending like a drunken sailor because he's in a minority position. I'd like to know which opposition parties wanted Harper to bloat his cabinet. :angry: That only makes it clear to the rest of Canadians the cost of appeasing Quebec. Expect Iggy to make the suggestion that Harper is playing with tax dollars in a foolish attempt to buy the votes of the French. That is a fiscal blunder of immense dimensions considering the economic climate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topaz Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 I wonder if Harper has put into this deficit the military spending. The equipment is very expensive and were would he get the money to pay for it, he used up the surpluses. Mackay just spent 275 Mil on new trucks for the military, which are going to be made in Garland Tx by Navistar and they are said to be the best made and the only section keeping Navistar from drowning like some of the other truck companies. as far as the deficit, Bush probably told him , Hey you make it and let the other guy worry how he's going to pay it off!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry J. Fortin Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 I wonder if Harper has put into this deficit the military spending. The equipment is very expensive and were would he get the money to pay for it, he used up the surpluses. Mackay just spent 275 Mil on new trucks for the military, which are going to be made in Garland Tx by Navistar and they are said to be the best made and the only section keeping Navistar from drowning like some of the other truck companies. as far as the deficit, Bush probably told him , Hey you make it and let the other guy worry how he's going to pay it off!! Much of the military budget has been planned for a long time. We are in very poor shape in this regard and need mega spending just to properly equip a few more soldiers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdobbin Posted January 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 If 'enough' money isn't spent the Liberals will vote no. They've been saying every day for over a month now. You mean that Harper can't find any savings in government operations that the Liberals won't support? How about reducing the cabinet to 24 ministers? The Conservatives have no choice but to spend this money. If they don't work with the Liberals to get the budget passed the Liberals will work with the NDP/Bloc and who knows how much more would be spent in that scenario. The Liberals would likely support a number a number of cuts. Why doesn't Harper ask Ignatieff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordiecanuk Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStoriesIt is going to be hard to put a good spin on this type of deficit. I wonder how much more in deficit this government can go in one year. Yeesh. Well that's one way to eliminate progressive government initiatives...bankrupt the treasury so we can't even afford paper clips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Canada Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 You mean that Harper can't find any savings in government operations that the Liberals won't support? How about reducing the cabinet to 24 ministers?The Liberals would likely support a number a number of cuts. Why doesn't Harper ask Ignatieff? Harper has been working closely with all other parties so knock it off jdobbin. The Liberals had a lot of input into this budget. Mr.Harper is a strong leader and Ignatieff has been in Canada for 2 years, perhaps he needs to learn something about his country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordiecanuk Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Let's just hope there's enough money left over to pay for all those new Senators and all the new MPs that are slated to be added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean_Poutine Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Much of the military budget has been planned for a long time. We are in very poor shape in this regard and need mega spending just to properly equip a few more soldiers. Yep, if military spending seems painful now, it's because of the deficit in military equipment that previous governments created by gutting/neglecting the military. If we kept the military budget at a reasonable level, they'd be able to replace aging equipment gradually as required instead of trying to keep a bunch of aging equipment running and then trying to replace it all at once. The politically popular thing to do is to take money from the military to pay for other things, but that's really just kicking the can down the road. Well, we're pretty much at the end of the road and have to deal with it. The Toronto Star has done a pretty good job of demonizing Harper over military spending. Linda McQuaig once wrote about how Harper is increasing the military budget by 2% per year, which basically keeps up with inflation, and called it, "Canada's military-industrial complex". I just about fell off my chair laughing when I first read that. Even Pierre Trudeau kept military spending above 2% of GDP, and we all know how much praise he gets from Liberals. Yet When Harper raises the budget slightly from Chretien's 1.1% of GDP and pledges to restore the budget to 2% GDP gradually, he's called a war monger or a Bush puppet.... By the way, Obama accepted an invitation from Harper to Canada recently. This shows that Harper is interested in good relations with the US and not just Bush - as the left has tried to claim at every opportunity. Soon Bush will be out of office and Obama is popular in Canada. It'll be interesting to see how people try to spin this. Maybe Harper will be able to relax about getting along with a US president without being seen as a puppet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 .....By the way, Obama accepted an invitation from Harper to Canada recently. This shows that Harper is interested in good relations with the US and not just Bush - as the left has tried to claim at every opportunity. Soon Bush will be out of office and Obama is popular in Canada. It'll be interesting to see how people try to spin this. Maybe Harper will be able to relax about getting along with a US president without being seen as a puppet. Harper or Iggy.....it will be fun to note who is President Obama's poodle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToadBrother Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Harper has been working closely with all other parties so knock it off jdobbin. The Liberals had a lot of input into this budget. Mr.Harper is a strong leader and Ignatieff has been in Canada for 2 years, perhaps he needs to learn something about his country. Is this the new Conservative line "We're really quite reasonable, y'know, and Ignatief isn't a real Canadian"? Harper's only being reasonable because his party has told him "Co-operate or we throw you to the dogs." Harper's displaying the kind of co-operation than only come from a gun being held to his head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordiecanuk Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Is this the new Conservative line "We're really quite reasonable, y'know, and Ignatief isn't a real Canadian"?Harper's only being reasonable because his party has told him "Co-operate or we throw you to the dogs." Harper's displaying the kind of co-operation than only come from a gun being held to his head. Iggy is being very cagey and is careful to point out that it will be the Conservative budget that gets voted on, not a Liberal or Coalition budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdobbin Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Harper has been working closely with all other parties so knock it off jdobbin. Harper hasn't talked to anyone in the Opposition about the budget since before Christmas. You have different evidence of secret talks? The Liberals had a lot of input into this budget. Mr.Harper is a strong leader and Ignatieff has been in Canada for 2 years, perhaps he needs to learn something about his country. Citation for this involvement? Otherwise...it is a figment of someone's imagination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Canada Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Harper hasn't talked to anyone in the Opposition about the budget since before Christmas. You have different evidence of secret talks?Citation for this involvement? Otherwise...it is a figment of someone's imagination. I see. so your position is that the PM has allowed no input from any of the other leaders. Is this your position? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdobbin Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 I see. so your position is that the PM has allowed no input from any of the other leaders. Is this your position? Please stay on topic. Give me your citation that there Harper has consulted anyone from the Opposition on the budget since before Christmas? Is it your position that you have no citation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Canada Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Please stay on topic. Give me your citation that there Harper has consulted anyone from the Opposition on the budget since before Christmas? Is it your position that you have no citation? The PM has consulted with the opp parties the matter of the budget. Ignatieff will vote with the Tories anyways. The budget is very reasonable and it'll be an election if Harper is defeated as the GG is getting an advance copy of it so she can review it before the vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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