PIK Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 There's that narcissistic smugness again! I'll let August supply other details but Phillippe Couillard won a massive majority as an unabashed Federal supporter - the first Quebec politician in ages to be so open in his belief in the merits of federalism. The public obviously responded. With the thrashing of the PQ, this new Quebec Premier has once again made it acceptable to talk of Quebec's place in Canada. That's a sea change and may inspire other politicians to think and speak likewise. I was born and raised in Montreal and still have family that I regularly visit. There hasn't been enough time yet for me to evaluate the full impact of the change but I already sense a "relief" that the petty anti-Ottawa battles seem to be fading.And the fact harper did not need QUE for his majority, that there woke up a lot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldo Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 And nobody knows where the money is coming from. As I posted in another thread previously, the accounting has been changed twice in as many years. It appears as though most of the balancing has come from one-time hocking of federal assets, which is not sustainable. yes, as I also emphasized. Harper Conservatives were sure hot off the mark to provide a number... but they continue in not releasing the details (the one-timers) that apparently brought the number forward. What's the delay... surely they could release a high-level line item assessment... and state the full details will come later. Nope... no can do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 It's pretty bad when the federal government misses a projection by billions of dollars. Even if it's good news, it suggests they have a roomful of monkeys wearing fezzes crunching their numbers. The total budget is around $300 billion per year. A couple billion either way is not material- except politically. I'll give you an example from corporate life. Our division target was an annual profit of $3.2 million. All year we were asked by the big boss:'how much are we going to make'? For about the first nine months our answer was "$3.2 million". At about nine months our answer changed to "how much would you like to make?" since we knew achieving the presumed target was certain. We could comfortably manipulate revenue and expenses to get to anywhere between $2 and $ 4 million. The boss might have other reasons to come up with something other than the exact target. And he did. The roomful of monkeys in Ottawa have a lot of tools at their disposal. They always have had that and you can always expect it to be taken for a walk when needed. Don't be surprised if there is a surprise coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 yes, as I also emphasized. Harper Conservatives were sure hot off the mark to provide a number... but they continue in not releasing the details (the one-timers) that apparently brought the number forward. What's the delay... surely they could release a high-level line item assessment... and state the full details will come later. Nope... no can do! Not one federal govt in the history of the country has ever done this or ever would. A 'high level line assessment' is an oxymoron too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldo Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 A 'high level line assessment' is an oxymoron too. yeesh! What would have been so difficult for Harper Conservatives to release a summation... an executive summary (if you like)... itemizing where those $14.4 billion changes were realized to bring about the adjustment. Instead, they drop a number and advise details will be forthcoming... and we're still waiting! . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldo Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 The total budget is around $300 billion per year. A couple billion either way is not material- except politically. your want to dispel this in the name of 'political expediency' is bogus man! Of course it's political... that's why, rightly or wrongly, there is so much emphasis on lowering or eliminating the deficit. In this case, $14.4 billion can't simply be wished away by you in the form of some triviality. The roomful of monkeys in Ottawa have a lot of tools at their disposal. They always have had that and you can always expect it to be taken for a walk when needed. Don't be surprised if there is a surprise coming. surprise? In the form of Harper Conservative pre-election promises? Nah, say it ain't so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercoma Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 The total budget is around $300 billion per year. A couple billion either way is not material- except politically. A couple....how about more than $10 billion off? That's what we're talking about, not a couple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIK Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Well when all the opponents can seem to find to focus on is the "hair" issue, I'd say you're in pretty good shape.Because that is all JT has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIK Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 It's pretty bad when the federal government misses a projection by billions of dollars. Even if it's good news, it suggests they have a roomful of monkeys wearing fezzes crunching their numbers.Stole that right out of the liberal playbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hardner Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 There is also a mantra in business that we live by: "Under promise, over deliver" It's much better than the alternative. But... yes $10B seems a lot to be off by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek 2.0 Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 It's pretty bad when the federal government misses a projection by billions of dollars. Even if it's good news, it suggests they have a roomful of monkeys wearing fezzes crunching their numbers. Or conservative accountants, making worse case predictions, coupled with a boost in the Canadian economy attributed to US gains..........And I dully hope they return most of said surplus to Canadians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercoma Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Stole that right out of the liberal playbook. So you like your party acting like the Liberals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercoma Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Or conservative accountants, making worse case predictions, coupled with a boost in the Canadian economy attributed to US gains..........And I dully hope they return most of said surplus to Canadians. Being off by 3x the amount? That should raise red flags regardless of which direction. Even worse-case scenario shouldn't be off by over $10 billion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek 2.0 Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Being off by 3x the amount? That should raise red flags regardless of which direction. Even worse-case scenario shouldn't be off by over $10 billion. Why not? A conservative forecast, that errors on the side of caution, seems only prudent........and I have no issue if they give most of it back to Canadian taxpayers......Far better then being 3x under I should think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercoma Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Why not? A conservative forecast, that errors on the side of caution, seems only prudent........and I have no issue if they give most of it back to Canadian taxpayers......Far better then being 3x under I should think. I wouldn't say it's better or worse. Remember when the Conservatives said that the Liberals were ripping off Canadians by turning so many surplus? They interpreted that as meaning they were collecting too much in taxes, right? The forecast should be relatively accurate. I don't expect it to be perfect, but the magnitude of the difference here tells me that their forecasting is not reliable at all. I would love to know why they were off by so much and I would also love to know what assets they sold off to get the deficit down. Where did they find those multiple billions in savings? They're not being very transparent about those things though. The government should be transparent about its finances, don't you think? They really shouldn't have a forecast then come in billions and billions of dollars away from that mark. That's not very open and transparent, regardless of the direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
On Guard for Thee Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 I wouldn't put it past them to fiddle the numbers in an attempt to make us believe they have done something good with the economy, even at the risk of it making them look incompetent. In any case they should hang onto some of that money for the inevitable court battles that will ensue with this tinkering with the Copyright laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek 2.0 Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 I wouldn't say it's better or worse. Remember when the Conservatives said that the Liberals were ripping off Canadians by turning so many surplus? They interpreted that as meaning they were collecting too much in taxes, right? The forecast should be relatively accurate. I don't expect it to be perfect, but the magnitude of the difference here tells me that their forecasting is not reliable at all. Sure, and they were playing politics........I see the difference between what each party will do with "too much tax dollars".... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 And nobody knows where the money is coming from. As I posted in another thread previously, the accounting has been changed twice in as many years. It appears as though most of the balancing has come from one-time hocking of federal assets, which is not sustainable. The banks disagree with you, as I've already shown. 'Hawking' assets rids you of future expenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIK Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 So you like your party acting like the Liberals? A little liberalism and a lot of conservatism, and a little dash socialism and we have a good thing going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 I wouldn't say it's better or worse. Then you'd be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercoma Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 The banks disagree with you, as I've already shown. 'Hawking' assets rids you of future expenses. It does not necessarily get rid of future expenses. It may also hurt future revenues depending on the assets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercoma Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Then you'd be wrong. Would I? You're ok with the government making projections that are over $10 Billion away from the actual numbers? Who gives a flying crap about their projections then, if they're going to be that far off. Why do they even give them? Maybe we should just let the executive branch do whatever the hell it wants with our money and just report afterwards what happened. How's that sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIK Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Things are working out well because the economy is improving, they're in surplus and they are able to offer Canadians tax relief and some other goodies in an election year. Conservatives are likely quite happy with polling that shows Canadians support fighting ISIS. Just because the MSM says harper has done nothing, does not mean he has done nothing. The media and the left are scared shitless of harper, they will say anything to help JT. They have to have defeated harper themselves before trudeau is forced to open his mouth and answer questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Would I? You're ok with the government making projections that are over $10 Billion away from the actual numbers? This isn't the first time. This is pretty common. The direction of it is more important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercoma Posted October 14, 2014 Report Share Posted October 14, 2014 Being off by over $10 Billion is common? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpg.9a49e1b2f22a6d34a345152c50044aa9.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.