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U.K. trade agreement exposes the PM for what he is


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Minnetonka said "Last I checked, the PM was generally doing his best to manage the country"

 

Perhaps you should check again.

 

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/trudeau-sets-another-record-and-not-in-a-good-way

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has set another record—increasing the federal debt (per person) more than any other prime minister (not facing a world war or recession) since 1870.

He earlier set a spending record, as the Trudeau government has spent more money (per person) than any other prime minister in Canadian history. Rapid debt accumulation, accompanied by unprecedented levels of spending is simply not sustainable—and Canadians will be left to deal with the consequences.

Let’s take a closer look at some of Justin Trudeau’s historic achievements.

As noted in a new Fraser Institute study, Justin Trudeau has overseen the largest increase in federal debt (per person) of any prime minister who did not face a world war or recession during his or her tenure. Federal government debt has grown 5.6 per cent ($1,723 per person) over the last four years under the Trudeau government. And Ottawa’s total debt (technically referred to as gross debt) is expected to reach $1.2 trillion in 2019.

For comparison, consider that since the 19th century, every former Liberal prime minister who, like Justin Trudeau, did not experience world war of recession, reduced the federal per-person debt. Indeed, Lester B. Pearson reduced per-person debt by 6.7 per cent. So did Paul Martin (by 7.6 per cent) and Jean Chrétien (by a striking 13.3 per cent).

Clearly, Justin Trudeau is an outlier by choosing to increase the debt during relatively good economic times. In fact, some prime ministers including Arthur Meighen and Mackenzie King even reduced per-person debt despite experiencing an economic downturn.

Back to the present, a significant reason for Ottawa’s growing debt burden is the proclivity for deficit-financed spending, also known as spending by borrowing. (Again, 2019 marks the highest level of federal inflation-adjusted per-person spending in Canadian history—Trudeau’s other recent historic achievement.)

By spending through borrowing, thus producing budget deficits, the federal government is sticking future generations with the bill for today’s spending. And just like households must pay interest on mortgages and credit cards, the federal government must pay interest on its debt. Higher debt means more tax dollars go to pay interest on the debt, which leaves less money for important programs such as health care, social services and tax relief.

So not only will Canadians bear the burden of higher debt accumulation and the associated debt-interest costs, they will eventually pay higher taxes to repay the debt—for the same or lower level of government services.

Clearly, the federal government’s current fiscal strategy is unsustainable.

With budget season fast-approaching, this government continues to set the wrong records. A growing debt burden, accompanied by historically-unprecedented levels of federal spending, is diverting tax dollars away from important programs and services, preventing the implementation of tax relief for hardworking Canadians, and will eventually increase the tax burden on Canadians. The sooner the Trudeau government recognizes this reality and charts a course for reform, the better.

 

Do I believe that he is a bad Prime Minister? Yes I do. Do I believe he is the worst Prime Minister in Canadian history? Yes I do.


 

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1 hour ago, Michael Hardner said:


Binary thinking is dumb.  eg. You are a conservative or a liberal and you either adore Trump or Trudeau.

 

Dumb.

And yet you congratulated the guy who showed the binary thinking. So is binary thinking dumb only when conservatives do it?

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4 hours ago, Argus said:

And yet you congratulated the guy who showed the binary thinking. So is binary thinking dumb only when conservatives do it?

I don't... think.. I did that.  Did I ? :huh:

 

If you're right I'm going to un-ignore you as you have been more tolerable lately.   Show me.  I enjoy being wrong more than I enjoy almost anything...

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21 hours ago, WestCanMan said:

It's inevitable that we 'gave up something' in a trade deal. There's always some give and take in a trade deal.

 

Question is, did the PM benefit personally from something in that deal. 

Yeah, we give they take. Someone needs to explain it's supposed to be beneficial for our side. 

Maybe a vote for a seat in the United Nations? Isn't that what he's pining for? 

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2 hours ago, Thinkinoutsidethebox said:

Yeah, we give they take. Someone needs to explain it's supposed to be beneficial for our side. 

Maybe a vote for a seat in the United Nations? Isn't that what he's pining for? 

I don't doubt that he sees himself becoming the Secretary General of the UN one day (which would basically be a one-world government at that point), by the nearly-unanimous consent of the entire fawning planet. His delusions are boundless.  

If he had to throw all of Canada under the bus to get there he'd do it in the blink of an eye, and he'd never spend a moment worrying his precious head about it. I wouldn't even be surprised if the CBC managed to convince half of this country that our own demise was the best thing that ever happened to us. 

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22 hours ago, Michael Hardner said:

I don't... think.. I did that.  Did I ? :huh:

 

If you're right I'm going to un-ignore you as you have been more tolerable lately.   Show me.  I enjoy being wrong more than I enjoy almost anything...

Gee, that's mighty white of you there, your lordship.

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2 hours ago, WestCanMan said:

I don't doubt that he sees himself becoming the Secretary General of the UN one day (which would basically be a one-world government at that point), by the nearly-unanimous consent of the entire fawning planet. His delusions are boundless.  

If he had to throw all of Canada under the bus to get there he'd do it in the blink of an eye, and he'd never spend a moment worrying his precious head about it. I wouldn't even be surprised if the CBC managed to convince half of this country that our own demise was the best thing that ever happened to us. 

I'd like to think he's trying to do what's best for Canada but each day it seems what your saying is closer to reality. 

There's definetly alot of lefties within the CBC all right, too bad. I think a public broadcaster is a good thing. 

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33 minutes ago, Michael Hardner said:

Good natured gibing... I unblocked replies... but what about your claim of assymetric treatment of liberals ?

If you care to read your enthusiastic response to the guy who started this thread by calling out and insulting conservatives on a subject none had even discussed I think you will understand where I would get that impression.

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51 minutes ago, Argus said:

If you care to read your enthusiastic response to the guy who started this thread by calling out and insulting conservatives on a subject none had even discussed I think you will understand where I would get that impression.

Ok - binary thinking doesn't mean you can't criticize one side or the other ... it means choosing one side all the time.  I sure didn't think Harper was the devil.  I thought the Europe trade deal was a good idea.  

I sure wouldn't get angry when I saw him on TV. 

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12 hours ago, Michael Hardner said:

Ok - binary thinking doesn't mean you can't criticize one side or the other ... it means choosing one side all the time.  I sure didn't think Harper was the devil.  I thought the Europe trade deal was a good idea.  

I sure wouldn't get angry when I saw him on TV. 

Right is right and wrong is wrong, too binary for you. The truth is the truth, also binary but still right. Following a compass is binary, wandering around hopelessly lost is nonbinary but not a better choice. Encouraging international trade is good it will always be good. This is also binary. Spending by borrowing is a bad idea, drowning our children in debt is also a bad idea. This is true 7 days a week, not just Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I will be non binary and say that Justin is only wrong 99% of the time. That still means that we have a bad Prime Minister. Being well balanced does not mean that you should believe in nothing. 

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51 minutes ago, oops said:

Right is right and wrong is wrong, too binary for you. The truth is the truth, also binary but still right. Following a compass is binary, wandering around hopelessly lost is nonbinary but not a better choice. Encouraging international trade is good it will always be good. This is also binary. Spending by borrowing is a bad idea, drowning our children in debt is also a bad idea. This is true 7 days a week, not just Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I will be non binary and say that Justin is only wrong 99% of the time. That still means that we have a bad Prime Minister. Being well balanced does not mean that you should believe in nothing. 

What brand are you smoking?

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1 hour ago, oops said:

1. Right is right and wrong is wrong, too binary for you.
2. The truth is the truth, also binary but still right. Following a compass is binary, wandering around hopelessly lost is nonbinary but not a better choice. Encouraging international trade is good it will always be good. This is also binary.

3. Spending by borrowing is a bad idea,
4. ...drowning our children in debt is also a bad idea.
5. I will be non binary ...
6. ..and say that Justin is only wrong 99% of the time. That still means that we have a bad Prime Minister.
7. Being well balanced does not mean that you should believe in nothing. 

1. Not at all - I'm right and you are wrong.  You ok with that ?
2. By binary politics, I mean the removal of actual politics, ie. compromise and understanding from the public dialogue, based on saying that the 'other side' is just unreasonable and not worth speaking to.  For the "left" this would mean "all Trump voters are racist" and therefore to be ignored.  
3. Bwahaha... Congrats to you for buying your house with cash, but most Canadians and pretty much every government has to borrow.
4. What is a good thing to drown children in ?  (Note to CAS, I am asking for a FRIEND)
5. Ok I will refer to you as 'they'
6. Very generous of you.
7. Yes I agree, but we also have to live in the world where if we are lucky we get our way 50% of the time. 

For people who use politics as a tool for their own identity or as entertainment ... maybe you should just step aside... you're not helping.  I'm not talking about oops.

But, since I *am* conservative I will give examples of binary thinking "I'm right you are wrong" from a certain viewpoint:

-Charity is an admirable quality, however charity isn't a role for government - general welfare is.  Therefore the goals of caring for those in need need to be implemented in a measured and systematic way.  You may use your voice to call for more care for those in need, but you are one voice in the public mass and that is all.  The level of public resources put towards social program will, at best, be determined by a citizenry where all have an equal say.
-Taxation funds programs, but there is no easy way to significantly extract resource from the wealthy without impacting other levels of the economy.  The French Revolution was a painful instance of chaos and our systems were built, in part, to replace such events with dialogue.  Maybe there's value in threatening a revolution but never bluff a dauphin.
-We have to live in a world where there is moral uncertainty to a point.  This means we have to live with each other, to a point.  It doesn't mean you have to befriend people whose values you abhor but it does mean that you have to tolerate those who don't share your values at all times

----------------

Now bringing it back to the UK Trade Deal.

Is the trade deal right or wrong ?  If you believe in binary then those are your only choices.

Is Trudeau an idiot for doing this deal ?  If so, is Harper an idiot for starting it ?  How about Chretien for laying the basis... based on Mulroney's FTA in the 80s ?   

Does our public mass have the attention span to even seriously explore this question ?  If not, then that's a sign that the questions are too complicated for the public... and maybe most should be quiet.  I suppose if you want to give a plaintiff "think of the dairy farmers" quote then ok...

The economic machine eats people, necessarily, so you can get more stuff cheaper and live.  It's dog vs. dog.  I find it hard to understand much of the criticism from conservatives and liberals who look at it as a zero sum game.



 

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Of course, Boris is a big picture guy too, leaving mere details to lesser folk. His embarrassing performances at Question Time against the new Labour leader Keir Starmer combined with poor management of Covid make it quite possible he will be replaced by his own party before the voters get a chance to do so. 

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1 hour ago, Michael Hardner said:

1. Not at all - I'm right and you are wrong.  You ok with that ?
2. By binary politics, I mean the removal of actual politics, ie. compromise and understanding from the public dialogue, based on saying that the 'other side' is just unreasonable and not worth speaking to.  For the "left" this would mean "all Trump voters are racist" and therefore to be ignored.  
3. Bwahaha... Congrats to you for buying your house with cash, but most Canadians and pretty much every government has to borrow.
4. What is a good thing to drown children in ?  (Note to CAS, I am asking for a FRIEND)
5. Ok I will refer to you as 'they'
6. Very generous of you.
7. Yes I agree, but we also have to live in the world where if we are lucky we get our way 50% of the time. 

For people who use politics as a tool for their own identity or as entertainment ... maybe you should just step aside... you're not helping.  I'm not talking about oops.

But, since I *am* conservative I will give examples of binary thinking "I'm right you are wrong" from a certain viewpoint:

-Charity is an admirable quality, however charity isn't a role for government - general welfare is.  Therefore the goals of caring for those in need need to be implemented in a measured and systematic way.  You may use your voice to call for more care for those in need, but you are one voice in the public mass and that is all.  The level of public resources put towards social program will, at best, be determined by a citizenry where all have an equal say.
-Taxation funds programs, but there is no easy way to significantly extract resource from the wealthy without impacting other levels of the economy.  The French Revolution was a painful instance of chaos and our systems were built, in part, to replace such events with dialogue.  Maybe there's value in threatening a revolution but never bluff a dauphin.
-We have to live in a world where there is moral uncertainty to a point.  This means we have to live with each other, to a point.  It doesn't mean you have to befriend people whose values you abhor but it does mean that you have to tolerate those who don't share your values at all times

----------------

Now bringing it back to the UK Trade Deal.

Is the trade deal right or wrong ?  If you believe in binary then those are your only choices.

Is Trudeau an idiot for doing this deal ?  If so, is Harper an idiot for starting it ?  How about Chretien for laying the basis... based on Mulroney's FTA in the 80s ?   

Does our public mass have the attention span to even seriously explore this question ?  If not, then that's a sign that the questions are too complicated for the public... and maybe most should be quiet.  I suppose if you want to give a plaintiff "think of the dairy farmers" quote then ok...

The economic machine eats people, necessarily, so you can get more stuff cheaper and live.  It's dog vs. dog.  I find it hard to understand much of the criticism from conservatives and liberals who look at it as a zero sum game.



 

1: If being right is important to you then you are right. Let that be my gift to you, hope it makes you all warm and fuzzy. It is a little binary for my liking though.

Getting back to the trade deal I do support it. I have other reasons for believing Justin is an idiot. I was addressing the exposing the PM for what he is part of the topic though. I have great respect for Chretien and even more for Martin. Justin not so much.

 

As for my children drowning, I am not for that at all. I am quite binary on that one.

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43 minutes ago, oops said:

1: If being right is important to you then you are right.  

2. Getting back to the trade deal I do support it. I have other reasons for believing Justin is an idiot.

3. I was addressing the exposing the PM for what he is part of the topic though. I have great respect for Chretien and even more for Martin. Justin not so much.

4. As for my children drowning, I am not for that at all. I am quite binary on that one.

1. It's not as important as correct myself when I'm wrong.
2. Lots of smart people have nice hair.  Me for instance.
3. I feel like he's closing a deal that he didn't care much about.
4. I guess I was brought up more old school.

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