Economist says Tories gave him incomplete platform

[hiti]

From today's media:

Estimates of the cost of a fiscal rebalancing go as high as $40 billion over five years, a figure that pushes the incomplete, $75 billion Conservative platform — already the most expensive — to a massive $115 billion over five years.

But when asked this week how that promise would affect the likelihood of the Tories actually balancing the budget, Darby told reporters: "Talk to Harper. It is not in the platform I received from them." To add to the confusion, Darby said he feels the health-care guarantees and the fiscal rebalancing promises "are just under discussion," not something the party is committed to implementing. Harper says both are serious commitments.

Voters certainly cannot take any comfort in Darby's assessment of an incomplete Conservative platform, especially when private sector forecasters, on average, estimate that the amount of available money that the parties have to dispose of over the five-year planning period is $54.5 billion.

That figure is $20 billion less than the estimated cost of the promises to which the Tories have already attached a price tag. Worrisome, the figure could be up to $60 billion short of the cost of their complete platform.

In turn, that means a Conservative government under Harper would either have to cut between $20 billion and $60 billion from existing programs, or run a budget that carries a deficit. Another option would be for Harper to break some of his promises in order to table a balanced budget.

[scribblet]

All of its spin. The Harper haters, liberals and supporters have lost all credibility, kinda like trying to get into the lifeboats on the Titanic. The wheels will be spinning big time this week; the question is how many of the undecideds will fall for it.

[CoachCartman]

Over the din of partisan fear-mongering being hashed out by both Conservatives and Liberals over the other party's fiscal plan, an economist is reassuring Canadians that neither of the parties' strategies are so bad.

". . . I don't think either of the Liberals or the Conservatives are going to plunge us into deficit," said Dale Orr, managing director of the economic consulting firm Global Insight.

and more

But Orr, who said his firm is non-partisan, gave a more sober review of Harper's promises. He told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday that Harper's plan will not lead to a deficit, and that the main questions are: What exactly is he going to cut, and "what exactly is he going to do on the tax side?"

"But he will make it fit," predicted Orr. "There won't be a deficit. And I would say the same thing for the Liberal side."

and Darby, from the Conference Board of Canada.....

Darby said in December that the Conservative platform "is affordable in each fiscal year from 2005-2006 through 2010-2011." Despite his comment over the weekend that the platform left out significant pledges to fix the so-called fiscal imbalance and to guarantee patient wait times, Darby later reaffirmed his December evaluation, calling the Tory platform fiscally sound.

CTV

no deficit

[Guest eureka]

Exactly! They will have to make it fit. Thus, the Conservative platform is a line of dominoes waiting to fall.

[shoop]

Were you a debater in university? Seriously. You remind me of those pathetic debate kids who made prouncements without support or fully explaining their argument. For those of us less enlightened than you do explain your *dominoes waiting to fall* line...

Exactly! They will have to make it fit. Thus, the Conservative platform is a line of dominoes waiting to fall.

[Guest eureka]

The Conservatives have made promises that cannot be kept as others have noted. Therefore, they will have to break the promises or cut programmes that they have not identified and have not told you about.

Their promises thus must fall. Or, in the alternative, they must strip Canada of its social safety net.

Their promises also do not align themselves to the "promise" to turn it all over to the provinces.

Is that clearer?

And, no, I was not a debater at University. I was long before that, though, and long after in real politics.

[Hicksey]

Regarding the debt, I agree with you, though Mulrooney's Conservative govt. didn't help much knock down the debt either.

He only handed Chretien the GST and NAFTA. Between those two and their defunding of the provinces they had better be running surpluses.

[shoop]

A little clearer. Still not all that clear.

At least we agree on one thing. i.e. student government isn't *real politics*.

What is your real political experience?

The Conservatives have made promises that cannot be kept as others have noted. Therefore, they will have to break the promises or cut programmes that they have not identified and have not told you about.

Is that clearer?

And, no, I was not a debater at University. I was long before that, though, and long after in real politics.