Back to the business of politics for tax payers
“If I was 25 right now, I'd be pissed.”
Ex-Conservative Party MP Garth Turner, referencing the legacy that a big spending budget will leave the taxpayers of the future.
Garth Turner is a former politician and financial commentator. He thinks the Harper Conservatives have fooled us all. First they cut taxes, and then they spend more money to win support for a future majority that has yet to materialize. Then, the PM calls an election for no good reason last fall, right when a financial meltdown was just starting. And when it appeared that a majority of our elected representatives were going to take over the government, he put parliament on vacation (aka prorogue) with help from the Governor General, who never bothered to explain to Canadians why she allowed our elected reps to take an extended Christmas break when the rest of the world's governments were attempting to deal with an almost endless stream of bad news.
So, by this time next week we'll know within $10 or $20 billion just how much taxpayer money the federal government will be shoveling around the country. And we might have a better idea if the Liberal-NDP coalition will be taking over the government... or just sitting on its hands.
It'll be a strange position for the Harper government. They either have to put together a really enormous budget, or they have to put together an absurdly big budget. Either way, I suspect they'll get wacked from all sides. And rightfully so, considering they appear to be more concerned with saving their own skin than keeping the country functioning.
I don't envy Harper and his Conservatives. They've made such a mess of the federal coffers that I'm starting to think they're going to hand over the reigns of government to the Liberals and NDP. Because who wants to run this country now?
The Conservative plan of reducing taxes, like the GST cut, and increasing spending to win elections isn't looking real bright right now when they're about to roll out one of the biggest budgets in the history of Canada... Even bigger than the big budgets the party has put forward in the last two years.
But for the average Joe's out there... I wouldn't be buying a wheelbarrow just yet. All that money will likely be filtered through so many levels of governmental bureaucracy that I'm not sure much will be left for the people who are footing the bill in the first place.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Ex-Conservative Party MP Garth Turner, referencing the legacy that a big spending budget will leave the taxpayers of the future.
Garth Turner is a former politician and financial commentator. He thinks the Harper Conservatives have fooled us all. First they cut taxes, and then they spend more money to win support for a future majority that has yet to materialize. Then, the PM calls an election for no good reason last fall, right when a financial meltdown was just starting. And when it appeared that a majority of our elected representatives were going to take over the government, he put parliament on vacation (aka prorogue) with help from the Governor General, who never bothered to explain to Canadians why she allowed our elected reps to take an extended Christmas break when the rest of the world's governments were attempting to deal with an almost endless stream of bad news.
So, by this time next week we'll know within $10 or $20 billion just how much taxpayer money the federal government will be shoveling around the country. And we might have a better idea if the Liberal-NDP coalition will be taking over the government... or just sitting on its hands.
It'll be a strange position for the Harper government. They either have to put together a really enormous budget, or they have to put together an absurdly big budget. Either way, I suspect they'll get wacked from all sides. And rightfully so, considering they appear to be more concerned with saving their own skin than keeping the country functioning.
I don't envy Harper and his Conservatives. They've made such a mess of the federal coffers that I'm starting to think they're going to hand over the reigns of government to the Liberals and NDP. Because who wants to run this country now?
The Conservative plan of reducing taxes, like the GST cut, and increasing spending to win elections isn't looking real bright right now when they're about to roll out one of the biggest budgets in the history of Canada... Even bigger than the big budgets the party has put forward in the last two years.
But for the average Joe's out there... I wouldn't be buying a wheelbarrow just yet. All that money will likely be filtered through so many levels of governmental bureaucracy that I'm not sure much will be left for the people who are footing the bill in the first place.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
