Hey all you Federal Reformer/Alliance/Con Fraser Inst reports

[mbdog]

The meltdown and its consequences/ripple effects...I viewed as inevitable....still do... and certainly accelerated on by the internet age. What happened would have happened regardless of who was in charge. Regardless of who initiated it, our country was not immune, and had/has its own real questions regarding sustainability, competitiveness in the new transparent market driven world we were heading into. People look to leadership during crisis, and I think Harper did a fine job, not because he's conservative, or maybe me, but because he appeared strong during a turbulent time. IMO, In times like these, being fiscally conservative was a good thing for everyone.
As far as the thesis, I would suggest "the meltdown" he led through has never happened before in this way. So at the time of Harper's thesis, the world was a much different place.
Rock...No I'm not a plant...but is your real name Walter? I knew a tax and spend Walter once and he called me a plant after I accused him of being one.

[ado089]

The conservatives implemented some great changes but I also feel the harper regime has outlived its usefulness. What's even scarier though is the thought of someone getting power. Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.

[foragefarmer]

Rockpile

Well said and you hit the nail on the head. What you forgot to mention was his big push on accountability, senate reform, transparency, patronage appointments etc etc. When in opposition all these issues were to be eliminated,when Harper came to power. In the last seven years Harper has failed miserably in all these aspects, and it will be part of his legacy.

He cut he GST by 2% just to get votes. Everybody knows if Harper really wanted to reduce the tax burden on Canadians he would have cut personal income tax rather than GST which is a consumption tax.


He also inherited a 13 billion surplus from Paul Martin which he blew the first year in power.

But what could we expect from a Harper who's only private sector job was a mail room clerk in an oil company. He has lived entirely from the public trough. I can not understand how anyone can defend his record no matter what political stripe you belong to. Especially after reading the Fraser report which is a right leaning organization.

[nicolaas]

The only reason he got my vote was his promise to rid us of the gun registry (sort of). I do not know who I will vote for next election. What I DO know that the provincial Conservatives lost my vote about 6 years ago.

[sumdumguy]

CPC, what planet are you from? Give me a break!

[cottonpicken]

Mb your view of what happened in 08 is extremly flawed. Economies are suppose to flush once in a while avoiding it and suppressing the volatility leads to an event greater than the suppression. We are no where near through this. And what percent of the debt is interest payments over time 70 percent?anybody ever consider the possibility that someone or something wants to own canadian soverigns?which means your tax dollars hard at work paying interest on an appreciating currency

[fjlip]

Happens to all good intentioned politicians, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The system is such, big bucks call the tune.

[blackpowder]

Well, I just feel privileged to be named fourth on your list!
The duck analogy certainly applies as I don't think any body could "win" at the politics game without fitting in.
We're all certainly free to apply for the job. Hell he's just a man like the rest of us.
Generations of entitlement thinking by the masses have created a monster that needs to be fed no matter the color of the top dogs coat.
Would I vote for Prince Justin if he came from Balzac? or Mulcair if he came from Slave Lake? Not even maybe. But you see, those jackasses are a product of their environment and not from my world.
No great leader from history that I can think of would get elected today anyway.
So, wise guy, do you want to be represented by "the big T O"? Or the unions? Maybe let's have the Quebec sentiment leading the way.
Your debt comments might be correct but your head is still in a dark and funky smelling place!

[HFL]

Lets talk about Canada's debt. When Pierre Trudeau was elected Prime Minister in 1968 Canada had very little debt. The Liberal's led by Trudeau went on a 15 year spending spree, with lots of money wasted. By the time we got rid of Trudeau he was running deficits of 32 billion annually. Every Government since that time has had to pay billions in interest each year. According to Google the interest is over 61 billion this year alone. Makes it hard to balance a budget don't you think? You want to know where Canada's debt came from? Thank Pierre Trudeau. Eventually Mulroney brought in the GST witch he and the Conservatives paid the ultimate political price for. Chretien and the libs fought the 1993 election campaign on the promise to get rig of the GST. Sheila Copps was forced to resign her seat after the election cause they didn't get rid of the GST as they promised they would. Paul Martin used revenue from the GST and cut transfer payments to the provinces and did eliminate the deficit. He could have never done it without the measures put in place by the previous Government, and as was mentioned earlier he did so on the backs of the taxpayers. The Conservatives under Harper brought in a balanced budget in 2009 and the Libs, ND's and the Bloc tried a hostile take over of the Canadian Government. As a result the Government returned to deficit spending. Sure the Conservative's spend lots of money, I wish they would spend so much. If anyone wants to paint the liberals as fiscally responsible, I don't buy it. I might have a bit of time for the Liberals when they pay back the one hundred million they wasted and stole in their adscam scandal. Till they pay it back I have no time for them. The first Trudeau destroyed Canada's finances in his time as Prime Minister. We can't afford a second Trudeau.

[TOM4CWB]

Blackpowder

Right ON

Mb

Very well written... Even if forage calls us trolls... We know exactly he gets his ideas from... Looking in the mirror at wht he is himself.

Name calling is the sign of an insecure broke person.

Good job of outing yourself forage!