A Fine Liberal Budget
Money for Quebec…check
Refunding SOW…check
Green Social Engineering…check
Another couple of hundred for the kids…check
Bump the capital gains exemption (but only for small business, not investors)....check
Over at SDA the Conservative Street is seething.
Andrew has come to the horrible realization that:
Today’s budget (see: official site) is an embarrassment for those who consider themselves fiscal conservatives (especially those who poured countless hours into helping bring this government to power in order to change how business is done in Ottawa). Aside from a few small measures – including a continued commitment to pay down the national debt and some baby steps towards preventative health care, the budget is an undisciplined mish-mash of high-flying spending and ridiculous wealth redistribution. bound by gravity
The Tiger notes the Budget’s capacity to make virtually everyone look ridiculous:
On the other hand, we, the grassroots supporters of the CPC, look ridiculous for having supported the government with an idea that there would be any sort of fiscal restraint on their part. the tiger in exile
Greg Staples joins the chorus and points out that this Tory government is the highest spending in Canadian history.
And so on…
Harper has morphed into Mulroney; the question is where’s Preston so to have at least one voice in Parliament suggesting that the best thing to do with taxpayers’ money is pay down the debt and cut taxes. Such people may very well exist in the backbenches of the Tory Party but they have been firmly sat on in the run up to the election which, apparently, is not going to happen.
When the BQ is prepared to support you it is a fair bet that you have managed to make the Quebec bribe just big enough:
Within minutes of the release of the budget — which offers Quebec at least $2.3-billion more a year — the separatist Bloc Québécois announced it will back the fiscal plan, giving the Tories enough votes to pass it in the House of Commons. globe and mail
With Dion sinking steadily in the polls there is no particular reason for Harper to pull the trigger quite yet. Assuming that Charest wins in Quebec Harper will be free to concentrate his cynicism on the “much sought after Ontario voter”. For all I know Flaherty will hand deliver a crisp $100.00 to every voter in every marginal riding in the province.
CPC true believers are a tad disappointed by the unbridled pandering of this budget. What of fiscal rectitude, tax reduction, spending cuts? What they are missing is that Harper was elected to get elected with a majority next time out. He is on track. They should hold their real disappointment for when Harper wins his majority and absolutely nothing changes.
The spending growth and some of the pandering is really, really disappointing, but such is the nature of the beast.
But it is not really fair to call this a Liberal budget. A tax credit in the hands of parents is qualitatively different from Ken Dryden’s national day care program that we narrowly escaped.
Doling out cash to the provinces is also a disappointment – I’d have preferred to see tax cuts and let the provinces levy taxes if they think they need the money. But once again, this is qualitatively different than the Liberal “New Deal for Cities” that would have ensnarled the federal government into every town and city in the land.
It’s a big spending budget, but it’s not a Liberal budget.
Just wait for a majority, hopefully that’s when things will get interesting. I think they still feel vulnerable to the whole right-wing radical paintbrush, and trust me, that kind of stuff scares the shit out of Central Canadian voters.
Kevin, we can logic chop all we like but I think you have to agree that whatever else this was it was not a Conservative budget. My point is that its pandering, bribery, capitiulation to assorted special interests and general lack of spending restrain is more characteristic of the Liberals than what many of us thought would be the Conservative Party.
true liberal, I hope you are right; but I fear you are not. A good deal of what was in yesterday’s budget was both contrary to the most basic tenents of conservatism and unnecessary. Why should we think that the Tories with a majority would be any truer to the basics of fiscal conservatism?
I suspect, however, that the easily frightened Central Canadian voters are liking this just fine. Harper knows that the easiest way to create a majority and a potential of a series of majorites, is to let those twitchy CCVs get used to the idea of a relatively benign, even cuddly, Conservative government. Which means every sharp edge, every point of principle, gets thrown under the bus. It is a shrewd, cynical and likely successful strategy.
Unfortunately, if it works, there is going to be a huge temptation to avoid doing anything which might frighten the CCVs. And as they have what amounts to a genetic propensity towards a Liberal agenda, such things as fiscal conservatism, a serious examination of our immigration policy, anything but Gorian orthodoxy on global warming, a more decentralized Confederation will be beyond discussion. This is, frankly, depressing.
Gawd, I bet a lot of folks are wondering why Paul Martin was voted out, if they get this kind of performance.
And a lot of folks on all sides of the fence are making the same Mulroney comparison.
Kid of funny actually.