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Forums :: Misc. Lounge :: Things You Don't Understand
Author Message
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005

Mar 20 @ 9:24 AM ET
[quote=Feeling Glucky?]
wow
Feeling Glucky?
Toronto Maple Leafs
Location: Tanktown, ON
Joined: 10.08.2008

Mar 20 @ 9:35 AM ET
wow
- kicksave856

it's embarrassing
Lahey
Edmonton Oilers
Location: del's basement chilling with S, AB
Joined: 03.07.2011

Mar 20 @ 9:36 AM ET
Grown men who regularly drive with both hands on their steering wheel.
- Nucker101

Flip side, women who think they can drive with one hand only
watsonnostaw
Atlanta Thrashers
Location: Dude has all the personality of a lump of concrete. Just a complete lizard.
Joined: 06.26.2006

Mar 20 @ 11:40 AM ET
dopps racism
Doppleganger
Ottawa Senators
Location: Reality
Joined: 08.25.2006

Mar 20 @ 11:52 AM ET


Liberals Could Ruin Canada

The policy direction of the Liberal Party of Canada and its leader Justin Trudeau, as evidenced by the speeches, motions, and debate at the recent national party convention seem to indicate that the party is rejecting the successful pragmatism of the 1990s. Instead, the federal Liberals favour a more interventionist and activist government, much like that of the current Ontario Liberal government. If such policies are enacted, the results would be ruinous for Canada.

One of the central themes repeated consistently at the convention was the need for the federal government to incur more debt in order to finance infrastructure and other long-term spending. Mr. Trudeau and his policy advisers seem to have been influenced greatly by U.S. economist Larry Summers. Mr. Summers, who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, is a vocal advocate for more expansive government spending using debt as a method by which to stimulate the economy.

One problem of many for this approach is that it belies history, both in the U.S. and Canada. Bill Clinton and Jean Chretien enjoyed enormous economic and political success by doing the opposite. U.S. President Obama and the Ontario Liberals have struggled with a weak economy by doing exactly what Mr. Trudeau now proposes for the entire country.

Beginning in 1995, the Chretien Liberals cut program spending by almost eight per cent in just two years and continued to constrain spending even after balanced budgets were achieved for the following three years. Federal program spending as a share of the economy declined from over 17.1 per cent in 1992-93 to just under 12 per cent by the end of the decade. Federal debt was reduced from 67.1 per cent in 1995-96 to roughly 30 per cent by the time the Tories took over. And critically, the Liberals enacted a series of tax cuts and reforms aimed at making our economy more efficient and competitive.

The results, contrary to the rhetoric of Mr. Summers, were stunningly positive. Over the decade spanning 1997 when the federal budget was first balanced to roughly 2007, Canada led the G7 in both economic growth and business investment. Our record on job creation was unparalleled, more than doubling the U.S. rate and higher than any G7 country. And poverty rates fell by more than 40 per cent.

These actual results stand in stark contrast to the predictions of Mr. Summer: "To start, this means ending the disastrous trend towards less and less government spending and employment each year and taking advantage of the current period of slack to renew and build out our infrastructure."

Of additional concern is the naiveté that Mr. Summers continues to display and has apparently now infected Mr. Trudeau with in terms of the actual ability of governments to do the things he advocates. Mr. Summers was front and centre in advocating for and shepherding through the Obama stimulus, which contained hundreds of billions of dollars for "shovel-ready" projects. Mr. Summers insisted that the mark of success of such policies were that they were timely, temporary, and targeted. The reality of what happened is that, not surprising, politics affected the program. High priority projects were shelved for more politically expedite ones. Projects were delayed and hung up in red tape and bureaucrat infighting. The assumption that government can simply flick a switch and spend efficiently is both conceptually and historically false.

Mr. Summers can be forgiven for not being aware of the actual experience in Ontario. The same cannot be said of Mr. Trudeau. The large and continuing deficits in Ontario, despite economic growth, coupled with heavy-handed interventionism in a host of sectors has placed Ontario on a path of decay, not prosperity. Economic growth in the province has remained sluggish despite large-scale deficits and debt accumulation. (As a measure of the province's problems -- Ontario is markedly worse on every measure of indebtedness compared to California.)

It's not at all clear how the country will benefit from Ontario-style policy when such policies have been an abject failure. The country would benefit from a return to the sound policies of the Chretien era in the 1990s -- balanced budgets, reducing debt, decentralization of responsibility and authority for services to the provinces, better value-for-money focused spending by the federal government, and incentive-based tax relief and reform. That's a recipe for success for any government, or government in waiting. The Trudeau Liberals should look back to this period rather than down south for their policy ideas
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005

Mar 20 @ 11:55 AM ET
dopps racism
- watsonnostaw

i heard he has swastikas tattooed on the inside of his eyelids so even when he's sleeping he never forgets.
Feeling Glucky?
Toronto Maple Leafs
Location: Tanktown, ON
Joined: 10.08.2008

Mar 20 @ 12:08 PM ET
i heard he has swastikas tattooed on the inside of his eyelids so even when he's sleeping he never forgets.
- kicksave856

they're carved into his corneas, he never goes a second without seeing them.
watsonnostaw
Atlanta Thrashers
Location: Dude has all the personality of a lump of concrete. Just a complete lizard.
Joined: 06.26.2006

Mar 20 @ 12:12 PM ET
they're carved into his corneas, he never goes a second without seeing them.
- Feeling Glucky?

Feeling Glucky?
Toronto Maple Leafs
Location: Tanktown, ON
Joined: 10.08.2008

Mar 20 @ 12:18 PM ET

- watsonnostaw

If Dopps wasn't so afraid of a one-world government, this would be his nomination for president of the world
watsonnostaw
Atlanta Thrashers
Location: Dude has all the personality of a lump of concrete. Just a complete lizard.
Joined: 06.26.2006

Mar 20 @ 12:21 PM ET
If Dopps wasn't so afraid of a one-world government, this would be his nomination for president of the world
- Feeling Glucky?

watsonnostaw
Atlanta Thrashers
Location: Dude has all the personality of a lump of concrete. Just a complete lizard.
Joined: 06.26.2006

Mar 20 @ 11:46 PM ET
Lindsay Lohan sex list includes ex-Ranger Aaron Voros, who apparently still exists
Doppleganger
Ottawa Senators
Location: Reality
Joined: 08.25.2006

Mar 21 @ 11:11 AM ET





The Most Trusted Name in News
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005

Mar 21 @ 11:24 AM ET
fair and balanced

(no vid or too many emoticons even needed)
Feeling Glucky?
Toronto Maple Leafs
Location: Tanktown, ON
Joined: 10.08.2008

Mar 21 @ 11:54 AM ET





The Most Trusted Name in News

- Doppleganger

wait...

are you upset because they immediately dismiss the stupid conspiracy theories?
kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005

Mar 21 @ 12:09 PM ET
wait...

are you upset because they immediately dismiss the stupid conspiracy theories?

- Feeling Glucky?

wait, you watched his video?
A_Tree
Toronto Maple Leafs
Location: I'm r00ting for you™ - KS, ON
Joined: 05.06.2011

Mar 21 @ 12:42 PM ET
wait, you watched his video?
- kicksave856


Stay informed.
Feeling Glucky?
Toronto Maple Leafs
Location: Tanktown, ON
Joined: 10.08.2008

Mar 21 @ 1:24 PM ET
wait, you watched his video?
- kicksave856

saw something about black holes.

kicksave856
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: i love how not saying dumb things on the internet was never an option.
Joined: 09.29.2005

Mar 21 @ 1:25 PM ET
saw something about black holes.
- Feeling Glucky?

i saw something about bumholes
-davies-
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: A medical emergency involving you.
Joined: 08.05.2013

Mar 21 @ 2:01 PM ET
i saw something about bumholes
- kicksave856



he already said black holes
Feeling Glucky?
Toronto Maple Leafs
Location: Tanktown, ON
Joined: 10.08.2008

Mar 21 @ 2:26 PM ET
he already said black holes
- -davies-

it's like he wasn't paying attention at all.
-davies-
Philadelphia Flyers
Location: A medical emergency involving you.
Joined: 08.05.2013

Mar 21 @ 2:52 PM ET
it's like he wasn't paying attention at all.
- Feeling Glucky?



dopps has him rattled
dt99999
Montreal Canadiens
Location: wow, hope that's sarcasim
Joined: 11.18.2008

Mar 21 @ 2:55 PM ET
dopps has him rattled
- -davies-

Feeling Glucky?
Toronto Maple Leafs
Location: Tanktown, ON
Joined: 10.08.2008

Mar 21 @ 3:43 PM ET

- dt99999

completely uncalled for.


but thank you for the personalized figure- in the future please note that I also have a beard, and my hair colour is black, except for the red portion of my beard around my mouth.
Doppleganger
Ottawa Senators
Location: Reality
Joined: 08.25.2006

Mar 21 @ 3:48 PM ET
completely uncalled for.


but thank you for the personalized figure- in the future please note that I also have a beard, and my hair colour is black, except for the red portion of my beard around my mouth.

- Feeling Glucky?



Feeling Glucky?
Toronto Maple Leafs
Location: Tanktown, ON
Joined: 10.08.2008

Mar 21 @ 3:53 PM ET

- Doppleganger

Just around the edges of the stache and chin- not the whole beard.

Also a few dozen pounds less.
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