tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149446.post8255917324132670454..comments2023-10-10T10:34:10.843-06:00Comments on The Nexus of Assholery: Hollow Triumphalism InterruptedPatrick Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04592482865332628189noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149446.post-38833070307004937852009-01-23T15:05:00.000-07:002009-01-23T15:05:00.000-07:00One might point, however, to the fact that Tom Fla...One might point, however, to the fact that Tom Flanagan had openly bragged about "tightening the screws" for any future Liberal or NDP governments through their GST cuts. It's comments like that that give the impression they were more interested in trying to screw over their opponents than establish sound fiscal policy. <BR/><BR/>Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page also pointed out that a large part of the deficit will be coming from previous Conservative tax cuts rather than global economic weakness: <BR/><BR/>http://www.financialpost.com/reports/oil-watch/story.html?id=976554<BR/><BR/>Ironic, isn't it? <BR/><BR/>And the thing is, here in Canada, we're really not that overtaxed compared to a lot of other places. Same thing with our social spending-compared to a lot of other OECD countries, we really lag behind. Taxes have been repeatedly cut for years by successive Liberal and Conservative regimes-funny how papers like the National Post rarely seem to mention that. If you want more info, I'll be happy to dig up the material. <BR/><BR/>That said, you're right about any planned tax cuts the Liberals might have had in place and their own spending hikes-but Flanagan was the one who openly advocated these reductions at a time when the U.S. financial markets were about to collapse. That extra tax revenue would have made it a lot easier for us to make it through the crisis and otherwise invest in infrastructure, retraining and stimulus. <BR/><BR/>Don't get me wrong, tax cuts have their place, and can certainly be a valuable tool, but it's a mistake to think that they're the only tool available. If all you do is cut taxes over and over...well, where are you going to find the money for the things people want the government to get involved in, whether it's a national daycare program or the war in Afghanistan? <BR/><BR/>The Conservatives are scarely alone in being to blame for the deficit and the current economic collapse-if anyone, the guy to blame is Milton Friedman. The current financial crisis shows that private enterprise and entrepreneurs can be just incompetent and irresponsible as any public sector bureaucrat.Jared Milnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07553795678274087372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149446.post-43461915734782244102009-01-23T14:54:00.000-07:002009-01-23T14:54:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jared Milnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07553795678274087372noreply@blogger.com