View from the Cheap Seats is kind of an extension of the newsroom. Whenever our three regular reporters, Calvin Daniels, Thom Barker and Randy Brenzen are in the building together, it is frequently a site of heated debate. This week: What do you think of the federal budget released last week?
Pot, meet kettle
Is it just me, or has politics completely devolved into a constant game of the pot calling the kettle black?
The Canadian government (we really need to stop calling it the Liberal government, or Conservative or Harper or Trudeau government) issued its first budget last week. The Official Opposition, of course, immediately attacked it for no other reason than to be contrary.
Since Stephen Harper’s departure after his ignominious defeat in October, the Conservative Party is acting like a teenager who grew up with a drunk, abusive father and is now away from home for the first time.
In any event, our own MP came out with a press release almost before the ink was dry complaining that the Liberals were borrowing and spending and to pay the bill raising taxes on families, workers and job-creating businesses. That is just laughably wrong.
In fact, one of the legitimate complaints about the budget is the tax cuts (that’s right cuts) for families and workers is costing the government $100 million in revenue and the NDP is furious the ledger does not increase taxes on corporations.
The Opposition needs to grow up and learn that there is more to holding the government accountable than saying ‘black’ when the other guy says ‘white.’
Overall, I think the budget is a good first start to reversing a lot of the damage the previous government did in office.
What I did not see, which should have been there is legalization of marijuana. I suspect, the Liberals are playing politics with that, holding back so they can eventually ‘surprise’ us with a whole new stream of revenue.
In any event, the real story of the first budget of the new government is still the story of the incompetence of the old government. They absolutely can’t stand deficit spending except when they’re doing it. Lest we forget, the Conservatives ran seven straight (eight actually, now that we know the real numbers they left the Liberals with) and wracked up $150 Billion in new debt.
Considering she was not part of that government, Wagantall would do well to distance herself from the catastrophic Harper legacy rather than doubling down on it.
-Thom Barker
Short memories
Canada has a new federal budget and oh no! There seems to be a huge deficit on the horizon for Canada! Sound the alarm, ring the bells and off with Justin Trudeau’s head! (End sarcasm)
If you look at it just like that, then it seems like things are bad. However, if you dig deeper you’ll see that the budget forecasts deficits in order to eventually fund bigger and more important things.
Eventually this budget will lead to a new tax-free monthly child benefit for families and single parents. While I don’t have kids (and won’t for seven years), that is nothing but positive.
The budget will also help provide more money for First Nations people. While many people assume that First Nations people get ‘everything for free’, that is actually far from the truth. In fact, First Nations people are more often found (unfortunately) towards the bottom half of the bottom half of the money bracket (or in the bottom 25%) and are in dire need of more funds.
Now, I’m not one to fuss over the budget. While it may affect me in some little way, it really doesn’t change my day-to-day life. The only thing about the budget that actually annoys me actually has nothing to do with the billions of dollars being discussed.
It’s the way that many Conservative supporters are acting, saying they’ll fight the budget, calling Prime Minister Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau idiots and talking about how Stephen Harper did a wonderful job.
I’ll just end this by saying that in the time Harper was in charge Canada’s federal debt increased by over 150 billion dollars. Oops.
-Randy Brenzen
Big interest in big numbers
The recent federal budget was an interesting one to say the least.
The deficit is a big one, bigger than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had suggested it would be, which frankly is not a surprise.
There are three factors at play that had me expecting it would be a larger wash of red ink than the rhetoric had suggested.
The first is a pent up demand in terms of federal spending leftover from the days of PM Stephen Harper. Whether dealing with First Nations, rolling out infrastructure money to municipalities, or giving Canada an international presence the former government pinched the pennies.
Then there is an economy headed in the wrong direction.
The country’s economy is very much oil and gas based, and that sector is struggling as Saudi Arabia buys market share with lower-production cost oil, and the demand declines as China’s economy slows to a crawl.
This is not a Trudeau-caused problem, nor a Harper one, although we might pin Harper with some blame for making Canada so oil reliant of late. In general terms, the slow economy is based on world factors, and the impact on a budget is the result.
And, there is a tendency with politicians in general to soften things a bit when talking to voters. The thinking is twofold. On one hand a voter is less likely to panic if numbers are lowered a bit, and there is a belief when the real numbers do hit, things will be forgiven if the government plan works.
The latter is certainly the hope with the Liberals in this situation.
The new government is trying a different approach, with money to help soften unemployment in the oil patch, and more for infrastructure renewal to stimulate the economy.
Certainly Mayors, Yorkton’s Bob Maloney included, has been calling for more money to renew aging municipal infrastructure. Whether the new money trickles to a small city like Yorkton is unclear, but the Liberals are banking on financing to fix streets and sewers will help fix the economy.
That is a different approach from Harper’s Conservatives, although they governed through a general robust economy, not a stumbling one.
Opponents of all things Trudeau, those disgruntled rightwing still coming to terms with Harper being turfed, are naturally lamenting the approach as a disaster.
Liberals are cheering.
And the final answer will only be known a year, or three down the road, when one can gauge exactly what transpired out of this budget.
— Calvin Daniels
