Happy Days for Stephen Harper

[AxlsMainMan]

Happy days for PM
Harper might deliver biggest tax cut Canada has ever seen

By GREG WESTON

If Stephen Harper's minority government lasts long enough to pass its next federal budget sometime early next year, Canadian taxpayers could be in for what one Conservative insider predicts will be "the biggest single tax cut in the country's history."

That's a big "if."

Stephane Dion and his Liberal party may have an election machine with no money to run on, no policy map to follow, and no leadership strong enough to haul the wreckage out of the ditch anytime soon.

But the Liberal leader and his rapidly changing crew of advisers are at least smart enough to avoid getting into an election race against a Conservative gravy train loaded with loot.

Loaded is an understatement.

Barring a major economic downturn over the next six months, there is every reason to believe last year's whopping $14-billion surplus (read: overtaxation) will be repeated, and maybe even exceeded.

By rough calculation, that would leave enough leftover cash in the till to cut the personal income taxes of every Canadian by more than 10%, or an average of something like $700 a year.

Alternatively, the same amount would buy a 50% increase in old age pensions; a 75% hike in federal health spending; cutting the GST in half to 3%; or a hefty combination of all of the above.

Well, you get the point. By federal budget time, roughly six months from now, the Harper government will have enough money in its spare-change drawer to buy every swing voter in the country several times over.

Conservative insiders say the decision to blow a wad of the surplus on tax cuts is as much about retail politics as it is good economics.

"There may be a negative perception out there that the Conservatives are just another tax-and-spend government like the Liberals," one well-informed Tory told me recently.

"The last budget was heavy on the spending side ... and there is a sense that we need to fix that with some serious tax breaks."

The fact that Conservatives are telegraphing their tax-cutting intentions now suggests that Harper's strategists are doubtful the current Parliament will last long enough for the finance minister to table the next budget sometime in late winter 2008.

If you can't deliver tax breaks, might as well at least promise them.

For instance, expect plenty of strong rhetoric about tax relief in the government's throne speech a week from today as the Conservatives set out their agenda priorities for the coming months.

If Harper's government survives various votes on the throne speech, the next stop en route to lower taxes will likely be the routine fall economic update.

In past, governments teetering on the brink of a federal election have often turned the fall report card on the country's finances into an early mini-budget.

Conservative insiders tell us with some authority that's exactly what Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is considering, using his update in late October or early November to announce at least some tax goodies.

The move would be aimed both at appeasing those hard-core Tories disgruntled with the Harper government's big-spending habits, and at beleaguered taxpayers everywhere who are just looking for a break.

BONUS FEATURE

As an added bonus for the Conservatives, including tax measures in the fiscal update would once again leave Dion sporting a gun at his head.

If the Grits vote against a money bill, the Harper government would fall, and the Liberals would enter an election campaign as the intrepid killers of tax cuts.

Alternatively, the Liberals could support the Conservatives' fiscal plan, avoid an immediate trip to the polls, and provide the Tories with perfect attack-ad material when an election is finally called.

The good news is no matter what happens, it seems a safe bet Canadian taxpayers will emerge from all these political machinations with more money in their pockets.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/2007/10/09/4561258-sun.html


Sensational news!

In my opinion, Harper could potentially surpass Mulroney as the greatest Canadian Prime Minister in history

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Let's not all get stir-crazy here.  While I must say, Harper is doing a good job, he has a long way to go to even be mentioned in the same breath as Mulroney.

[AxlsMainMan]

Let's not all get stir-crazy here.? While I must say, Harper is doing a good job, he has a long way to go to even be mentioned in the same breath as Mulroney.

Maybe I was getting a bit ahead of myself there dude

I'm just extremely happy with the state of governance in Canada right now after having to endure 13 years of Liberal tyranny

[Prometheus]

yuppers good times

i read yesterday that Steve signed a deal with NS that guarentees that OIL revenue will not effect transfer payments..... now to wait and see if a similar agreement can be made with NL and stop this anti fed motion that danny got rolling.... cause i fear that if an election is called with out this resolved the prov will vote red and leave us looking bloody with a slim majority to large majority in Ottawa.

Other ways to get swing voters and liberals alike appeal to the humanity of the actions in the 'ghan' push it like a used car salesmen, sell it to every household that this is what is great about canada its about helping others stand on their own feet and have the opp to do so like we as Canadians take for granted, something which they do want.

Id like to see a 6% cut in personal IT, and drop the gst to 5% increase Health spending by 20% and increase military spending by 10% year over year beyond current budget, and you still should have some extra cash floating around to throw at low income housing, and at daycare crap.

then next year after another big surplus comes in keep on lowering IT and increase money flow to post secondary edu, and assist Prov goverments in green iniatives

[AxlsMainMan]

i read yesterday that Steve signed a deal with NS that guarentees that OIL revenue will not effect transfer payments..... now to wait and see if a similar agreement can be made with NL and stop this anti fed motion that danny got rolling.... cause i fear that if an election is called with out this resolved the prov will vote red and leave us looking bloody with a slim majority to large majority in Ottawa.

I really hope Steve will be able to reach an agreement with Danny.

That dispute is going back a good 25 years, and all Danny is really trying to do is insure the best possible terms for his province, and his people.

I can't see Quebec voting Liberal in the next election, although no one can really predict Quebec politics beyond a shadow of a doubt

However, the sponsorship scandal arguably disgusted them the most, and I think they will probably continue to punish the Liberals for it, just as they did in Outremont a few weeks ago.

If Harper can sway Newfoundland to become a part of the family just as he has done with Nova Scotia, and arguably Quebec, he could still pick up a majority without the immigration vote of Toronto

Other ways to get swing voters and liberals alike appeal to the humanity of the actions in the 'ghan' push it like a used car salesmen, sell it to every household that this is what is great about canada its about helping others stand on their own feet and have the opp to do so like we as Canadians take for granted, something which they do want.

I think Steve is playing his cards as right as he can as far as Afghanistan goes.

Our contract is up in less than a year and a half, which is also when a madatory election must be held.

Politically, he's playing it safe, and retains more votes by staying on our present course in Afghanistan, at least until the contract expires in 2009.

Most voters remember that it was the Liberals and not the Conservatives which put our troops in Afghanistan. That's why I don't think the public has been very hostile towards Harper as far as the war is concerned.

[chineseblues]

i read yesterday that Steve signed a deal with NS that guarentees that OIL revenue will not effect transfer payments..... now to wait and see if a similar agreement can be made with NL and stop this anti fed motion that danny got rolling.... cause i fear that if an election is called with out this resolved the prov will vote red and leave us looking bloody with a slim majority to large majority in Ottawa.

I really hope Steve will be able to reach an agreement with Danny.

That dispute is going back a good 25 years, and all Danny is really trying to do is insure the best possible terms for his province, and his people.

I can't see Quebec voting Liberal in the next election, although no one can really predict Quebec politics beyond a shadow of a doubt

However, the sponsorship scandal arguably disgusted them the most, and I think they will probably continue to punish the Liberals for it, just as they did in Outremont a few weeks ago.

If Harper can sway Newfoundland to become a part of the family just as he has done with Nova Scotia, and arguably Quebec, he could still pick up a majority without the immigration vote of Toronto

He hasn't really swayed anyone besides the premier of Nova Scotia. And then it's still a pretty shitty deal no matter what Steve says. Basically all he has done is trick people into thinking it's a good deal. Nova Scotia isn't going to be getting very much money from it until around 2019, which quite honestly is a load of shit. I can only hope a pray that Danny does not go for that kind of deal (and I'm pretty sure he won't to be honest), and thank god for that.

And for anyone to say that Steve is one of the greatest Prime Ministers that Canada has ever seen is a huge joke. You must not be from any province that he has broken a promise to. Let's all hope a miracle happens and the guy doesn't win another term as PM, if he does then god help us all.

[AxlsMainMan]

And for anyone to say that Steve is one of the greatest Prime Ministers that Canada has ever seen is a huge joke.

Really?

Which Prime Ministers do you feel have been the greatest?

I'm going to guess Trudeau or Chretien.

According to Canadians, Sir John A. Macdonald is the greatest Canadian Prime Minister in history.

He was no Liberal

Let's all hope a miracle happens and the guy doesn't win another term as PM

 

You honestly think Stephane Dion or Jack Layton stand a chance?

if he does then god help us all.

 

A thriving economy is a bad thing?

Paying off the astronomical debt your Liberal friends racked up is a bad thing?

Investing in our military is a bad thing?

Actually giving a rat's ass about our Arctic sovereignty is a bad thing?

Having the cash to possibly grant Canadians the biggest tax break in history is a bad thing?

Oh yeah, you have it real rough being a Canadian citizen these days

[chineseblues]

I love how you automatically assume I'm a Liberal! I can honestly say I have never voted or supported the Liberal Party in my life. I'm a PC born and bread, notice I said PC and not conservative. I don't believe Steve is good for our country. He has cut funding for important social programs and screwed over several provinces since he took office. The only Canadians Harper cares about is the ones that are going to re-elect him (Ontario and Quebec) the rest of us he don't really give a rat's ass about. Some PM we have there!!!!

[AxlsMainMan]

I'm a PC born and bread, notice I said PC and not conservative.

The Conservative Party of Canada (Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the "Tories", is a conservative political party in Canada, formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in December 2003.

The party currently forms the Government of Canada (since February 6, 2006), and its current leader is Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

I don't think two parties would merge if they both stood for something completely different, now would they?

I don't believe Steve is good for our country.

Who do you feel is "good" for our country then?

and screwed over several provinces since he took office.

 

Which provinces are those?

Outside of Newfoundland, why is there virtually no anti-federal support if Steve has "screwed" over as many provinces as you claim he has.

If he's such a lying promise breaker, I think an election would have been called by now.

The only Canadians Harper cares about is the ones that are going to re-elect him (Ontario and Quebec)

 

Ontario?

Are you sure about that?

The majority of Ontario traditionally vote Liberal.

Atleast 3/4's of Ontario's seats are won by the Liberals, so I fail to see how Ontario is going to help re-elect Harper.

That changing anytime soon is almost as likely as Stephane Dion becoming Prime Minister.

the rest of us he don't really give a rat's ass about.

I beg to differ.

Some PM we have there!!!!

Yes, one of integrity and principles

It's been too long..

He has cut funding for important social programs and screwed over several provinces since he took office. The only Canadians Harper cares about is the ones that are going to re-elect him (Ontario and Quebec) the rest of us he don't really give a rat's ass about. Some PM we have there!!!!

Which social programs has he cut?

I honestly can't think of one off hand.

Even if it were true, I think cutting back on costly social programs is a good thing.

But maybe you love seeing a good percentage of your paycheck go towards welfare mommas and people too damn lazy to get a job.

The Liberals had an absurd amount of social programs in place that were costing us taxpayers a fortune.

The current unemployment rate hasn't been this low in 30+ years, so theoretically, an abundance of social programs have no use..

If you need a job, you'll have no fucking problem finding one out there

How do you think a surplus of billions is achieved?

By funding every social program under the Sun?

No, by making cuts, where cuts can afford to be made.

Would you like a more than generous tax break, or do you want most of your tax dollars to continue going towards social programs which are both flawed, and have a tendency to be taken advantage of?

[Prometheus]

Prime time toinght... THRONE SPEECH!!!!!! wahoooooooooooo..... never been excited for one b4 lol... guess ill be DLn my shows tonight

[AxlsMainMan]

Prime time toinght... THRONE SPEECH!!!!!! wahoooooooooooo..... never been excited for one b4 lol... guess ill be DLn my shows tonight

Should be interesting