Bob Rae was elected premier before most kids in university and college today were even born. While many of us remember his time at the head of Ontario's only NDP government, a sizeable portion do not.
The spectre of NDP government at the national level has nothing to do with the dearly departed Rae government when it comes to voters under the age of 35. It's just not their issue. It's been nearly 21 years since that government was elected. Older people need to wake up and stop talking about it like there's some ugly NDP gremlins hiding behind a door someplace, ready to blow up the Canadian economy.
The NDP has governed provincially in Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and B.C. as well. Those provinces are doing just fine. The party had the poor timing of being elected in my home province during a very serious economic downturn that no government survived unscathed. The recession of the early 1990s led to some of the most searing pain ever experienced in Canada from a fiscal perspective -- a difficult economic time that resulted in the rebalancing of our collective priorities and a shift in our political thinking.
Running massive deficits became taboo. Competent fiscal management became the norm. And that happened for all parties across the spectrum, including the NDP.
To be as blunt as possible: the NDP in the provinces, as well as Canada's NDP, know that massive deficit financing will lead to electoral ruin, so they won't do it.
Ultimately, spending is all about priorities. The Harper Tories are the most spend-happy government in Canadian history, and managed to turn a healthy surplus into a massive deficit in less than five years. How? They made stupid tax cuts (GST), economically dubious tax cuts (corporate, specialized "boutique" credits), and significant spending increases (military, public services) all at the same time. Even a Dipper can do that math.
Ultimately, spending is all about priorities. The Harper Tories are the most spend-happy government in Canadian history, and managed to turn a healthy surplus into a massive deficit in less than five years. How? They made stupid tax cuts (GST), economically dubious tax cuts (corporate, specialized "boutique" credits), and significant spending increases (military, public services) all at the same time. Even a Dipper can do that math.
So I don't want to hear anything more about the NDP being irresponsible with the federal purse. While people speculate on what Dippers might do to tax and spend us into oblivion, the Tories are actually and actively undertaxing and spending us into oblivion.
Enough already about the bloody Rae government. Let's focus on the one we've got right now, and hold them to account.
1 comment:
So very happy to see someone else expressing these thoughts, much more eloquently than the exasperated snort and eye roll this particular conversation always provokes in me. I have little patience for people who are unable to figure out that it is no longer nineteen ninety anything, who won't take the time to acquaint themselves with the political realities of today.
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