I occasionally call him by a pet name, i.e., Jim Flatulence, but that’s not a criticism.
However, I will say I don’t think he’s being honest with Canadians concerning the March 4 budget.
According to a wee clipping from yesterday’s issue of The London Free Press, Jim Flatulence (whoops, there I go again) maintains he can balance the budget in the not too distant future...
‘without raising taxes’
‘without cutting transfers (payments) to provinces and individuals’
‘without deep, painful cuts to government programs’
His plan?
He will ‘count on steady economic growth to increase government revenues to such an extent that five, six, seven or eight years down the road - and poof, there goes the deficit.’
Well, excuse me for being a bit more pessimistic than the FM, but to many people 5 - 8 years doesn’t sound like the not too distant future. And his government might be gone in 2 - 3 years now that Harper's appeal is eroding.
Sure, his message sounds appealing - ‘because it tells voters they don’t have to give up anything’ - but isn’t it based on a lie?
The lie being that Canadians can resume their high-consumption lifestyles without any pain or higher taxes because the economy will take care of our problems.
I think Canadians will be spending less, paying down debt and saving more money for retirement, thereby throwing a wrench into Jim’s economic dreams.
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Can we balance our budget in 5 - 8 years just on the back of the economy?
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