Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, February 16, 2012

You don’t have to scratch very hard under the veneer of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to discover they are fiscal conservatives. Or at least they say they are.

I like fiscal conservatives because I am one, too. I don’t believe in carrying too much debt and I’m sure Harper and Flaherty would agree. But then Harper goes out and forces $5 billion in extra spending from his government and the provinces to support his woefully unnecessary crime legislation in the face of declining crime stats. That’s a triumph of conservative ideology over fiscal common sense. It’s also just plain wrong.

A worse offence to fiscal conservatism is not trying to preserve the revenue you have. And if Harper and Flaherty have done their homework properly, they would notice that the biggest province in Canada is seeing much of its manufacturing shuttered. That’s not just tough on owners and workers, but lost tax revenue to fight the federal deficit.

However before we get too carried away with the federal deficit, let’s look at some facts. In eliminating the deficit, the federal government is expected to be between $4 billion and $5 billion ahead of Flaherty’s debt reduction schedule this year. So capping federal tranfers to the provinces for health care and reforming Old Age Security are questionable efforts.

That aside, where Harper and Flaherty really fail as fiscal conservatives is on the F-35 issue. At present, there is no threat to our national sovereignty (even in the far north) so why is the Conservative government shelling out $8.5 billion to buy 65 F-35 fighter jets. In addition, $7.5 billion is set aside for maintenance. Let’s not forget that’s a quickly depreciating asset and, strangely enough, some might get shot down. And with escalating costs, the planes look like a federal cash sinkhole.

The clear and present danger to Canada’s welfare comes not from the far north, or the Middle East, or from most anywhere outside our borders. The biggest threat to our federal coffers is the continuing decline of Ontario’s manufacturing industry. Much of the money for implementing our public policy comes from that sector.

So instead of buying F-35s and sending that money south of the border, perhaps the Conservative government could reconsider building high-speed rail between Quebec City, Ottawa and Windsor, Ont. That would stimulate industry along that troubled corridor and over the years produce revenue to buy all the F-35s that Harper could want. Without a strong Ontario economy, defence and other federal endeavours suffer.

High-speed rail will leave a lasting legacy of revenue and, most importantly, rapid transportation in the busiest corridor in the country. That’s important infrastructure. Forget the F-35s.

If Ontario industry continues to decline in the face of cheap foreign competition and a rising dollar, the F-35s might be the last major defence purchase for some time.

Even fiscal conservatives would agree that sometimes you have to spend a bit of money to make a bit of money. And you sure don’t spend money in the wrong places during difficult times.

Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen 
Author: Ken Gray 

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