Monday, October 06, 2008

A Gimmicky Conservative Platform

I think that it is becoming increasingly clear that Stephen Harper's perfomance in the leaders debate in english was awful (and in french just disastrous).

In the face of life-changing economic upheaval, Harper is preparing to do nothing.

And Canadians saw that in the debates.

If Harper manages to form a second government, you are on your own.

Tomorrow, the Conservatives bowing to public pressure will offer a face saving and belated policy platform. Like most Conservative policy announcements, it will be made to great fanfare. And like most Harper announcements, it will be thoroughly discredited within two or three days.

I suspect that the platform will be laundry list of tax loopholes that will render the Canadian tax system more arcane and difficult to navigate.

If the Conservatives want to lose the election definitively, they will talk about Senate reform and reopening the constistution.

What we won't get tomorrow is visionary policy.

It will be B.S. in front of a media-friendly backdrop.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

And what pray tell is the Liberal plan for the economy???

Tootrusting said...

So far in this election when the NDP and Liberals announced their platforms they both enjoyed a short term drop in the polls.

Will this happened again this time?

A risky tactic so close to the end.

Aaron said...

Anonymous,
What really appealed to me earlier this year when it was announced by the Liberals was a policy to increase infrastructure investments. Given the current circumstances, I think that Dion's commitment to expadite these investments is intelligent. They will work as an immediate stimulus by providing jobs and obviously in the medium term create an inviting environment for private capital investments. Good infrastructure makes it easier for our companies to compete.

Aaron said...

In the medium term, I think that it is also important for Canadian industry to wean itself off non-renewable energy supplies whose prices will continue to skyrocket.
I believe that efficiency combined with the development of renewable and ultimately cheaper sources of energy will improve the competitivity of Canadian companies in world markets. And the green shift is a visionary plan to deal with this. It marries concern with the environment and rising energy prices with a sound fiscal conservative policy: if you want to decrease it, tax it.

Aaron said...

Pollution taxes will be compensated with income tax decreases and smart focussed investments in the fisheries farming and transport sectors.

Aaron said...

Another thing that alarms me about the Harper/Bush neoconservative movement is the emphasis on military adventures. Until recently Harper seemed prepared to stay in Afghanistan forever. And I think few belive him when he says that he has changed his mind. Bush has spent trillions on the Iraq war and Harper is stalling the publication of the costs of his Afghanistan adventure until after the election.

I don't know about you, but I think most Canadians are more worried about their jobs than some boogeyman terrorist that the conservative movement Harper/Howard/Bush thrive on.

You can build roads and schools here in Canada without worrying that the locals will start shooting at you. Quite the contrary, they will be glad to see their tax dollars at work. Instead what we have now is an uncosted invovlement in a foreign country that appears to have no end in sight and quite possibly provide no results different than if we remove our troops as soon as we can.

Aaron said...

What is the Conservative plan??

More wars. More prisons.
Less investment in our citizens.
Senate Reform and constitutional wrangling.