The Liberals have posted their “platform“, and it’s not looking very good. I will critique it below.
“Our platform in this election has one overriding objective: to make equal opportunity a reality for every Canadian, whether you live in a big city, a small town, a remote community, a farm or a fishing village.”
The only way to truly make that happen, is low taxes, and to stop thinking that we need to put in place convoluted social benefits for a few.
There is one primary thing that disgusts me about the Communist, err, um, Liberal party of Canada. If you look at almost all of the ideas they have, they are rarely, if ever, “universal”. The social benefits they propose, apply to specific people of their choosing. Basically, they tend to create social benefits that benefit a special group. They present them in such away that makes the public think they are good, without a second thought; that is called “propaganda”. A good example of this is their child care plan. The child care plan that the Liberals would like to put in, benefits those with dual income only, and gives the stay at home mom only two options…
- Stay at home, raise your children, and don’t receive the child care benefit
- Get a job, receive the benefit, and leave your children at day care
“We will help every family with the costs of college or university, so your kids can be ready for the jobs of tomorrow.”
This is NOT the job of government. People have a choice. They can put away money for college, or university, or they can spend it on entertainment like most other Canadians; tv, movies, vacations, etc, etc. But ultimately, it is their choice. This is what is great about this free country, we have a “choice” to make. Most countries of the world don’t have a choice, they live without the luxuries that we have, because they don’t have a choice. The proper thing to do, is create a non-taxable fund, if it doesn’t already exist, that parents themselves can put money away into. When that money is taken out, for school, it should not be taxed at that time either.
“We’ll also have a new tax credit to help with the up-front costs of renovations to make your home more energy-efficient.”
How’s that different from what the PC’s have done already? The conservative government has already provided the first time home buyer tax credit, in 2009, LONG before the Liberals overthrew the government. They have also increased the allowed amount for people to withdraw from the RRSPs to put down payments on a home. They recently did a home renovation credit, for those making their homes more energy efficient.
“We can afford to do this while reducing the Conservative deficit responsibly, without raising your taxes, by making better choices.”
Another aspect I don’t like about the Liberal party of Canada, is their continual “me, me, me” attitude, and wanting to distance themselves from problems that Canada has, as if it’s not “their” problem, but claiming they will fix it. If there’s anything I’ve learned from Liberal governments, is they rarely fix anything, and regularly cause problems, and take away people’s “choices”. As the example above shows, they are claiming that the deficit is a result of the PC government. Many years ago, when the recession had just begun, it was the Liberals and NDP that advocated a lot of the extra spending to help the economy. If this is a “conservative deficit“, then why did the Liberals and NDP not complain back then, but instead supported it? In fact, as I recall, they were upset that there wasn’t enough spending, to the point they were ready to overthrow the government at that time.
“We will cancel unnecessary and unaffordable tax cuts for the largest corporations, reverse wasteful spending habits and focus on what really matters – giving every Canadian the tools to succeed in the years ahead.”
I’m going to address the “reverse wasteful spending habits bit first”. As I mentioned previously, the Liberals and NDP were in agreement with the so called “wasteful spending” in past years. To now criticise the spending, for political gain, is pathetic. The PCs have already shown that they are moving out of deficit territory in the next few years. I personally think it needs to be sooner, but at least they are moving that way.
Iggy, how is every Canadian going to succeed in the years ahead, when you take their jobs away, by increasing corporate taxes? You realize that the current government has established tax credits for corporations that employ people, right? How is every Canadian going to succeed, when you increase the costs of everything that they buy, via increased corporate taxes? But, I wouldn’t expect anything else from you Mr. Ignatieff; you are, after all, the head of the Communist, er, um, Liberal party of Canada. You are only sticking to the traditional communist mentality that the Liberals always bring. For some reason, everyone thinks you are in the centre, politically, but in reality you are very far left, as the Liberal party always is. Canada has gotten worse and worse over the years, whenever the Liberal party gets voted in. Our liberties are removed more and more each time they get in.
“Liberal governments have built up the foundations of equality – establishing universal medicare, a good public pension system and a Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteeing equality of rights and responsibilities for all Canadians. Now, we’re looking to the future.”
Be honest here Iggy, is the public pensions system “good”? I was under the impression that it was in shambles, and was about to pop. Again, let us be critical about our existing policies, and do away with those that “don’t make sense”. It is NOT the government’s job to provide a “pension” to everyone. If people need a “pension”, it is because either their taxes are too high, or they are spending too much on a comfortable life-style. I could do better investing my own money, and buying some land, etc. Let’s do something more constructive, like removing land taxes, so that people are not in bondage to the government.
Iggy, why weren’t you here for the last several decades, working on these issues, if you really do want to help Canada?
It is interesting to note, that most social benefits that the Liberals want to introduce this go around, are already covered by the Conservative government, in the proposed budget that the Liberals shot down. Others are planned for in future budgets, as we move toward getting out of the recession deficit. It is also interesting to note that they are taken care of in a more universal manner, for the most part. Usually, this is done through not taxing on certain incomes, such as scholarships, and providing tax credits for various things, instead of giving handouts. I’m a firm believer that the primary area in which government needs to help people, is by providing tax reductions.