The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is buying up about $25 billion of mortgages to free up credit markets here, and hopefully that will lead to lower interest rates for us consumers.
That's all fair and good, but am I the only one who's just a tad cynical that Slim Jim ™ Flaherty announces this just four days before the election?!
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Friday, October 10, 2008
2008 Nobel Peace Prize
After yet another day of turmoil in Asia-Pacific stock markets, which of course will spread to Europe and North America, I suppose now we can officially call it a crash -- and what the short and long term damage will be will take some time to sort out. But there is some positive news this morning. Any other day this would have been the top story for the morning.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee after sifting through 197 nominees has awarded the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize to the former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. He was cited for his work in helping to end South Africa's decades-long occupation of Namibia as well as his behind-the-scenes diplomacy in Aceh, Kovoso, Northern Ireland, the Horn of Africa and Iraq. (Official citation here.)
All I can say is, congratulations sir. Some previous choices could only be seen as bizarre or out of the park but if anyone deserves it you certainly do. Alfred Nobel intended the prize to go to someone who among other things worked for "fraternity between nations" and that you have.
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The Norwegian Nobel Committee after sifting through 197 nominees has awarded the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize to the former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. He was cited for his work in helping to end South Africa's decades-long occupation of Namibia as well as his behind-the-scenes diplomacy in Aceh, Kovoso, Northern Ireland, the Horn of Africa and Iraq. (Official citation here.)
All I can say is, congratulations sir. Some previous choices could only be seen as bizarre or out of the park but if anyone deserves it you certainly do. Alfred Nobel intended the prize to go to someone who among other things worked for "fraternity between nations" and that you have.
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Thursday, October 9, 2008
Another US bank merger
Late tonight, Citibank cried uncle and conceded the sale of Wachovia -- to Wells Fargo; although Citi will seek about $60 billion in damages -- fat chance!
Expect this shakeout to continue for some time to come. I would not be surprised when all is settled, there are only about 1000 banks left in America from about 7000 now -- about ten to twelve national giants plus a fair number of regional players and some local microcredit banks. Having too many players in the field isn't necessarily good, but having too few like in Canada -- even with our tighter credit rules -- also stifles competition.
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Expect this shakeout to continue for some time to come. I would not be surprised when all is settled, there are only about 1000 banks left in America from about 7000 now -- about ten to twelve national giants plus a fair number of regional players and some local microcredit banks. Having too many players in the field isn't necessarily good, but having too few like in Canada -- even with our tighter credit rules -- also stifles competition.
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$18.1 billion: How high will it go?
I have to admit I was quite stunned, although not entirely surprised, when the Parliamentary budget officer came out this morning with his estimate for Canada's cost of the Afghanistan mission: $18.1 billion when the 10 year mission is supposed to end in 2010. This is way higher than the $8 billion that the Conservatives have been claiming all along. Included in the number is not just the price of deployment but also development projects and long term disability for veterans. Not included, however, is the cost of military procurement to ensure our men and women in uniform have the proper equipment to do their job and that could make the total even higher.
No wonder the Conservatives were trying to kill this report -- they didn't want us to find out the truth until after the election. Of course, when the war started there was a Liberal government but to be fair back then we didn't think it would take as long as it has. Frankly, none of our allies in NATO did either. And forget about how on the take Halliburton is in Iraq -- when you're dealing with tribal warlords anything goes.
It's not the amount of money spent, but the value for money that is the issue. Over and over again, the "3-D" goals of defence, diplomacy and development keep getting pushed aside in favour of that fourth D: Drugs. It's not our job, nor the job of our allies, to fight the drug trade -- at least it should not be, when we have drug abuse issues back at home already. At best, the Karzai government is holding on to about ¼ of the country; what else he controls is through agreements that many who support democratic principles would find quite contrarian to those ideals.
The Auditor-General owes it to us to do an investigation of her own -- letting costs get out of hand like this is no less scandalous than Sponsorgate was. The next Parliament, whichever party leads it, must contain the costs or end the mission. As important as rebuilding Afghanistan is, we need to rebuild our economy here first -- especially in times like these.
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No wonder the Conservatives were trying to kill this report -- they didn't want us to find out the truth until after the election. Of course, when the war started there was a Liberal government but to be fair back then we didn't think it would take as long as it has. Frankly, none of our allies in NATO did either. And forget about how on the take Halliburton is in Iraq -- when you're dealing with tribal warlords anything goes.
It's not the amount of money spent, but the value for money that is the issue. Over and over again, the "3-D" goals of defence, diplomacy and development keep getting pushed aside in favour of that fourth D: Drugs. It's not our job, nor the job of our allies, to fight the drug trade -- at least it should not be, when we have drug abuse issues back at home already. At best, the Karzai government is holding on to about ¼ of the country; what else he controls is through agreements that many who support democratic principles would find quite contrarian to those ideals.
The Auditor-General owes it to us to do an investigation of her own -- letting costs get out of hand like this is no less scandalous than Sponsorgate was. The next Parliament, whichever party leads it, must contain the costs or end the mission. As important as rebuilding Afghanistan is, we need to rebuild our economy here first -- especially in times like these.
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And the listeria played on
Despite a "complete" decontamination of a Maple Leaf ™ plant in Toronto, federal food inspectors have confirmed that at least four products made there are still coming out with the listeria bacterium.
Fortunately, all items coming out of that plant are being held in quarantine and tested before being released into the marketplace -- and Michael McCain said last night that as an extra precaution all products including those that tested negative are also being held back until the company gets to the source of the problem and all tes
Being absolutely safe is the prudent thing, of course, and McCain deserves credit for that. However, it doesn't do much to restore confidence in our food supply; nor does a story this morning that deli foods served at long-term facilities are also laced with listeria -- ⅔ of meat samples, in the case of Toronto area nursing homes.
We need strict regulations for food, not self-regulation. It's that simple. One can blame the Liberals or the Conservatives for who started the ball rolling; but it doesn't change the fact both inspectors and food processors need marching orders and the rules made clear, and that if even one rule is broken the processed food will not make it to market -- period. Nor does it change the fact 20 people have died and the numbers will go up over the 90 day or so incubation period.
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Fortunately, all items coming out of that plant are being held in quarantine and tested before being released into the marketplace -- and Michael McCain said last night that as an extra precaution all products including those that tested negative are also being held back until the company gets to the source of the problem and all tes
Being absolutely safe is the prudent thing, of course, and McCain deserves credit for that. However, it doesn't do much to restore confidence in our food supply; nor does a story this morning that deli foods served at long-term facilities are also laced with listeria -- ⅔ of meat samples, in the case of Toronto area nursing homes.
We need strict regulations for food, not self-regulation. It's that simple. One can blame the Liberals or the Conservatives for who started the ball rolling; but it doesn't change the fact both inspectors and food processors need marching orders and the rules made clear, and that if even one rule is broken the processed food will not make it to market -- period. Nor does it change the fact 20 people have died and the numbers will go up over the 90 day or so incubation period.
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Wednesday, October 8, 2008
This is what should have been done in the first place
At long last, the major central banks in the world -- including for Canada, the US and the Eurozone -- finally got their act together and cut the rate banks charge each other by a half percent. This is the first time ever they've acted in unison on loosening up credit supplies. In the case of the European Central Bank, down to 3¾%, it's the first rate cut in 5 years -- and they are finally saying they're willing to let loose more Euros on the market if that will help calm things down.
The US overnight rate is down to 1½%, while here in Canada the overnight rate is now 2½%.
The markets have girated a bit all day, but as I write these words they are on an uptick for the first time in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the slide has come to an end for now. Still, troubled times lay ahead; and with a view to the elections in Canada and the US, one certainly has to consider that lettting things get out of hand for this long before acting does not reflect well on the executive branch even if the central banks are independent. After all, who appointed the present central bankers? The current administrations, naturally.
Voters should remember that when they go to the polls.
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The US overnight rate is down to 1½%, while here in Canada the overnight rate is now 2½%.
The markets have girated a bit all day, but as I write these words they are on an uptick for the first time in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the slide has come to an end for now. Still, troubled times lay ahead; and with a view to the elections in Canada and the US, one certainly has to consider that lettting things get out of hand for this long before acting does not reflect well on the executive branch even if the central banks are independent. After all, who appointed the present central bankers? The current administrations, naturally.
Voters should remember that when they go to the polls.
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Even more death threats against Liberals in TO
Let's be quite clear: There is absolutely no proof that the Conservatives, or any other party, are behind the latest incidents against Liberal supporters in Toronto. But when people who have lawn signs in front of their homes start receiving threatening phone calls saying "Take down your lawn sign or else" then one has crossed the line from mere debate and into the realm of facism and anarchy.
There are simply no other words to describe this, and the people responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law; for in this case people are even scared to put the signs in their garage, they've asked the campaign to take the signs back. Threatening people with a shakedown, literal or otherwise, is how it's still done in many places in the United States (illegally, of course, but it still happens). It may be par for the course there, unfortunately, but it is simply unacceptable for Canadians and we must say we will not tolerate it. It is a form of terrorism -- no more or less.
It behooves Steve Harper to condemn these obscene phone calls and other attempts at sabotage in the strongest possible terms. We eagerly await him doing such.
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There are simply no other words to describe this, and the people responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law; for in this case people are even scared to put the signs in their garage, they've asked the campaign to take the signs back. Threatening people with a shakedown, literal or otherwise, is how it's still done in many places in the United States (illegally, of course, but it still happens). It may be par for the course there, unfortunately, but it is simply unacceptable for Canadians and we must say we will not tolerate it. It is a form of terrorism -- no more or less.
It behooves Steve Harper to condemn these obscene phone calls and other attempts at sabotage in the strongest possible terms. We eagerly await him doing such.
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Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Harper: "I'm not the most emotionally expressive guy"
With one week to go before the election, Steve Harper finally released his platform for re-election; which amounts to a significant amount of nothing. The fact he did so at a ballroom filled with the business elite rather than a crowd of Joe and Jane Sixpacks is itself telling. After it was over, the press pool which until now has been pro-Harper all the way finally showed signs of turning on him. CTV's Craig Oliver challenged him on being insensitive to ordinary Canadians.
Harper actually replied by saying the down market actually provides opportunities for bargain and value hunters -- pretty useless for people who don't have money to invest in the first place. Then he said what must be the understatement of the campaign.
Is that the best Steve can do? How about a plan for action, rather than just say, "Don't panic." And what on earth was he implying when he mentioned Noah started building his boat when it wasn't raining? The fundamentals were a lot stronger before he came to power and he did some tinkering that turned a safe harbour into a mined one.
Today, Nanos has Harper's lead down to just three points. Today's underwhelming and very late platform launch may just cut that even more. What's more it is now entirely possible for either Harper or Dion to win the popular vote but lose the election on seat count, something that hasn't happened since 1979 when Trudeau bested Clark by over 700,000 votes but still won 21 fewer districts than Joe Who. Even this past weekend, I would have discounted the chances of that all together. Maybe not that big a margin, but it could be two or three seats one way or another.
UPDATE 9:54 PM, 0154 GMT Wednesday: Fixed bad link. Also, any one wonder if the US election could affect how we vote a week today?
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Harper actually replied by saying the down market actually provides opportunities for bargain and value hunters -- pretty useless for people who don't have money to invest in the first place. Then he said what must be the understatement of the campaign.
"I'm the first to admit I'm not the most emotionally expressive guy," Harper said. "There's a lot of panic, but the government can't panic. Canadians must be assured that the government knows where it is going and that is obviously what we are trying to communicate them in this election."
Is that the best Steve can do? How about a plan for action, rather than just say, "Don't panic." And what on earth was he implying when he mentioned Noah started building his boat when it wasn't raining? The fundamentals were a lot stronger before he came to power and he did some tinkering that turned a safe harbour into a mined one.
Today, Nanos has Harper's lead down to just three points. Today's underwhelming and very late platform launch may just cut that even more. What's more it is now entirely possible for either Harper or Dion to win the popular vote but lose the election on seat count, something that hasn't happened since 1979 when Trudeau bested Clark by over 700,000 votes but still won 21 fewer districts than Joe Who. Even this past weekend, I would have discounted the chances of that all together. Maybe not that big a margin, but it could be two or three seats one way or another.
UPDATE 9:54 PM, 0154 GMT Wednesday: Fixed bad link. Also, any one wonder if the US election could affect how we vote a week today?
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Just one piece of the puzzle
The 27-country EU took some action today to avoid a run on the banks in its member states. The minimum deposit insurance guarantee in the trade area was raised to €50,000 or about USD 68,000. Some countries wanted the minimum set even higher, at €100,000. That's still way less than the $250,000 amount in the US, but it should offer a measure of confidence to an increasingly jittery public in Europe. Nevertheless, at least two countries, Ireland and Greece, have offered a blanket guarantee.
Meanwhile, this morning Stéphane Dion suggested that our limit of $100k should be raised to $250k to match the US amount, among other measures. That's well and good, and it's something that I think will have to happen to avoid a flight of capital, no matter who wins a week today. But deposit insurance is just one piece of the puzzle.
What we need are leaders who are not afraid to take tough action if need be, to offer the right mix of restraint and spending to calm the markets and get people spending money again -- responsibly of course -- to make sure that we get out of recession as quickly as possible.
Someone who created a situation where we're barely scraping by federally, rather than have a cushion of tens of billions to help ride out the storm -- well, one really has to question what kind of leadership that is. Maybe it's me, but I'd rather have $15 or $20 billion to play with to inject into infrastructure and income tax cuts instead of starting with a base of zero -- which is what we would have had if the GST was still at 7% and the income tax cut by two percentage points instead.
I think you know who I'm referring to.
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Meanwhile, this morning Stéphane Dion suggested that our limit of $100k should be raised to $250k to match the US amount, among other measures. That's well and good, and it's something that I think will have to happen to avoid a flight of capital, no matter who wins a week today. But deposit insurance is just one piece of the puzzle.
What we need are leaders who are not afraid to take tough action if need be, to offer the right mix of restraint and spending to calm the markets and get people spending money again -- responsibly of course -- to make sure that we get out of recession as quickly as possible.
Someone who created a situation where we're barely scraping by federally, rather than have a cushion of tens of billions to help ride out the storm -- well, one really has to question what kind of leadership that is. Maybe it's me, but I'd rather have $15 or $20 billion to play with to inject into infrastructure and income tax cuts instead of starting with a base of zero -- which is what we would have had if the GST was still at 7% and the income tax cut by two percentage points instead.
I think you know who I'm referring to.
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Monday, October 6, 2008
Is the economy the game changer?
By all accounts, this election should have been a walk in the park for Steve Harper. Notwithstanding his faults which are many, he must have reckoned that enough Canadians wouldn't care enough and he would get the majority he desires.
But enough Canadians are directly in the markets, or indirectly through their company pension plans, that they do care. And the economy matters very much in the minds of people in this country. After today's wild ride on the stock markets, one wonders whether this may be what the opposition parties were hoping for all along -- and if so, how it will translate into real numbers next Tuesday at the polls. The fact it's taken this long for Harper to admit that we might have a problem is indicative. Might? Of course we do!
One thing to look for are the numbers of people who have voted in advance or by mail, which Elections Canada will release sometime later in the week. If it's more than last time or close to it, that's a bellwether for change in one direction or the other. Given that Harper's once commanding lead has begun to shrink bit by bit, a stalemate may be the best one can hope for at this stage.
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But enough Canadians are directly in the markets, or indirectly through their company pension plans, that they do care. And the economy matters very much in the minds of people in this country. After today's wild ride on the stock markets, one wonders whether this may be what the opposition parties were hoping for all along -- and if so, how it will translate into real numbers next Tuesday at the polls. The fact it's taken this long for Harper to admit that we might have a problem is indicative. Might? Of course we do!
One thing to look for are the numbers of people who have voted in advance or by mail, which Elections Canada will release sometime later in the week. If it's more than last time or close to it, that's a bellwether for change in one direction or the other. Given that Harper's once commanding lead has begun to shrink bit by bit, a stalemate may be the best one can hope for at this stage.
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Good morning listeria, the earth say hello
A key regulation that could have stopped the listeriosis outbreak that has so far killed 20 in Canada and made hundreds sick was repealed by the Harper government four months before the outbreak began. This rule required meat processors to report any discovery of listeria to federal authorities immediately who would then supervise the clean-up. Inspectors within the department, speaking anonymously to the Toronto Star and CBC, said that if the rule had been in place far few people would have died if any.
Steve Harper cannot say this was a decision of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency rather his own or the Agriculture Minister. As Prime Minister, he signs off on regulations (which have the same legal effect as executive orders or statutes) so he has final say; and it goes back to the principle that "the buck stops here." Just saying "I sign dozens of these instruments everyday, and I can't be expected to read all of them" isn't acceptable, period.
Although Maple Leaf has taken responsibility for its actions as well as it should have, and put in processes to prevent a recurrence, that does not excuse the Conservative government's role in this.
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Steve Harper cannot say this was a decision of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency rather his own or the Agriculture Minister. As Prime Minister, he signs off on regulations (which have the same legal effect as executive orders or statutes) so he has final say; and it goes back to the principle that "the buck stops here." Just saying "I sign dozens of these instruments everyday, and I can't be expected to read all of them" isn't acceptable, period.
Although Maple Leaf has taken responsibility for its actions as well as it should have, and put in processes to prevent a recurrence, that does not excuse the Conservative government's role in this.
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Sunday, October 5, 2008
Rove calls it for -- Obama!
Who would have believed this? For months and months, Karl "The Weasel" Rove has said that it's John McCain, McCain, McCain. Now all of a sudden Bush's Brain has finally admitted that the momentum has swung Barack Obama's way. While he insists the race is still up in the air, if the election was held today, Obama would keep all the Kerry states plus pick up New Mexico (5), Iowa (7) and Colorado (9), giving the Senator from Illinois the win, 273-265.
More ominous, Chuck Todd on NBC's Meet the Press indicated that Obama needs just one swing state now (other than Nevada or New Hampshire) to win it all. If Nevada swung Obama's way and the rest go McCain, a 269 tie is possible, sending it to the House of Representatives. Since Democrats now control a majority of states in the lower chamber, Advantage Obama.
Incredibly, states that would have been dead zones for the donkey just four years ago are very much in play this time around. Besides the above named states, there's Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina. Pennsylvania, too close to call just weeks ago, has now pulled ahead for Obama. One friend of mine in the Carolinas is absolutely stunned about Obama's revolution in NC -- unthinkable a few months ago even with his solid win in the primary there; and my friend thinks Virginia will go Obama's way too. Missouri, the bellwether state that Bush easily took last time, is a horserace right now.
So what's pulled things Obama's way? The economy, stupid. People vote with their pocketbooks; and in times of crisis they vote for the challenging party no matter who's at the top of ticket.
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More ominous, Chuck Todd on NBC's Meet the Press indicated that Obama needs just one swing state now (other than Nevada or New Hampshire) to win it all. If Nevada swung Obama's way and the rest go McCain, a 269 tie is possible, sending it to the House of Representatives. Since Democrats now control a majority of states in the lower chamber, Advantage Obama.
Incredibly, states that would have been dead zones for the donkey just four years ago are very much in play this time around. Besides the above named states, there's Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina. Pennsylvania, too close to call just weeks ago, has now pulled ahead for Obama. One friend of mine in the Carolinas is absolutely stunned about Obama's revolution in NC -- unthinkable a few months ago even with his solid win in the primary there; and my friend thinks Virginia will go Obama's way too. Missouri, the bellwether state that Bush easily took last time, is a horserace right now.
So what's pulled things Obama's way? The economy, stupid. People vote with their pocketbooks; and in times of crisis they vote for the challenging party no matter who's at the top of ticket.
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It's still about the debt we have to pay off
A commenter on my last post came up with one of the common lines used by the neo-conservative movement: Government surpluses are excessive revenues and should be returned to the people.
That's fine if you don't have any debt that needs to be paid off. But what if you do have debt? Do you just leave it stranded and just make the interest payments? Or do you actually attack the principal? Common sense is you do the latter. After all, you don't want future generations to carry the debt needlessly.
Fault the Liberals many will, but during their time in office they not only went after the debt, but also sought to reduce the debt relative to the size of the national economy as well as interest payments. This may mean taxes at a level somewhat more than break-even but it's better to go after those unpaid bills to lower the interest charges and therefore create conditions where lower taxes become affordable.
In my opinion, the GST should not have been lowered from 7% until the debt-to-GDP ratio was down to 25%, a level at which it could be financed exclusively from Canadian sources and not reliant on the foreign bond market. Perhaps Steve Harper doesn't realize it, but credit rating agencies pay attention when a country has been paying down debt then suddenly stops.
Besides, the first wave of the baby boom will start collecting Old Age Security in just three years time; and it is by far our largest social program financed exclusively by federal sources. Guess what was paying for it? The GST! For many seniors, the OAS and the supplement (if they qualify) is their only source of income. Yet who gets the tax breaks from Steve? Seniors who get a private pension and don't qualify for the supplement. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Guess what program will get clawed back first when tough times really hit? The OAS, probably. Current recipients will continue to get their benefits but new people may be left out all together, and the burden shifted to the provinces and territories which already have welfare rolls bursting at the seams.
Is that a way to run a country?
I'd rather have those surpluses to ensure that when we have a rainy day we can plug the leaks and still take care of our own. And when the rainy day ends, that we continue to pay down debt so we can still have social programs for the short and long terms. It may mean tax cuts are slower in coming in the long term, but it's still the more prudent approach.
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That's fine if you don't have any debt that needs to be paid off. But what if you do have debt? Do you just leave it stranded and just make the interest payments? Or do you actually attack the principal? Common sense is you do the latter. After all, you don't want future generations to carry the debt needlessly.
Fault the Liberals many will, but during their time in office they not only went after the debt, but also sought to reduce the debt relative to the size of the national economy as well as interest payments. This may mean taxes at a level somewhat more than break-even but it's better to go after those unpaid bills to lower the interest charges and therefore create conditions where lower taxes become affordable.
In my opinion, the GST should not have been lowered from 7% until the debt-to-GDP ratio was down to 25%, a level at which it could be financed exclusively from Canadian sources and not reliant on the foreign bond market. Perhaps Steve Harper doesn't realize it, but credit rating agencies pay attention when a country has been paying down debt then suddenly stops.
Besides, the first wave of the baby boom will start collecting Old Age Security in just three years time; and it is by far our largest social program financed exclusively by federal sources. Guess what was paying for it? The GST! For many seniors, the OAS and the supplement (if they qualify) is their only source of income. Yet who gets the tax breaks from Steve? Seniors who get a private pension and don't qualify for the supplement. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Guess what program will get clawed back first when tough times really hit? The OAS, probably. Current recipients will continue to get their benefits but new people may be left out all together, and the burden shifted to the provinces and territories which already have welfare rolls bursting at the seams.
Is that a way to run a country?
I'd rather have those surpluses to ensure that when we have a rainy day we can plug the leaks and still take care of our own. And when the rainy day ends, that we continue to pay down debt so we can still have social programs for the short and long terms. It may mean tax cuts are slower in coming in the long term, but it's still the more prudent approach.
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Saturday, October 4, 2008
If Harper was running a corporation, he would have been fired
After some delay, I've finally begun the process of importing the notes from my old blog into this one, in reverse chronological order. Given limits on how many I can do in a day, I will be somewhat limited in my new posts for a while here. However, I will comment on what my colleague Danielle Takacs wrote today and try to put it more bluntly:
Suppose you were the Chief Executive Officer of a $200 billion per year corporation that was running a loss for years and on the verge of bankruptcy. You finally got fed and fired the Chief Financial Officer responsible for all those losses.
You then put in a new CFO who had previously had a record of irresponsible spending but said they had had a change of heart and intended for a change on running the business like a business. They did: They cut out the fat and eventually got a rate of return of about 6% per year every year for about 10 years straight, even during rough times. And they actually made a point of working with suppliers and made sure the suppliers worked with each other to ensure efficiency.
For various reasons, that CFO then left the field. You then brought in someone even more radical than the team responsible for the years of losses, whose first act was to cut off some key reliable revenue sources and reduced that return to next to zero. They refuse to sit down with the many suppliers that ensure the long term sustainability of the company. More important, they operated in secret so you couldn't verify if their numbers were even plausible; if you questioned them they accused you of disloyalty to the company; and finally came up with the whopper, "Our fundamentals are strong. And if you're thinking about new ideas to generate revenues, forget it -- it'll destroy the company."
What would you do? Damn right: You'd fire the guy who brought you back to the brink and get someone who knew how to balance a sheet.
That's the choice in this election: A Conservative government who has spent beyond its means and cut taxes to make sure there is eventually a deficit on purpose and pretends the provincial and territorial premiers don't even exist or a Liberal team who offers a fresh approach to organizing our economy in a prudent manner and will actually reach out to the premiers. If Harper was running a Fortune 500 company like he has Canada, he would have been fired long ago. The only difference is that he would have walked away with a $200 million golden parachute courtesy of the company's employees and shareholders.
If Harper wants the election to be about who can run an economy, he's proven he can't when times are good, let alone when times are bad. At least the Liberals managed to balance the budget even after 9/11 -- and those months were quite uncertain, for those who remember.
So what gives Harper the gall to say that he has a steady hand in unsteady times? The facts are plain -- he can't be bothered to sit down with the banks, the financial superintendents, or even the premiers; and he lashes out at Dion for wanting to do so. Why even have these regulators? Why even have provinces?
The auto companies made their own steel decades ago but stopped when they realized it was less expensive to rely on outside suppliers. Even the best CEOs today regularly bring outside advisors, including those with contrarian opinions, to shape their planning. Harper thinks he has the wisdom of Plato, the common sense of Socrates and the strength of Atlas. None of the other four leaders are that conceited.
Taking responsibility sometimes means asking for help. Harper, seemingly, only wants to take advice from those who agree with him. That's no way to run a company and it sure isn't a way to run an entire country. This election is basically a review of his job application for CFO, and by the simplest of measures he should be fired.
But that's just my opinion, I suppose.
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Suppose you were the Chief Executive Officer of a $200 billion per year corporation that was running a loss for years and on the verge of bankruptcy. You finally got fed and fired the Chief Financial Officer responsible for all those losses.
You then put in a new CFO who had previously had a record of irresponsible spending but said they had had a change of heart and intended for a change on running the business like a business. They did: They cut out the fat and eventually got a rate of return of about 6% per year every year for about 10 years straight, even during rough times. And they actually made a point of working with suppliers and made sure the suppliers worked with each other to ensure efficiency.
For various reasons, that CFO then left the field. You then brought in someone even more radical than the team responsible for the years of losses, whose first act was to cut off some key reliable revenue sources and reduced that return to next to zero. They refuse to sit down with the many suppliers that ensure the long term sustainability of the company. More important, they operated in secret so you couldn't verify if their numbers were even plausible; if you questioned them they accused you of disloyalty to the company; and finally came up with the whopper, "Our fundamentals are strong. And if you're thinking about new ideas to generate revenues, forget it -- it'll destroy the company."
What would you do? Damn right: You'd fire the guy who brought you back to the brink and get someone who knew how to balance a sheet.
That's the choice in this election: A Conservative government who has spent beyond its means and cut taxes to make sure there is eventually a deficit on purpose and pretends the provincial and territorial premiers don't even exist or a Liberal team who offers a fresh approach to organizing our economy in a prudent manner and will actually reach out to the premiers. If Harper was running a Fortune 500 company like he has Canada, he would have been fired long ago. The only difference is that he would have walked away with a $200 million golden parachute courtesy of the company's employees and shareholders.
If Harper wants the election to be about who can run an economy, he's proven he can't when times are good, let alone when times are bad. At least the Liberals managed to balance the budget even after 9/11 -- and those months were quite uncertain, for those who remember.
So what gives Harper the gall to say that he has a steady hand in unsteady times? The facts are plain -- he can't be bothered to sit down with the banks, the financial superintendents, or even the premiers; and he lashes out at Dion for wanting to do so. Why even have these regulators? Why even have provinces?
The auto companies made their own steel decades ago but stopped when they realized it was less expensive to rely on outside suppliers. Even the best CEOs today regularly bring outside advisors, including those with contrarian opinions, to shape their planning. Harper thinks he has the wisdom of Plato, the common sense of Socrates and the strength of Atlas. None of the other four leaders are that conceited.
Taking responsibility sometimes means asking for help. Harper, seemingly, only wants to take advice from those who agree with him. That's no way to run a company and it sure isn't a way to run an entire country. This election is basically a review of his job application for CFO, and by the simplest of measures he should be fired.
But that's just my opinion, I suppose.
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The Juice no longer loose
Thirteen years to the very day that a jury in Los Angeles acquitted Orenthal James Simpson of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman, another jury in Las Vegas convicted him on some other very serious charges: Armed robbery and kidnapping, related to what OJ claimed was an attempted retrieval of sports memorabilia stolen from him.
I never cease to find it amazing that celebrities or politicians or media personalities wind up in jail not for the big things they do, but for the smaller things for related or unrelated actions that come back to bite them in bigger ways. Off the top of my head, I can only think of two, and both wound up in trouble for tax evasion which was much easier to prove because no one was scared enough to testify on a tax case: Capone murdered or ordered the murder of dozens while Agnew took bribes in office.
How truly odd it is that OJ could spend the rest of his life in jail not for murder but for attempting to take back items that were worth perhaps in the thousands of dollars and with a gun no less. If there is any justice, only one major celebrity bothered to hang around the second trial and that was Dominick Dunne who is working on his final book about, surprise, celebrity justice. Even Marcia Clark who was credentialled to the insipid Entertainment Tonight for this trial, decided to take a pass.
So, how to mark this occasion -- well, I know this is morbid, but how about some music from another Juice: Juice Newton. The Sweetest Thing was too obvious, so I settled on Angel of the Morning.
Yeah, yeah, I know ... but in these times we all could use a laugh.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
I never cease to find it amazing that celebrities or politicians or media personalities wind up in jail not for the big things they do, but for the smaller things for related or unrelated actions that come back to bite them in bigger ways. Off the top of my head, I can only think of two, and both wound up in trouble for tax evasion which was much easier to prove because no one was scared enough to testify on a tax case: Capone murdered or ordered the murder of dozens while Agnew took bribes in office.
How truly odd it is that OJ could spend the rest of his life in jail not for murder but for attempting to take back items that were worth perhaps in the thousands of dollars and with a gun no less. If there is any justice, only one major celebrity bothered to hang around the second trial and that was Dominick Dunne who is working on his final book about, surprise, celebrity justice. Even Marcia Clark who was credentialled to the insipid Entertainment Tonight for this trial, decided to take a pass.
So, how to mark this occasion -- well, I know this is morbid, but how about some music from another Juice: Juice Newton. The Sweetest Thing was too obvious, so I settled on Angel of the Morning.
Yeah, yeah, I know ... but in these times we all could use a laugh.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
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