Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 20, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba The View ? 2003 Winnipeg free press a division of up Canadian Rudy Redekop / president Winnipeg free press editorial Board Winnipeg free press newspapers limited partnership members Are Nicholas Hirst Terence Moore Gerald flood Catherine Mitchell Tom Oleson cartoonist Dale Cummings Murdoch Davis / publisher published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue sunday june 20, 2004 Nicholas Hirst / editor submissions to the View from the West Are Welcome. Winnipeg Manitoba r2x 3b6, pm 697-7000 Freedom of Trade b6 from newest associate editor Contact associate editor John Sullivan 204 697-7293 / a member of the Manitoba press Council Patrick Flynn / Deputy editor Liberty of religion John Sullivan 697-7293 a forum for ideas and opinion Equality of civil rights Crossroads Canada the economic platforms Good politics bad economics Liberal platform regarding Taxa or. Harper please be a Little More Enue such As Saskatchewan and p aul Martins liberals Are t he tories have been Riding proposing some fairly hefty Tion a troubling absence. Not that higher in the polls but where specific As to which waste he is Nova Scotia. It also stands to reason spending. Highlights include broken election promises Are rare does Stephen Harper ? an referring cancelling the gun Reg that Alberta and Ontario would end economist by training ? and his is try wont buy him the fiscal room up paying somewhat More. The $5-billion proposal for a child but it would have at least been party stand on economic policies he needs. Hell have to come up with its no wonder that or. Harper has care program Over the next five Nice to see some indication of years a new Deal for the cities where the liberals will take taxes. While there is More detail in the More waste than just that. Social not been trumpeting this policy too comprised of a get rebate and Are they going up Down which conservatives platform than the programs the Csc support for loudly Given that his base of support five cents litre from the Federal taxes will be affected and by How Liberal one ironically the amount of the arts Parks Canada if or. Harp is in Alberta and the province in detail provided could turn out to Beer thinks these Are wasteful he which he most desperately needs fuel excise tax a seven per cent much when these Are not trivial hike in the guaranteed income matters but the Martin platform its greatest flaw. Needs to say so. Seats is Ontario. Tax cuts Are the first thing on the conservative spending on health the tory platform also promises supplement and of course Bil is silent on this. Tory economic Agenda the party care and the military would go up to give Grain Farmers the ability to Lions in new funding for health one of the solid economic tar would reduce from 22 per cent to 16 sharply leading Many observers to make their own marketing and care on top of All the other new gets the liberals do commit to is Money announced previously. To reduce the Federal debt to Gap per cent the Federal tax on income question How it is that Harper with transportation decisions which Between $35,000 and $70,000. So far his Reagan esque platform of tax Means stripping the Canadian wheat the child care programs $5-Bil-ratio to 25 per cent within 10 lion Price tag deserves some Spe years. This is a laudable goal but so Good. Putting More Money in the cuts and military buildup could pos Board of its monopoly position. Hands of canadians would certainly Sibly manage to balance his budgets. While there is vast difference of Cial attention. Leaving aside the Given the amount of spending the keep us spending. But the tax cuts repayment of debt seems even opinion on the role of the Cwb this social and ideological issues one liberals have in mind it must be Don tend there. More unlikely. Although Issue has not been debated much in has to wonder whether this is eco asked How exactly they intend to nominally a Good idea. Without do this. Chipping away a billion or employment insurance i pre reaganomics did enliven the . The Campaign. Wiping out the Cwb a mums would be reduced until the Economy it came with a Long series monopoly Power to buy sell and question Good child care is an eco two each year coupled with Rea surplus in the i account is wiped of deficits that ultimately dragged Market Western Canadian wheat and nomic externality ? All of society Honable Gap growth wont do the out also a laudable plan. Corporate the Economy Back Down. With All of Barley would certainly have an benefits if children Are raised in a trick. Saying they will reduce the healthy and stimulating Atmos debt to 25 per cent ? and actually subsidies would be eliminated in this spending and tax cutting Infra Impact on the Structure of the order to reduce Overall business Tion could end up being harpers Prairie Economy. If Farmers Are phere. And there Are perfectly laying out a plan for How they Good examples from Quebec Fin intend to do it ? Are different taxes. The capital tax would be Elim biggest economic enemy. Coupled planning to vote conservative they Ina Ted and the capital gains tax with the proposed tax cuts the con should at least know what they re land and the u.k., where state run things. Would be reduced. Even the $12 air Serva Tive Revenue Gap is actually getting or in this Case losing. Systems have worked Well. Overall Grade however one of the problems Security tax would be chopped. Larger than the liberals. With a state run Day care program and there a More. The get rebate one of the lesser known of Harp Overall Grade c for Low income canadians would ers economic proposals is to alter is that it could turn into another bottomless pit of Federal spending. Its hard to evaluate the Liberal eco the equalization program by which a Rise by 25 per cent the get on Gaso one needs to look no further than nomic platform since Little detail is line above 85 cents litre would be the have provinces . Alberta the conservative party a economic plat health care spending in this coun provided. Lots of spending no Cut and three cents litre of the fed and Ontario Transfer Cash to the form is mostly sound High on taxation detailed commitment to tax reduction have not provinces. The conserva try for an example. For different eral excise tax would be Given to the detail and Strong in its commitment to and a lot of motherhood statements Tives would base the equalization reasons altogether the Liberal provinces for infrastructure. Bring Down taxes. Adding their tax like promising to promote increased formula on the income of All 10 governments gun registry is but along with All of this tax Cut Breaks tax expenditures and spending venture capital and promote eco another example of billions of tax Ting and rebating the conservatives provinces rather than the current initiatives together the conservatives nomic development in Canadas dollars frittered away. Would child Are not planning any major spending five and exclude non renewable actually have one of the most lavish there is a bit of solid goal care be the same thing Are we cuts ? or if they Are they Arent resource Revenue from the formula. Spending platforms of All. The plan is setting with debt reduction but simply Nave enough to believe that the being specific about what they this would result in More generous weak however in the details of How it not enough detail on the Revenue Side liberals could get this one right would be. There is Only a lot of talk transfers to the have not will reduce waste and balance to give canadians an idea of which around eliminating could provinces that have this kind of Rev the budget. As Well very Little is said in the Way taxes Are going. T he Dps platform the first of the major parties to be released in the Campaign is a hefty document with literally hundreds of policy priorities though i a not sure How anyone can have hundreds of priorities ? in to that an oxymoron on economic issues the nip has a lot to say and perhaps surprisingly they be actually come up with a few really Good ideas. One idea is to create a National building retrofit program to help businesses and Public institutions conserve Energy. Applicants to the program would receive Low interest Loans from a special fund lever aged by the Canada pension plan. The recipients of the Loans would make necessary upgrades and repairs to reduce Energy consumption and would repay the Loans through their deferred Energy Cost savings. Its an interesting and creative idea save for the part about the Low interest Loans from the cup ? did someone Check with it to see if its on Board with the plan. Another proposal is a tax shifting regime to transform incentives subsidies and invest ment programs to focus on Green and co generated Energy ? things like wind Power solar Energy Bio fuels and so Forth. Granted there Are huge efficiency problems in harnessing some of these renewable Energy sources but certainly More investment would help tap into their potential. And incentives and subsidies . The carrots Are More effective and Busi Ness Friendly than regulations or fines . The Sticks. Save for these two proposals however there is not much else in the nip plat form that could be termed Good economics. Take the proposal to Cut tuition fees by 10 per cent and then freeze them by increasing Federal funding for Post secondary education to the provinces. Strictly in economic terms this is a bad idea. Reducing tuition fees will Only cause an increase in the Supply of students with a resulting shortage of openings available. Universities will have no Choice but to increase their High school admission standards which could mean someone with an 84 per cent average could be turned away. The solution to the problem of Supply and demand in Post secondary education is allow the schools to move closer to Market value pricing . Let tuition adjust but make sure that students have Good support in managing their student Loans after graduation. To be fair the nip does address this in its platform. But forcing tuition fees Down is still bad economics even if it May be Good politics. Other bad bordering on ludicrous ideas two new holidays in the year a Shorter work ing week longer paid holidays earlier retirement options capping credit card interest rates at five per cent above prime and encouraging the Bank of Canada to promote a lower interest again these May be popular and even Garner the party some votes but they Are not based on sound economics. Needless the say the Dps commitment to a balanced budget has no basis in Mathe Matic reality. The party is proposing $79 billion in new spending tax cuts for the poor and Sharp tax hikes for Large businesses and the wealthy. Maybe this is because the party knows it is not in a position to form the government and so can afford to go with straight populist notions. Overall Grade d to their credit Jack Layton and the nip Are seemingly committed to the goals of a better Environ ment and greater equity for less fortunate canadians. But economists they Are not. It is like writing an econ 101 exam drawing pictures of Flowers and rainbows on the paper and handing it in. The new democrats would have received an of but they do get some credit for innovative ideas on tax incentives and the Energy conservation retrofit program. in All none of the parties really do that Well on their economic plat forms. The conservatives come closest but even Here the Lack of detail is troubling. It appears that not much has changed since Kim Campbell destroyed her election fortunes by musing that an election Campaign is not the time to talk policy details. And in a Way she was right. But canadians still need More facts to make a proper assessment of which party they want to run their Economy and collect their taxes. Its not enough to simply say Trust us Well do what a Todd Hirsch is chief economist with the Canada West foundation an Independent and non partisan Public policy Institute in Calgary. Place your bets ? carefully practical men who believe themselves ment liabilities pensions health care spending in a time of changing demographics and debt repay to be quite exempt from any intellectual ments with expected government revenues from influences Are usually the slaves of some current rates of taxation. In 2000, foreign affairs Magazine estimated that to sustain its entitlement defunct programs into the next generation the . Would need to increase Federal taxes by 43 per cent. Given its current deficit woes and Bush a tax cuts one can Only imagine the tax increases now needed for the e economics matter. Regardless of your Intel-. To sustain its finances. Licence or work ethic if the Economy goes the same study noted that Canada was in one of Down the toilet Odds Are you re going to be the Best financial positions in the world with a near sucked Down As Well. Perfect generational accounting balance. Yet it did first two minutes of therapeutic rage against then to say we would have an inter generational surplus liberals. We work our collective buns off just to either. With our Boomers aging there in to much have $100 million of our Money grease the Palms of wiggle room for significantly lower taxes in Canad Liberal Bagman in the sponsorship scandal its out without sinking into generational deficit again. Rage us and downright bad for Canada ? and not Canadas debt now stands at More than $510 Bil just because that Money could have been better lion and yearly interest payments Are around $40spent on something else or that it increases the billion. This Means $1,250 from every Canadia already feverish Levels of cynicism plaguing our each year goes to pay for nothing but interest. Con democratic process. Sider that the sponsorship scandals $100-million no corruption is bad for the Cost frittered away Over six years amounts to Economy As a whole. Period. About 50 cents per Canadian per year. Why create a productive Busi so hands up ? who wants to increase the deficit Ness when you can make More and make no mistake that is precisely the risk i dough exchanging non value not the outright guarantee of implementing Mas adding Back scratches with Sive tax cuts. The tories project budget surpluses your Friend in of $90 billion Over the next five years when mos government its disconcert economists expect them to total around $60 billion. Ing that transparency internal As the Bank of Montreal a chief economist has said tonal has downgraded Canada you could to expect to fund the programs we re from fifth to eleventh in its funding now and have . Taxation Levels without anti corruption Index. We going into Don to want to be with the eco so Why risk tax cuts Canadas finances Are final nomic Basket cases at the Bottom of that barrel. By solid. We were the Only g7 nation to Post a sur so lets slay the Liberal dragons at the trough and plus last year. According to the economist Urall will be Well in our kingdom or will it 2005 growth rate will be second highest out of 15anybody following the new conservative party Recd countries. Last year Canadian businesses will recognize some old storyline. There a the produced record profits. We re hardly the second cadre of former Mike Harris / Ernie Eves Cabinet tier socialist nation that Stephen Harper claims we ministers tainted by their governments insider were becoming. Deals at Ontario Hydro and its attempt to hide a $6-but the tax Cut mantra has become the ideology billion deficit from Ontario voters in last Falls elec Cal crack cocaine of the new right. They gotta have Tion. Then there a the tories main Man from the it regardless of consequences ? deficits debt merged progressive conservatives Peter Mackay cuts to essential programs who wont name the secret donors who paid off his and no fix not even the $100 Bil?$500,000 pc leadership Campaign debt. Throw in lion in recent Liberal tax cuts Stephen harpers recent amnesia about wanting to the tax Cut soothes the craving. Its Power shave Canadian troops invade Iraq and his close ties so Strong that Harper lost his mantra has with Brian Mulroney Leader of one of the More Cor new found Talent for equivocal rust regimes in Canadian history. Become the Tion when he declared that Hewitt All this some cynicism that a conservative would lower canadians taxes ideological government would be less corrupt and deceitful below . Levels. Than the liberals might be forgiven. The players crack what about the nip their have changed a bit but this looks like the same old cocaine of health care proposals would game. Benefit the Economy. A National the new however Given the conservative proposal for Pha Macare program would massive income tax cuts the same Tweedle Dee right reduce drug costs by 10 to 20tweedle-Dum observation cannot be made about the per cent. A National Home care two parties economic visions. Plan would reduce costs of need once upon a time being fiscally conservative Lessly keeping people in More expensive Hospital meant prudently managing finances and balancing Beds and Long term care facilities. The restriction budgets. But in contemporary conservatism Noth of for profit health care would save significant ing seems dearer to the soul than massive tax cuts amounts of Money and improve outcomes As Alland deficits be damned. Four health policy commentators in last weeks witness Mike Harris massive Ontario tax cuts View from the West observed. The Dps got health which have left that province with a $6.4-billion care right. Deficit. A generation of ontarian now has to pay but the Money for Public health care still has tothe Price with interest for the Harris revolution. Come from somewhere and the nip is still no then there a George w. Bush a massive tax cuts very convincing on economic policy. Not that taxing which contributed to a record $492-billion . Incomes Over $250,000 by three per cent More i deficit last year. Business week estimates the soaking the Rich As a free press editorial Sensa deficit for the next five years will be $2.3 trillion tonally stated but the Dps intention to boost leaving the . Federal debt at $9 trillion. Interest taxes for medium sized businesses is not a positive alone will be half a trillion dollars a year ? More step. Than double the entire Canadian Federal budget. If any of the parties were serious about improve should interest rates Rise this number will spiral ing the Economy their main tax cuts would be for higher. The Small and medium sized businesses which pro Bush defenders argue that the debt Load can be Duce 50 per cent of Canadas Gap and 60 per cent of managed if Over the next 20 years the american our jobs. Unfortunately aiding Small businesses by Economy grows at the average rate seen during the reducing their payroll tax and business tax Burden late 1990s. But does anyone truly believe that a has not received much attention from any party. Mature Economy can match the growth rate Over and the nip which has been trying to sell itself As the next two decades of one of the biggest booms in the party of Small business is quite unconvincing the last Century economic growth is far More like when it proposes to increase their taxes. By to match averages in previous 20-year periods so if the liberals Are to go Down in flames just and if so debt repayment for the . Will be a what kind of economic future will Rise from the crushing problem. Ashes on the evidence the message is Clear Brand since when did growing your Way out of careful what you vote for ? you just might get it. Deficits which has always been a very leftist idea become a conservative one even the economist Magazine has dubbed Bush red George. Dale Swirsky is a Winnipeg High school teacher and even More disconcerting Are the generational former progressive conservative party member. Accounting figures which compare future govern voters and the parties obviously have at this Point however the common other Side of the Ledger the Liberal assumptions is substantial amounting Aid and peacekeeping. Or. Martin has Security plus the Transfer of a portion $510-billion net Federal debt and Engi t he economic and fiscal policy taken this message to heart. Ground among the parties disappears budget forecasts that Baseline spending to a cumulative Gap of some $50 billion. Also pledged to Transfer several billion of Ottawa a fuel tax Revenue to the Neer a speedier decline in the key debt elements of the major party similarly All of the parties posit a con and some key differences emerge. Most will climb by 4.5 per cent a year reach next consider the new proposals in dollars in Federal fuel tax Revenue to provinces not the cities. Few details to Gap ratio currently at 42 per cent election platforms reveal a sur parties Pray a intently Bright Outlook for the Canad importantly they have contrasting per ing $179 billion by the end of 2008-09. The two parties platforms. The cities and make other new invest Are provided on exactly How the Busi in Advance of the baby Boom retire prising degree of commonality. Amaz an Economy ? not just in 2004, but right spec Tives on the appropriate level of the tories Are stinger projecting fed the Liberal plan is More straight for ments in Urban infrastructure. Ness subsidy cuts would be achieved ? ment wave that will arrive with a singly the liberals conservatives and through to 2010. That the country could Federal spending eral program out Ward because it envisages no tax policy adding the Cost of their election at a minimum meeting this ambitious vengeance by the end of the decade. New democrats seem to be of one experience an economic downturn or a on the soundness that the country could lays to grow by 2.9 changes apart from those unveiled in promises to the March budgets project target Likely would require eliminating finally assessing the two parties mind on several period of weak growth in the next six of the fiscal pro per cent annually the budget. They say they would boost tons Federal program spending would most of Industry Canadas programs economic and fiscal platforms depends important mat that Economy years is nowhere contemplated in the sections in the lib experience an economic leading to total spending by roughly $28 billion beyond grow by an average of six per cent and activities As Well As Ottawa a Vari not Only on a judgment of their ters. Party platforms or promises. Reals March 2004 spending of $161 the 2004 budget Baseline Over the next annually Over the next five years if the Ous regional development agencies. Feasa Bilty but also their desirability. Its All share a con downturn or a period the three platforms also testify to a budget and on tax billion by 2008-09. Five years with most of this Likely to liberals Are re elected. The Bottom line is that both party Clear that the liberals favour a larger fiction that the robust political consensus that far More policy. Since there of weak growth in the in part this come after 2006. They also insist Aneth with the conservative platform the plans Are affordable provided the econ and More activist Federal government Federal govern Money must be allocated to health care. Is essentially no reflects the Conser or $12 billion can be found through re arithmetic is More Complex. Starting omy performs As expected Baseline As evidenced by their determination not ment should avoid booms even though health care outlays Chance the nip next six years is natives belief that allocation of existing spending despite with a lower Baseline spending increase Federal revenues grow in line with Nom to reduce taxes and their intention to deficits and strive amount to one tenth of Canadas Gross will form a gov the Baseline spend the Chr Tien / Martin governments Sig of 2.9 per cent per year the tories Inal Gross Domestic product and ? in spend $80 billion More than the Conser mightily to keep Domestic product ? one of the highest Ern ment after nowhere contemplated ing numbers adopt Nal failure since 2000 to free up incr Promise a mix of expenditure and tax the Case of the conservatives ? Federal natives cumulatively Over the period the budget bal proportions among All Industrial june 28, lets looked by the liberals mental fiscal room by actually spending commitments costing some $58 billion spending outside of the health care and 2005-2010. Danced Over the in the party platforms nations ? and government health Bud at the fiscal include several Bil less on lower priority programs. Over five years. Of this $43 billion con defence / Security envelopes is tightly where canadians stand on this Funda rest of the decade. Or promises ;