Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me - you can’t get fooled again

Politically I can see where Iggy is coming from. By not proposing amendments, he's making this budget 100% Harper's. So WHEN it fails and we go back to the polls, Harper will have one less out, so Canada will be better in the long run.

Unfortunately, the long run doesn’t feed families or keep/put people back to work NOW, unless you’re a current and potential Liberal MP's that is. There are some issues that I would have felt acceptable to leave alone, tax cuts and university funding for example. Other aspects of the budget, like EI qualification and infrastructure funding matching requirements, are absolutely unacceptable and HAVE to be change.

Iggy needed to put policy over politics for the good of the country. His failure do so has convinced me where his loyalties lay, and they aren’t in the order I hoped. There’s an old saying in Ottawa - I know it’s in Toronto, probably in Ottawa - that says, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me - you can’t get fooled again. Well sir, I won’t be fooled again.

11 comments:

Ted Betts said...

You say this: "Unfortunately, the long run doesn’t feed families or keep/put people back to work NOW, unless you’re a current and potential Liberal MP's that is."

But then you say Iggy did wrong not to oppose this budget.

I'm sorry but, with respect, those two thoughts don't work together. If we oppose the budget, then there is NO budget and NO spending until AFTER an election (which we would likely lose).

This budget is not wholly bad and gets some money out to where it is needed. The problem is that because of Harper calling an election he promised not to have and then cutting and running from Parliament to save his job, Parliament has not been able to do its job since May 2008.

The important thing here is to get what assistance we can quickly because it is now desperately needed. Once some money and programs are in place - we can assess how they are doing in two months. If the Conservatives are still up to their games, we take them down responsibly, with our own house in order, with some help out there and with a clear plan for Canadians.

The Mound of Sound said...

No,Iggy hasn't made this "Harper's budget." It was Iggy's call to save or kill this budget and no one else's. It lies at Ignatieff's feet and that's just where Harper wanted to nail it.

Now we have the Interational Monetary Fund releasing estimates showing the Harper/Ignatieff budget understates by half the recession impacts Canada is going to sustain.

It's like kicking a soccer ball only half way up a steep hill. All that effort and the ball winds up right back at your feet.

After his disgraceful dance on Gaza, this collapse by Ignatieff is inexcusable. He's proven that he's unfit to lead the Liberal Party.

Andrew P. said...

Ted, I agree, the budget isn't wholey bad and does get money out, but in my opinion not enough to make it worthwhile to prop up Harper without more amendments then what Ignatieff offered.

In the ultra-short term, a delayed budget would have meant less money for everybody, but in my opinion that would have been worth it for the amendments I have mentioned. As it stands now, even with Ignatieff's amendment, not enough people will be getting help in the ultra-short term, short term OR long term, which to me is unacceptable.

Ted Betts said...

Fortunately, Mound, most Liberals and most Canadians disagree with you strongly.

Unfortunately, Mound, your plan and Layton's plan would require even more delays in getting any kind of help for Canadians.

And Andrew, please, you cannot tell me with a straight face (straight keyboard?) that record breaking spending of $85 billion is not going to help anybody. That is just not credible and Canadians would be outraged if the Conservatives were voted down because, with this record-breaking spending, we tried to say they didn't spend ENOUGH.

There are a lot of things I don't like about this budget, but because of Harper's delays and inactions, Harper's budget is the best we can do right now.

Fortunately, in only two months time (assuming the amendment passes), we get to assess and decide if it is time to bring him down.

Jay said...

Add me to that fastly growing minority Ted.

Iggy really screwed up. He did no better than Dion would have except with fancier and clearer english, which to many is just as hard to listen to.

Its Iggy's job to oppose not put in report cards to allow this wreckless government to continue. The Harperites lie and conceal and will do the same with these reports.

Iggy spoke a great deal about helping those most vulnerable but when it came to the EI situation, he caved astoundingly. A 5 week extension on EI is useless because its not automatic and is decided by a panel of conservative appointees. Here in TO the max is 38 weeks, now I guess its 43? After 9 years of paying EI this group decided I get just 20 weeks and it took 6 weeks for that.I will not get the extra 5 and EI covers just rent and student debt. Debt I might add that the government is profiting from and also chose not to address, nor did Iggy.

Personally, I'm back to work in less than a month, so the budget will not actually help or hinder me but I now know how shitty our governments, of either political strip, treats 50% (lower income brackets) of the electorate and why they could really care less to vote anymore.

I'm thinking about to joining them.

The Mound of Sound said...

Well Ted, the only person I've heard speak for "most Liberals and most Canadians" is you.

And what makes you think that, if Harper agrees to periodic economic reports, that means we get a confidence vote every two months on the budget our Leader quite willingly accepted. Iggy alone had the decision to foist this budget on Canada. He made it as much his as Harper's. He plainly wants to have it both ways, but he can't.

Ted Betts said...

So Mound, you think it is acceptable to wait until April or May before we have a budget that is acceptable to you? With actual spending delayed until the summer?

I don't think that is responsible at all. And I know Canadians would not tolerate that kind of delay.

Andrew P. said...

Ted, you're either reading between lines that aren't there, or putting words into my mouth. I never said the money wouldn't help anybody, in fact I said it does help and I support some of the measures.

You make the assumption that the amendments I suggested would undoubtedly lead to an election, which I believe is the least possible outcome. The most likley scenario is that the Cons would accept them as long as the demands are reasonable, which I believe they could be (hell, they've already thrown their ideology out the window). Even if they didn't accept them, I believe an unwillingness on Harper's side to accept reasonable amendments would just feed the GG's belief that Harper's the problem and that the Coalition should be given a chance to lead.

James Curran said...

Actually Ted, there is zero money rolling anywhere. I suspect you know that already though.

Every major city, except for Calgary and Edmonton maybe, is infrastructurally bankrupt Ted. Where is the City of Toronto going to come up with money to match Fed funds? Certainly not anytime before the summer anyway. Where is the already bankrupt City of Vancouver going to match Federal funds after coughing up $500 million for an Olympic village?

Where's the money Ted for the already thousands of employees that need a better EI system? Where is the money for working mothers and daycare?

And, if the rich and famous decide to put a new slate floor in their cottage, they'll get a credit. Awesome. Better than making people help the environment with new energy efficient home I guess.

Yes Ted, there are lots of amendments that CAN and SHOULD be made. None of which should be receiving a report card from a government that has yet to tell the truth since they came into office.

Ted Betts said...

"I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth,” Mr. McGuinty said at a news conference on Wednesday. “This is real. It's meaningful and it's coming here just in time. This is a time when we're taking a shellacking in the manufacturing sector.”

James Curran said...

The federal budget is a deliberate attempt to “shaft” Newfoundland and Labrador, Premier Danny Williams said Wednesday as he called for the Liberals to insist on an amendment protecting the province.