Control Debt....everything else follows

Generally good article, but Chretien was NEVER elected on the basis of reducing expenses - the Liberal red book called for increased programs. He only was reined in when Manning and the Reform Party (including Harper) MADE the debt an issue and forced the Liberal government to make cuts. And we know how the Liberals did that - downloaded to the provinces to create a fantasy 'surplus' that they wanted to use in a future election to buy votes!

Control debt? That's for pikers.

Let me show you how to manage debt.

Tom, the mortgage man

Mauren

Yeah....somehow I missed all the downsized civil serpents.....as rare as unicorns......

Pierre Hussein Trudeau.

Barack Elliott Obama.

Same difference . . . Intellectual dilettantes who are both totally clueless on economic matters.

The thing is, the money belongs to the taxpayer. Therefore, the question is: who is most efficient, reasonable, and competent to invest and spend and consume this money?

If you choose: The Government, this means that your costs increase. That's because the government must add an enormous layer of bureaucrats to administer this gathering and dispensation of our money.

The costs of bureaucracy, unionized as they are, are enormous, with enormous salaries, benefits and pensions (the latter two are additions to the salaries but not taxed). And you can't get rid of these employees with their jobs-for-life. So, there's less money to invest and dispense back to the original creator of that wealth: the taxpayer.

Leaving wealth in private hands - and these hands are after all, the only ones that create it - means that it is invested into more industries as shareholder activities, put into widespread loans via banks; it serves to create more and diverse jobs; it spreads the wealth around in larger consumer zones. Government management of wealth goes, as I said, first to the government administrators, and then - rarely to investment or production, but primarily to short-term consumer usage.

Government funding should focus on communal projects such as defense and security, transportation, basic education, and should provide a security network for the genuinely in need. That's it.

The Economist had a good article about state capitalism a few months back.

It's the Chinese model that certain Nobel-winning economists espouse.

Curious how the Obama campaign is focusing on how Romney spend his money, rather than how they waste the taxpayers money.

The United States of Austerity.

Coming to a country near you, apparently later than sooner.

Too bad.

BTW, a very good writeup on Canada by CATO.

Bob Rae would probably be the equivelant manager of our economy compared to Obama. If Ontario could only turf out Mr. Green at any cost McGuinty before he drives out the remaining industry with the highest energy costs in the free world, it would go a long way muffle the sucking noise created by transfer payments coming from the now "have not" province. That would only leave Mulcair and of course Quebec , who unfortunately were born to suck.

When Canada is held up as a shining example of fiscal responsibility achieved via small government, you know the rest of the article isn't worth reading .

Canada compared to the rest of the Planet is doing aces. Allow private health care & a lot more debt will go.

Help is on the way! Ron Paul finally gets his Audit the Fed bill up for a vote in July. 'Hot times in DC.' to follow. Some defend the Fed, some don't; Romny/Obahama do, Ron Paul does not - Dr. Paul is still running for President. What will Mitt say to defend himself? Should be interesting:

www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/congress/item/11527-house-to-vote-on-ron-paul-bill-to-audit-the-federal-reserve

Since most middle aged and senior Canadians have lived through this already and since these "boomers" are still voting .... one has to wonder just what in God's name makes so many people so freeking stupid about government debt.

ttttalkin bbout...my .... gggeneration........mmmmm

Money taken OUT of the economy by government is the BIGGEST peril to the economic wellbeing of the nation. Uncontrolled taxation and spending and debt is POISON to our future.

ANY politician who promotes sustaining or worse increasing taxation or debt or spending, is either too stupid be governing or is a forking traitor.

And yet .... many people fail to understand how this affects them?

Teach you children.

Jamie you took the words out of my mouth! lol

Jamie, the article doesn't hold Canada up as a shining example. It states that we're in much better shape fiscally than the States, which is true, but that we still have some serious problems, which the article outlines (such as a too-high top income tax rate, growing health care spending and a certain spend-happy premier in Ontario).

It is definitely worth a full read.

I'd have to take exception to using our school system as any kind of example.......it's a complete mess, run by, and for, the unions.