Crawl Across the Ocean

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Opposite & The Green Shift

George does the opposite:



I was somewhat surprised to see Stephen Harper say the other day that the Liberals proposed shift of taxes from incomes to carbon would "wreak havoc on Canada's economy, destroy jobs, weaken business at a time of global uncertainty."

Sadly, no reporters were on hand, to ask, if increasing taxes on carbon and reducing taxes on income would destroy the economy, shouldn't Harper be raising income taxes and slashing carbon taxes in order to create an economic boom? If he truly believes what he says, isn't he showing gross negligence with respect to the Canadian economy. Given that the economy is currently struggling - couldn't he fix this with a reverse green shift, e.g. black shift?

* * *

Looking forward, the following scenario seems plausible:

1) Conservative party forms the next government
2) Canada goes into recession (we're pretty much in one already)
3) Conservative apologists explain that only a moron would blame the recession on the Conservatives because the federal government's policies are not so influential that they can change the course of the whole economy.

If you're childish like me, it will be fun to throw Harper's comment in the face of Conservative supporters when that time comes.

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8 Comments:

  • shouldn't Harper be raising income taxes and slashing carbon taxes in order to create an economic boom?

    Oh, I'm so jealous that I didn't say that first!

    By Blogger Stephen Gordon, at 4:16 PM  

  • What exactly is Harper doing to stimulate the economy? There are several serious issues that for some reason we seem to be ignoring during this election.
    - Recession
    - Environment
    - Health Care
    - Current state of democracy in Canada
    - etc.

    By Blogger Mulder, at 4:21 PM  

  • No matter what happens, it will always be someone else's fault.

    By Blogger Greg, at 4:50 PM  

  • "If he truly believes what he says.....


    Declan, some assumptions will skew any analysis, and in so doing often point towards a debunking of said assumption that suddenly makes everything much more clear.

    Not to mention sensical.



    (but I'm assuming you already know that)

    .

    By Blogger RossK, at 4:56 PM  

  • Hello

    I think you may be making what people say was Ronald Reagan's big mistake, assuming that something produces a single linear effect as it varies across its range. Income and carbon taxes might be currently at just the critical points where they have the best effect on the economy but would harm it if lowered/raised further.

    Also, it's some way from the proposition that the government affects the economy to the one that the government can predictably manage the economy, and some way even from the latter to the proposition that the govenment is the only thing that can affect the economy.

    Best Wishes,
    Alan

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:20 PM  

  • Harper does raise income taxes though. Here's the proof.

    By Blogger Saskboy, at 8:52 AM  

  • Bartkid sez,
    Maybe having Elections Canada hire a lot of poll workers and putting a lot of campaign ads on tv (i.e., having an election) would stimulate the economy.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:26 PM  

  • This comment has been removed by the author.

    By Blogger harada57, at 2:25 AM  

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