Thursday, January 22, 2015
Stephen Harper and the Fall of the Oily Messiah
For almost a decade he was able to fool countless Canadians into believing that he was the Oily Messiah.
The Great Economist Leader who would lead us to prosperity down the tarry road to Greater Alberta.
Even if he left the rest of the country in ruins, and the planet in flames.
But yesterday that myth was officially shattered by the Governor of the Bank of Canada.
The Bank of Canada shocked markets today by cutting its key overnight lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point, citing the economic threat posed by plunging oil prices. "The drop in oil prices is unambiguously negative for the Canadian economy," Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz said in a morning news conference.
Leaving Stephen Harper to contemplate the fossilized remains of his Jurassic oil policies...
And although he hasn't been seen for days, and there are rumours that he is suffering from a massive bout of depression.
He must also be contemplating the remains of his shattered reputation.
The Conservative government appears increasingly vulnerable on what is supposed to be its biggest strength – economic management – after the Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate Wednesday to try to cushion a faltering Canadian economy from the dramatic fall in oil prices.
And wondering how long he'll have to remain in that closet.
While experts wonder how he's going to rescue his insane plan to balance the budget before the next election, after blowing the surplus before he had one, so he can bribe voters with tax breaks.
Or wonder how he's going to glue together the shattered remains of his credibility.
Scott Clark, an adjunct professor at Carleton University and former deputy minister of Finance Canada, said the government is now “caught in a corner of their own making” by promising billions in tax breaks and a balanced budget when the dollars likely aren’t there to afford all of this.
“Their credibility is taking a beating because people are saying, ‘This doesn’t add up,’ ” Clark said in an interview.
And whether he'll ever be able to summon up enough intelligence and/or courage to face reality.
“They see sound economic policy entirely in the world of ‘eliminate the deficit’ – that’s how they define their brand,” he said. “They now know that’s a corner which is hard to get out of. If they were smart, they would just accept reality.”
But of course, none of that bothers Oily Joe Oliver, because he isn't too smart, and he has been out of it for years.
So he's still flogging the idea of a balanced budget, like he once flogged the water from the tarry ponds.
Claiming that he absolutely MUST balance the budget, because it's an "ethical issue."
Finance Minister Joe Oliver, who is in Davos, Switzerland, for meetings of the World Economic Forum, said balancing the budget is an “ethical issue” that ensures fairness between generations.
“We think it’s wrong to burden our children, our grandchildren with expenditures that we’re incurring today, so we think a balanced budget is important and we’re going to achieve it,” he told CNBC in an interview.
Can you believe that? A Con using the word ETHICAL?
When that insane rush to balance the budget is just a grubby scheme to buy votes.
Or can you believe a Con claiming to care about future generations when the Harperite cult has been leading the charge to torch the planet.
It beggars belief, like the Oily Messiah and his gang of hopeless Con incompetents are threatening to beggar us.
While still claiming only they can lead us to prosperity.
Even as the loonie goes down...down...DOWN...
And the good news?
The myth of the Oily Messiah, or Stephen Harper as a Great Economist Leader, was a powerful one.
For reasons I'd rather not explain. For they begin with idiot and end with insane.
But when a myth like that is finally shattered, it cannot be repaired, or salvaged...
It was all he had going for him, and now it's gone.
It must be driving him CRAAAAAAAAZY !!!
We will use it against him in the next election campaign.
And we are going to defeat him...
Please click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Part of shattering that myth Simon includes convincing Canadians what a "balanced budget" translates into in terms of reality. It means cuts, cuts and more cuts; touting job creation while eliminating thousands of good paying jobs, putting more people on the unemployment line and under employment for many talented folks. Nothing at all remotely ethical about what these snake oil salesmen have to offer.
ReplyDeleteKeeping down the masses is all part of the PLAN.........the Big Picture. You will never convince me that this is a "one- man scenario"...........Harper is a Puppet for Bigger Fish!
DeleteIt seems there is an endless supply of money............for whatever the Government wishes to do!
Maybe I could apply for a Loan so I could travel all over Canada and the World so I could make "ANNOUNCEMENTS" before we go to the polls? Harper has sold his soul to the devil........not sure which one!
hi bcwaterboy...it's absolutely insane. There are no good economic reasons to balance the budget in such a hurry now that circumstances have changed. By imposing austerity just so he can brag about balancing the budget he's not only showing no judgement, he's endangering our economy and risking another recession. The man should be arrested for being a dangerous Con artist...
DeleteWho actually voted for Oily Old Dishonourable Joe Oliver anyways???????????
ReplyDeletehi anon...some fools in Toronto who are either too dumb or too greedy to care. The guy should have retired after his recent heart operation, since he reads all he says, and is clearly just a senile puppet of the PMO...
DeleteNow the Globe is trying to tell the conservatives "its's okay if you don't balance the budget. YOu are doing a wonderful job and we'll stand by whatever you do." At least I think that's what the editorial said. I'm a little biased. But the conservatives have spent years slicing and dicing in order to do this. I think they should keep their insane promise so we can grill them for spending the surplus.
ReplyDeletehi greg...well that's the Globe for you. Its reporters can list all the crimes of the Con regime, some better than others. But when it comes down to the moment of decision, the Globe editorial board always leans rightwards like the Tower of Pisa. If they're offering the Cons advice now it's only because they are afraid they might lose...
Delete"Can you believe that? A Con using the word ETHICAL? "
ReplyDeleteOf course I ca n. Lots of people use words they don't understand. He probably thinks it means "pork barrel"
hi jrkrideau...good one. And goodness knows the Cons know pork barrel when they sniff one. But you have to admit that Oliver quote is hilarious. Delaying balancing the budget by a few months is "unethical?" Honestly I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when the freaks in the PMO came up with that one. It's priceless and shameless...
DeleteI would love to be in Davos right about now........
ReplyDeletehi Kathleen...Well I tell you what, you scrape up the ten million bucks, and I'll join you...;)
DeleteGreat article Simon. It made me Lol. Your absolutely right about the myth that Harper is a competent economic manager need to be exposed as just that, a myth. And it was reality all on it's own that debunked the myth. His incompetency once you analyze his policies is jaw dropping.
ReplyDeletehi Pamela...thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoy mocking Great Economist Leader's pretensions. For they couldn't be more fraudulent. The man is devoid of vision, he has not prepared us for a greener future, he is an absolute failure, and yet STILL he would pretend that he is the only one who knows what he is doing. Once it was farcical now it's a tragic comedy...
DeleteThey do have to balance the budget, though. Can't just keep increasing the debt forever.
ReplyDeletehi Hugh...yes balancing the budget is a good target, but what we are talking about here is balancing it in three months, or letting it balance itself over the course of a few more months. There is no reason for the rush, and rushing things at a time when our economy is losing steam, risks making the situation worse not better...
DeleteA sole source no bid contract to Irving Shipyards for $26 Billion, what is this Russia? Airshow Pete gets the most expensive seat in Canadian history by many Billions.
ReplyDeletehi Steve...that is just the latest big example of how the Cons are trying to buy the election. You should check out the Quebec City area, Harper's lonely bastion in Quebec. It's been flooded with announcements and getting more money than the rest of the province. It's an absolute disgrace...
DeleteThe Conservatives can't come up with a budget because of, just one commodity at a lower price? This is very grim especially since, the US is starting to boom.
ReplyDeleteCanada is pretty much foreign owned and the foreigners get the resource jobs. Canadians were laid off at the oil patch while, foreigners keep theirs. There is again, pretend shock and of course that will be investigated. Now there are people from the Philippines, being trained for our resource jobs right at home. Easier to hide that fact, I guess?
Then there is Harper's asinine FIPA deal with China. They too have our resources and will take many jobs as well. China will be in Canada for, a minimum of 31 years.
Then there are Harper's oil and gas robber barons. Harper gives them, $60 billion in tax reductions.
Foreignes also send their wages back to their own countries. Seems, there is more money going out of Canada, than coming in.
Now all of Harper's lies, deceit, corruption and thefts, have caught up with him.
hi anon...Harper has done nothing beyond take the easy route, and turn us once again into hewers of wood and drawers of water. Even though we have an educated population and we could do so much better. Everything about that government is both corrupt and incompetent...
DeleteAnon 2:25PM, well put. Harper has sold our souls in ways that will be very difficult and expensive to reclaim. When I hear idiots claim he's a great economic steward I get quite nauseated but calm myself by remembering that you can't fix stupid. Then there's Joe Oilever's claim “We think it’s wrong to burden our children, our grandchildren with expenditures that we’re incurring today." What about our actual debt Joe? How much has that been reduced? Zero! Oh, its gone up, but we wont bring that up eh Joe?
ReplyDeleteTheir partisan radio ads are now all over the dial along with their campaign ads and again, they're sickening and borderline fraudulent. I hope the majority feel the same and make informed decisions come election day.
hi anon...good point how much have have they reduced the debt, at a time when the economy was ticking along reasonable well. Oh wait, they actually increased it. While spending about a billion dollars on porky ads to make it look like they know what they are doing. Never in my worst nightmares could I have imagined such a grotesque government...
DeleteBalancing the budget? No problem. The Cons may steal 1 or 2 billion out of the contingency fund.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stephen-harper-says-falling-oil-prices-won-t-throw-government-off-course-1.2928227
hi David...yes there can be no doubt, I sawn of the Cons on Power and Politics and he made that quite clear. They will raid the rainy day fund, for no good reason. And that at a time when many Canadians are losing their jobs, and who knows what man made or natural disaster could strike this country? It's criminally irresponsible...
DeleteAs BC waterboy says nothing ethical here in the Harptonian wasteland...
ReplyDelete