Stephen Harper's Deluded and Dangerous Economic Lies

It couldn't have been a more disgraceful sight. Or one more pathetic.

Stephen Harper posing in front of a wall of fidgeting and yawning children.

Admitting for the first time that the economy is in trouble.

But somehow managing to blame others. 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the government will react with "strong fiscal discipline" to the "downturn" in the Canadian economy, which he blamed on the recent turmoil in the global economy. "Let me just state clearly what the situation is, there has been a downturn and the reason for that has been the downturn in the global economy," Harper said in Pickering, Ont.

And even more alarmingly dismissing suggestions from leading economists that he should stimulate the sagging economy, instead of trying to smother it with his slash and burn austerity policies. 

And his deranged obsession with the deficit...



Harper added that the federal government will not "spiral ourselves into deficit" and face credit downgrades, create an "investment freeze" by hiking taxes on businesses or take away tax breaks to Canadian families. 

 "Those are things we don't do," he said. "What we are doing, is providing strong fiscal discipline with lower taxes and we will have very large scale investment going into the Canadian economy this month alone through the increased universal childcare benefits."

When in fact what's happening to the economy has very little to do with what's happening in Greece, China, or even the United States. Which is recovering from a  deeper recession much faster than we are.

The main reason our economy is faltering is because he ravaged our manufacturing sector with the so-called Dutch Disease, by putting all our eggs in one oily basket...



Only to end up with egg all over his face.

His puny porky childcare payments will do almost nothing to stimulate anything, except he hopes his sagging poll numbers.

And since the economy does need to be stimulated, and he's already in a deficit no matter what he says.

As Mike Moffat points out, rather than fearing it he should be embracing it. 

Between four straight months of falling GDP and record trade deficits, the economic news coming out of Canada over the last few months has been rather grim. The slowing economy has all but certainly pushed the federal government into deficit position. Given the weak state of the economy, a budgetary deficit should be embraced, not feared. 

The government could still hit its surplus if it so chooses, by deferring planned spending into future years. This would go against all economic logic, however, as the government should be putting additional money into a weakening economy, not taking it out. Tightening fiscal policy during a slowdown to meet an arbitrary budgetary target is completely counterproductive.

Slashing and burning to meet an arbitrary budgetary target can only damage the economy further, and lead us into the dark desert of another recession.

And as I pointed out the other day, his foul and incompetent regime's pursuit of a budgetary surplus which isn't there.

 Is starting to look like INSANITY...



But then of course he doesn't care. All he cares about is winning the next election. And since he made deficit reduction the centrepiece of his economic platform he feels he can't back down now.

Even if he has to deny reality, or lie like a thief. Or a Con artist.

And the good news? By so doing he has trapped himself.

He can't do the right thing to save the economy and himself, for all the wrong reasons.

His incompetence will come back to haunt him...



It will damage Great Economist Buffoon Leader beyond recognition.

And it will help us defeat him...

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