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Originally Posted by biguc
Gordon Sinclair is a champaign socialist, a mighty champion of the poor and downtrodden as long as he can do so within the context of a circle-jerk with his ilk.
Anyway, if I can turn this conversation away from Wab Kinew's Bogus Journey, what do you all actually think of Pallister's recent bumbling? rrskylar and Wolf both posted about the deficit recently, in other threads, and that got me thinking a bit harder about it.
The 2016 deficit was drastically lower than they expected. No surprise there, Economic growth is outpacing government spending growth. In a few years, that should take a significant bite out of the deficit. Pallister telling us we should pay more for worse healthcare is a bitter pill as is, and a big part of his pitch for us to accept it, is that the deficit is out of hand. But it would seem that it's not. It's important to convince us, then, that we need to balance the provincial budget sooner than later, and that there's no better way to accomplish it than to cut healthcare, or charge more for it.
If those are the only options, as the PCs claimed they were in their loaded survey, I'm not sure that balancing the budget sooner than later is that important. I'm all for a balanced budget, but not at risk of incurring further, greater costs down the line. A while back, I described Pallister as the kind of person who would let his house rot away around him in order to save a buck by not hiring roofers. Here's a case for that point.
Pallister's trilemma is a false one. We aren't forced to suffer a deficit, suffer a new tax, or suffer worse healthcare. And this is where the PCs have lost me, completely. They present themselves as a band of self-made men, savvy business people who can take care of our province's finances. They aren't. They're losers and basic politicians; fools who leave money on the table and attempt to manipulate truth to fit what they provide, rather than change what they offer in order to suit reality.
When Pallister first came to power I gave him credit he doesn't deserve. I mistook him for a cagey and crafty man, on some level. From day one, he's had an easy way to balance the budget, cut the PST, and save face: the carbon tax. It would have been easy for our provincial government to introduce a deficit slaying carbon tax, and with Trudeau threatening to force it on us anyway, they could have passed the blame onto the Canadian right's favorite whipping boy, leaving themselves immune to criticism. Instead, they've decided to introduce an unpopular tax out of left field, that absolutely nobody will support on its own merits.
Then there's legal weed. Last year, Colorado collected $200 million in pot taxes. Pot is a growing market, so that number grows every year. Adjusting for population, Manitoba could look to take ~$40 million. Why, if the deficit is so dire, were they asking to delay legalization? Don't they like money? Where is Pallister's vaunted business sense that affords him a $2 million home? Since he bought that house with his wife's money, maybe he should just let her do his job.
And this government has the nerve to attach "outcomes" to its funding agreements with the city.
The funny thing is, legal weed will happen with or without the PCs' cooperation. So will economic growth. And a carbon tax likely will too. All they have to do is avoid lighting cash on fire for a few years and the budget will end up balanced. But sure, introduce an unpopular tax and blow up your chances in the next election, Pallister. Anything to eliminate this pesky job you have that cuts into your Costa Rican retirement.
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I hear some of your complaints, but you completely lost me at Carbon Tax. No matter whom he could pin that on, a carbon tax in a province as clean as ours, is —, and that's an even faster way for him to lose his base. A lot of conservatives believe that health care cannot be expected to be free. Many conservatives, myself included, don't like weed either. I have some friends that dabble in it and I don't really care about that, but I can't say I'm keen on introducing weed as a legal social norm as a parent. That said, cigarettes are legal and I don't want them near that either.
I have to read more about his health care plan to understand its workings, but that's been difficult with this process, along with his cutting of funds, emergency rooms, etc... Everyone is complaining so loudly that even getting down to the basic facts of the proposal is difficult.
Personally, I've never been of the opinion that our health care should be free. And for some in this forum that would knee jerk into the assumption that I'd mirror the american model would also be wrong. I get that Canadians are entitled bastards to anything viewed as "free" (it's not, we're taxed), but atleast if he taxes us on this he's being honest about what the money is going towards.
He's atleast somewhat believable to me... because what conservative would make all these cuts and close ERs and then add tax unless it was absolutely necessary? I'm definitely giving him a big benefit of the doubt here. I also find it hilarious how this is a tax that people are suddenly pissed about although it's designed to fund our precious healthcare. If any other parties did this, we'd be praising their commitment to keeping it "free" and the "quality" "high". And if this were the other parties I'd be yelling at them... but I trust those parties less and kind of view the deviation as something that must be necessary. Ironically, Pallister said the tax would be based on income, which lefts love.
A carbon tax is no easier on our pockets and has no relation to life in Manitoba nor our healthcare. A carbon tax is a complete lie. Furthermore, it's a slippery slope that sets the political tone towards the future. If we find a way to fund and run our healthcare properly, we can scale back spending and taxing. A carbon tax? The greens/libs/dips will never let that get repealed. It would mark a permanent ideological shift in our province's politics that I can't see us coming back from.
If this was the NDP they'd just tax anything else and take that money and put it into our healthcare while telling us how they're keeping it "free" for everyone.
If I'm incoherent, it's because I'm slightly hungover and lacking focus.
EDIT: Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed at him.
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