theQuestion: Based on the leaders’ economic debate, which of the three candidates would be the biggest risk to the economy?*
Petr asks the reader this week to imagine the Canadian economy under the direction of Stephen Harper as a vehicle travelling down a steep hill, suddenly losing its brakes and speeding out of control. It’s safe to assume the brake failure is analogous to the collapse in oil prices that has rocked world economies, not just our own. There is some merit to this analogy.
According to Petr, the “proper course of action” when faced with a sudden catastrophic failure of brakes is to crash your vehicle into a cement barrier rather than safely gain control.
If Thomas Mulcair were to gain power, I believe he would indeed panic and crash the Canadian economy — whereas the experienced driver with a “steady hand on the wheel” would opt to prevent a crash by applying the emergency brake. Yes, there is more than one way to gain control. Only the left would advocate deliberately crashing the car in order to prevent a crash.
There is great risk in putting Mulcair and the NDP behind the wheel of the Canadian economy. They are inexperienced drivers. The NDP’s record at the provincial level — at least in B.C. — is inglorious. And the NDP has no experience driving at the federal level at all.
Going into the debate, I was quite amenable to a convincing argument from Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. But I was disappointed. He was just too shrill. He may have lost the opportunity to win me over. I do think it’s rich for Harper and Mulcair to attack Trudeau on his forthright plan to run a deficit in order to stimulate the economy.
Following the 2008 recession Harper used deficit spending to bolster the Canadian economy — delivering six consecutive budget deficits in a row — only to balance the budget with a surplus this year. At least with Harper there appears to be no surprises ahead.
With Mulcair and the NDP it’s another matter. Talk about lowering personal taxes and promises of balanced budgets sound duplicitous. For years, those on the left have argued budget deficits don’t matter and starving the economy through austerity is not the way out of a recession. The reality that the NDP will choose to increase taxes and run a deficit in order to fund social programs is axiomatic.
Canada cannot afford to grant Mulcair a learner’s permit.