Friday, March 23, 2007

Not So "New"

You have to hand it to the Conservatives, gall seems to come naturally:
The federal government is crowing about a World Trade Organization review this week that lauded Canada's trade policy.

The WTO secretariat reported Wednesday that Ottawa's "outward-looking orientation" has effectively insulated the economy from several external shocks and helps explain Canada's good economic performance. It also attributed Canada's performance to the huge demand for Canadian commodities in China.

International Trade Minister David Emerson says the findings are proof Conservative government policies are working.

What the government website fails to mention, the review takes place every 4 years, and the OVERWHELMING majority of the positive findings are based under Liberal rule. A few tidbits for context:
2. Annual average GDP growth between 2002 and 2005 was just below the economy's potential of 3%. This overall positive performance was underpinned by sound macroeconomic policies. On the fiscal front, Canada has posted federal surpluses since its last Review. The provinces have also practiced fiscal discipline, resulting in a combined provincial surplus of 1% of GDP in fiscal year 2005/06. Canada has made progress in reducing its federal debt burden, with the debt-to-GDP ratio falling to 35% in 2005/06, from almost 44% in 2002/03.

4. Trade and foreign investment are particularly important for Canada, which is the world's fifth largest merchandise trader. Goods and services trade was the equivalent of close to 72% of Canada's GDP in 2005. Although most of Canada's trade continues to take place with the United States (71% of merchandise trade in 2005), imports have diversified away from this source, reflecting primarily the growing importance of China as a supplier. The composition of merchandise trade has also changed considerably, with the share of fuels in total exports rising from 14% in 2001 to 20% in 2005. During the same period, the outward FDI stock increased by 16.5% (to Can$465 billion), while inward FDI grew by 22.1% (to Can$416 billion).

Federal corporation tax was reduced from 28% in 2000 to 21% in 2004. Various tax credits are offered at both the federal and provincial/territorial levels.

The "new" government rides the Liberal legacy and now takes the credit. To be fair, I guess Emerson can crow, given his past.

4 comments:

Scotian said...

Steve V:

What *are* you doing letting facts get in the way of the omnipotent and omniscient Harper and the party he leads into the promised land, the CPC?

Don't you know that mere facts are irrelevant in the age of Harper and the CPC? Didn't you know that all Liberal governments know how to do is wreck Canada's economy while stealing from it? Surely you must know this, the Harper CPC has told us all this for years now.

Yes, the preceding is sarcasm (for those that can't tell, as I am certain Steve V can), and one of the main reasons I prefer the Libs to CPC aside from social and allocation of federal powers issues is because the Libs demonstrated they knew how to turn the fiscal nightmare we were in around, and more build the economy into such a strong and powerful force that it was able to resist (for the first time that I've been alive for) getting dragged down by a US recession (the early 2000-2002 one) which indicates some extremely competent economic management.

Conversely we have seen from the CPC no such competence; the only fiscal competence they have is in spending it in ways they think will get them enough votes for their majority. This is the first government I have ever seen of any party that has no redeeming qualities/policies to it, and it is led by a man that has shown nothing but contempt for the Canada of the last 20 years until he suddenly became PM and then Canada became the greatest place on earth, funny how that works....

The Liberals had their faults, but they were significantly better economic managers than the CPC, and the only reason the CPC is in the position to be so free with money these days is because of the hard work of the preceding Liberal government. Not that the CPC will ever acknowledge that of course, for they cannot say a good word about the Libs on anything no matter how accurate/honest it may be, otherwise it weakens their "demonize the Liberals" approach to campaigning.

It takes a year or two before the policies enacted by a new government start having significant impacts on the economy, that is just reality. So IOW the CPC has been coasting on Liberal competence where the good economic news has been concerned so far in their tenure as government, got to love the irony in that along with the chutzpah as Steve V noted in their trying to take any credit for it. Yet again the CPC uses rhetoric that presumes the average voter/Canadian is too ignorant/stupid to know better, one has just got to love how much of the CPC rhetoric is premised on the ignorance/stupidity of the voters/citizens about how their country and government/politics works.

Steve V said...

"the only fiscal competence they have is in spending it in ways they think will get them enough votes for their majority."

I heard the argument that Harper has calculated he can afford to alienate fiscal conservatives, because ultimately they have no where to go. There could be some truth to that, but you do need to motivate your base.

Monkey Loves to Fight said...

I think Harper is right with fiscal conservatives in the sense that they aren't likely to park their votes elsewhere (unless they go Libertarian perhaps), but at the same time if the base is unmotivated, a lot could just not bother showing up while if those on the left still despise him as much as before, they will show up either way.

Steve V said...

miles

You're right. The base was motivated during the last election, but issues like income trust, capital gains and fiscal management are alienating natural constituents (see Andrew Coyne) and this could translate with turnout.