Tuesday, March 10, 2009

"A Fascinating Revision Of History": Jim Flaherty

Jim Flaherty took to the airwaves today, chiding anyone who dared suggest he was behind the curve on Canada's recession:

Flaherty

"Nobody saw it coming, none of the economists saw it coming...

Newman:

"You're not surprised we're in a recession in 2009, you thought that was coming? Well, I'm not sure, when you did your fiscal update, it wasn't entirely clear what you thought, you didn't think it was coming then either"

Flaherty:

"Well no, no one did. See, this is the fascinating thing, you go and talk to the economists now, "well this was going to happen". Well, that's not what they said in November. This is a fascinating revision of history."

Here's a sampling of what some LEADING "economists" were saying in October and November of last year, all dates PRIOR to Deficit Jim's fiscal, cough, update. Speaking of HISTORICAL REVISION:
October 6th 2008

I think we're looking at a much more serious downturn than a mild recession that most of us are talking about," said Doug Porter, with BMO Capital Markets, at a meeting of senior economists in Toronto...

October 6th 2008


TD Bank's Don Drummond said he sees the economy shrinking until late 2009 and then only gradually recovering.

October 6th 2008


"[We're] forecasting Canadian and U.S. recessions, plus 100 basis points of [Bank of Canada] and Fed cuts that could come at any time. This is not just made-in-U.S.A. weakness as Canada faces its own home-grown recession signals," Scotiabank economists Derek Holt and Karen Cordes

November 1 2008

Toronto Dominion's forecasting director Beata Caranci has issued a new report that not only says a recession has begun, but that it could be severe. While there's still a chance to avoid the worst, it says, the world's industrial nations collectively could be about to suffer the worst economic setback since the Great Depression.

November 12, 2008

A recession in Canada is ``inevitable'' as the economic slump in the U.S. spreads north, Toronto-Dominion Bank chief executive officer Edmund Clark said.

November 20, 2008

"Overall, given that the balance of economic risks is tilted to the downside, our judgment is that the [worst-case scenario] of budget projections represents a more likely range of actual outcomes." Kevin Page

Mr. Flaherty said that Canadians should wait for his government's official numbers, adding he "didn't agree entirely" with some of the assumptions in Mr. Page's report.

November 25, 2008

OTTAWA–Canada has fallen into a recession that will last for most of next year as the world falls into the worst slump in a quarter of a century, says a respected international think-tank.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says Canada will not be immune from the global malaise, the worst since the deep recession of the early 1980s


"Fascinating" indeed.

UPDATE

I see I'm not the only one who noticed the "revisions" today. This is great:

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Great video clip. I love how like to play with the truthiness of the matter to somehow make it fit the current moment.

Anonymous said...

And experts like Nouriel Roubini already had talked about the US housing bubble sinking the economy in 2005, and all of those silly conservative "think tanks" that Harper and his ilk hold in such high esteem laughed at him.

Who's laughing now?

JimmE said...

I see Deficit Jim is on the YouTUBE, but his Dear Leader is not yet. Anyone have a YouTUBE link to our present PM's rousing let's-pull-together-round-of-HOPE-ie-ness?

PS
Why did neither one give their updates in a Car Part Plant? Car Part Plants have worked so well Reform-a-Tories in the past.

the regina mom said...

Peter Schiff, a U.S. economist who advises Ron Paul, predicted the global recession back in 2006.

Few took him seriously.

Jerry Prager said...

For every thing there is a spin, spin spin spin, a spin for every purpose under heaven, spin spin spin A time to spin, a time to spin, there is season, spin spin spin.

Harper spin you can rely on.

marie said...

You know, Dim Jim nickname suits him very well. He has had a few memory lapses but Jim, like I mentioned on another post, you and your cult leader have left a ton of footprints that can be used over and over again in an election campaign and sent to Canadians in 10% dirty ads like the Cons used and have resorted to yet again. He doesn't seem to realize that Canadians do not like being lied to or made fools of. Hopefully the opposition parties will keep repeating the untruths and surely that will will show the world what an inept and under qualifed team that continue to lie are never trust worthy. And forget the mishaps the previously government did in the past. Canadians didn’t stand for it so why should they with this government. People are hurting and suffering badly and you know what happens when people get wounded. They strike back and it won't be any different with the Alliance? Cons either.