[Bruce_the_vii]

Actually national politics. The Keystone is the deficits represent a tax revolt. The deficits were people not paying for goods and services the government bought for them. It's a refusal to pay. The other Keystone is government cuts are almost as difficult as raising taxes. While people wouldn't pay for said goods and services there has never been much discussion, rather concensus, of what to cut. Finally things like deficits and unemployment are not just sore points but politically volatile. Witness what happened to the Mulroney Conservatives for not handling the deficit. This modern history teaches lessons, has been tested. These are basic lessons that I lived through but I see lots of posts on CKA that government should spend, or smaller government is easy or the people are happy with the current situation of Canada slipping socially and economically.

[Bruce_the_vii]

Another gem about politics that I learned along the way is that politicians "spend". Basically that is what the elected officials are about. I saw this economist talking about the deficit in the USA some years back and he emotes "the deficit is good - it keeps them from spending". That's the key. Sure there are elected officials that advocate fiscal discipline but that's on Tuesday, by Thursday they are spending. The current example is Flaherty. He wants to be known as the tax cut Finance Minister. Opps, now he wants to tinker with pensions, the CPP. The population is aging, costs are going up but Flaherty wants to spend a little before it happens. It's an urge. Flaherty is a spender, like all the others.

[Bruce_the_vii]

There's a deficit, the government has to cut. If the right wing Conservatives really offer smarter, smaller government nows their monement in the sun to cut the worst programs. Lets see what they do, how that goes. So far they decided to spend, cuts taxes for corporations by $50 billion.