You Need to Vote

This is a very troubling time in history and no one has ever experienced anything like it.  We as citizens have our opportunity to either give a vote of confidence to the ruling government or to seek change.  We have this right.  We must exercise this right to keep it.

People that say they don’t know or don’t care about what is going on in their country get the government they deserve.  We are so fortunate to be able to voice our support or disatisfaction with our government without worrying about our safety or our families safety.

it’s scary that more youth will vote for Canadian or American Idol than would vote in a federal election.

Good luck and may we get the best government to see us through these tough times.

They just don’t get it-so we’ll pay in the end

I am getting tired of all the parties just dumping on their opponents and not explaining to  me what they are going to do if they win the election.  Maybe if the negative statements were based upon truth and the spirit of the truth rather than the hint of something like the truth.  I have major concerns for every one of the announced platforms and yet I do not hear any details or potential implications should they be implemented.

As I understand it:

Conservatives:  Maintain current policies and provide targeted stimulation.  They have done things over their time as the government yet they can’t explain what their actions have done to mitigate the economic crisis in Canada.  They should explain what tools they have to address the problems with the economies of the world and what they can do if something happens.  If they lose this election – they did it to themselves.

Liberals:  Implement the Green Shift (Carbon Tax) – they say they are going to tax the polluters, they say they are going to give me a large tax refund.  Now I’ve gone to their website to see what my refund would be and it is about half of what they are claiming.  Their claim that the companies that pollute will pay leaves me with the question of passing on of operating costs.  It is going to affect the cost of everything that is taxed but they don’t admit to that truth. I think it will increase inflation.  Didn’t the Liberals say that the prices would go down with the GST which wasn’t even close to the truth – companies grabbed the extra money with the removal of the Manufacturers tax?

NDP:  Jack would pull us out of Afghanistan immediately which would create a strategic problem for our NATO allies who are still there.   They would cancel the corporate tax cut which companies have already been factored in to their plans, these are the same companies that we need to get us out of any recession.  The NDP believes that corporations are the enemy and that the average working family are the only ones that matter.  It’s a symbiotic relationship and you can’t have one without the other and the NDP would destroy our basic economy just like they did when they were in charge in Ontario.  I think it will destroy the industrial foundation of this country.  Most of their hot button issues are minor like ATM fees or caps on credit card interest rates (credit would likely dry up).

Greens:  It was difficult to get much information about their platform and policies beyond the huge carbon tax that they are proposing.  The way it appears is that the Greens would destroy the economy to reduce our carbon footprint.  If you remove the tarsands from the equation I think that we could shut everything else down and our impact would be negligible in the world totals. I think they should just tax everything and plant more trees.

None of the Parties get it.  They would all rather crap on their opponents than tell us the truth about their policies.  Whoever wins this election will have a very difficult problem to deal with and I have no faith in any of the policy options being present – mainly because we can’t get an honest assessment of the impact of their proposed policies.  Truth is the first victim and we the people are the second victims.

None of the Above

The Politics of this country and in the U.S. are messy and not really informative.  It comes down to – it’s the economy, stupid. 

A lot of games have been played in the past years by speculators and high powered investors who have either intentionally or luckily have manipulated the various markets.  A recent study has noted that the recent ridiculous price rises in oil were not due to the normal supply and management issues, it was primarily caused by speculators that manipulated the prices for their own greed and enrichment at the cost of much of the stability in world markets.  I suspect that they haven’t thought of the consequences of their actions which could have destroyed the world’s economies and their huge gains in profits would become worthless.   They did it because they could.

The thought that greed and ripoffs were at the heart of the mortgage meltdown in the U.S. yet the tax payer is being told that they must be bailed out.  It’s disgusting to think that these executives that got these companies in this mess would be allowed to make huge pay and benefits.  The argument against this is that companies would have a hard time finding a quality manager if there are restrictions – these guys created this mess so who thinks that they are good managers to start with. 

We are in a unique financial meltdown in the worlds economies.  How bad it gets is impossible to know at this time.  There is a lot more to that will happen before we will get back on a normal economic track.

So, in these elections it’s unfortunate that we can’t vote for none of the above.  There are no saviours running for leadership in either country.  God only knows what will happen.

Indignation – From Politicians?

I am finding it amazing to listen to the politicians who profess to be outraged at this comment or that comment.  Many times the comments are true.  Other times the comments are poorly framed jokes that didn’t work.  It brings to mind the old adage about “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”.

There are an awful lot of glass houses with holes in them from our politicians of stripes.  For some who have a horrid past record they seem to be reborn and rebranded by changing parties, Bob Rae comes to mind when they talk about former Mike Harris Ministers in the Tory Government with disdain yet the Rae NDP Government almost destroyed Ontario more than Mike Harris’ Conservative Government did.

No government is perfect.  No politician is perfect.  We aren’t perfect.  If everything a person had said was on the record and be replayed when it wasn’t appropriate then we’d all be guilty of some form of discrimination or insulting some group or another.

I try to remember a government that really did what it said it would do and I can’t think of any.  Some came close but only when they established a small number of priorities.

I enjoy watching Mike Duffy Live but it gets annoying when you listen to the actual politicians open their mouths.  The strategists are biased but easier to stomach.

Some thoughts come to mind:

1. How can you tell when a Liberal is telling the truth – he’s not saying anything.

2. How can you tell when the NDP  will take credit for an idea – when they hear one.

3. How can you tell when the Conservatives are worried about the people – there’s an election on.

4. How will the Greens save the planet – they’ll increase taxes and fees so high that we can’t afford to buy anything that would pollute.

5. It’s time to bring back the Rhinoceros party – at least we knew their platform was a joke.