What political issue can swing your vote?

[Bobblehead]

With all the political talk on the board lately, polls being reported, swipes at integrity being made, I've been left feeling decidedly "Meh"? They all have major flaws, I don't think any of them have earned my vote.

In my case, I've noticed that the one thing that gets me angry are the attempts by industries to restrict/limit intellectual property/online/broadcast rights.

I get angry when I hear that the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) wants to change copyright laws to be more "Artist friendly" when they have collected more than $140 million in blank media levies and have not distributed it to the aforementioned artists.

I am upset when I hear about attempts in the US (which will undoubtedly trickle down to us as well) to introduce the "broadcast flag" which will limit which shows your PVR can record, how long you can save it, whether you can skip commercials, etc.

I'm ****ed off when I hear about another lawsuit where a company has a software patent for the online checkout cart or one-click sales, and then sues anyone who comes up with a similar method.

The list goes on and on. Most examples are US based, but some of the legislation tabled in the last parliament (Bill C-60) are intended to "bring us in compliance with the World Intellectual Property Organization" which is the similar to current US laws.

These are the only things I find myself getting really riled up about, and except for a Liberal campaign funding controversy (I don't think it quite made it to the scandal level) in a Toronto riding, these topic haven't arisen in the campaign.

What is your your #1 issue? Why?

[Cowperson]

The separation of church and state. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by keeping the two separate and any party that deliberately blurs that line to an extent I couldn't ignore would be bothering me . . . .

Cowperson

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

The separation of church and state. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by keeping the two separate and any party that deliberately blurs that line to an extent I couldn't ignore would be bothering me . . . .

Cowperson

This is a hot-button issue for me, too, but I think from the other angle. I think religion should stay out of politics. I'm concerned that the Conservative Party's list of candidates includes a past-president of Focus on the Family Canada as well as a former-CEO of Promise Keepers Canada. The former (Darrel Reid running in Richmond) was quoted as saying:

I think every Christian's under an obligation to change laws to reflect biblical values.

[Canada 02]

Privatization of health care. I am 100% for it. We already have it; politicians use; those candidates/parties who are against it are hypocrites

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

This is a hot-button issue for me, too, but I think from the other angle. I think religion should stay out of politics. I'm concerned that the Conservative Party's list of candidates includes a past-president of Focus on the Family Canada as well as a former-CEO of Promise Keepers Canada. The former (Darrel Reid running in Richmond) was quoted as saying:

A guy like me should be a slam dunk for the Conservatives . . . . . and your post above is one of the reasons they still have to talk me into it.

Cowperson

[Incinerator]

My #1 issue? This country is run on a welfare culture with a billion types of taxes all disguised as different things. What would make me vote Fiberal? Make EI contributions voluntary, if you don't contribute you're not eligible to claim. Eliminate tax brackets (flat rate income tax). Phase out the GST. Stop taking money out of the middle class' pockets to waste it on ad scandals and subsidize people with their hand out all the time like "refugees" who come on a boat, lands in the country and get $800 from the government to start off.

[Zarathustra]

Separation of church and state is also a big issue for me.

Originally Posted by Incinerator

My #1 issue? This country is run on a welfare culture with a billion types of taxes all disguised as different things. What would make me vote Fiberal? Make EI contributions voluntary, if you don't contribute you're not eligible to claim. Eliminate tax brackets (flat rate income tax). Phase out the GST. Stop taking money out of the middle class' pockets to waste it on ad scandals and subsidize people with their hand out all the time like "refugees" who come on a boat, lands in the country and get $800 from the government to start off.

It's obvious that your vote will not be changed, why bother coming in the thread and flaming?

[Incinerator]

Originally Posted by Zarathustra

Separation of church and state is also a big issue for me.


It's obvious that your vote will not be changed, why bother coming in the thread and flaming?

I'm not flaming, the thread ask what would swing my vote, if the Fibs start managing the country like a responsible government that would swing my vote, because I don't like Harper either.

[Zarathustra]

Originally Posted by Incinerator

I'm not flaming, the thread ask what would swing my vote, if the Fibs start managing the country like a responsible government that would swing my vote, because I don't like Harper either.

Don't let your Conservative goggles skew your vision too much. Your excessive use of hyperboles is comical.

Anybody with an double digit IQ can recognize that the Liberals must have done something correct in order to achieve 8 or 9 straight years of surpluses.

I'm not impressed with the scandals or the wasted money, but the liberals have done a lot of good for the country during their reign.

It is apparent now that the Conservatives will form the government. Don't be surprised if another scandal occurs. Scandals and Canadian politics go hand in hand.

[The Goon]

When you use cute nicknames like "Fiberals" or "Neo-Cons", your political opinion tends to lose validity.

[Incinerator]

Originally Posted by Zarathustra

Don't let your Conservative goggles skew your vision too much. Your excessive use of hyperboles is comical.

Anybody with an double digit IQ can recognize that the Liberals must have done something correct in order to achieve 8 or 9 straight years of surpluses.

I'm not impressed with the scandals or the wasted money, but the liberals have done a lot of good for the country during their reign.

a chimp can acheive 9 straight years of surpluses if it takes almost half of the working force's paycheque, what has the Liberals done for the national debt lately? They've only increased it dating all the way back to the Trudeau days.

My IQ is in the trip digits

[Incinerator]

Originally Posted by The Goon

When you use cute nicknames like "Fiberals" or "Neo-Cons", your political opinion tends to lose validity.

I'm not even gonna qualify this opinion of yours. When you're a Leafs fan, all of your opinions tend to lose validity.

[MarchHare]

My IQ is in the trip digits

*snicker*

what has the Liberals done for the national debt lately? They've only increased it dating all the way back to the Trudeau days.

BZZZZZZ. Try again.

When the Liberals took power in 1993, Canada's debt was over 66% of our GDP. Through a combination of economic growth and debt repayment under the Liberals, the debt now stands at 38.7% of GDP.

[Zarathustra]

Incinerator, you are really looking like a fool right now. Please, if you are going to make outrageous claims, have some evidence to back them up.

[calculoso]

Originally Posted by Zarathustra

Anybody with an double digit IQ can recognize that the Liberals must have done something correct in order to achieve 8 or 9 straight years of surpluses.

Don't let your Liberal glasses skew your vision too much. I think that the good in the country was coming regardless - in spite of the Liberals if you will, not because of them.

Nobody could have forcast that oil would have hit as high as it has. This has resulted in huge tax increases for Alberta and Canadian governments. Neither Klein nor Martin can take sole credit for them, although the cuts that each put in place definitely helped.

Way back in '93 the Liberals campaigned to cut/eliminate the deficit. What most fail to remember is that all parties were campaigning to do that. The Conservatives at the time wanted to cut the deficit - it wasn't Mulroney anymore - but it was the Liberals who were voted in to get the chance (due to scandal). The Conservatives have evolved and (hopefully) been cleaned up from those scandals.

Now is the time for the same thing to happen to the Liberals. Scandals under Chretien and associates need to be cleaned up, and just changing leadership isn't enough. It wasn't enough for the Conservatives under Kim Cambell, and should be enough for the Liberals under Martin.

[Shawnski]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

*snicker*



BZZZZZZ. Try again.

When the Liberals took power in 1993, Canada's debt was over 66% of our GDP. Through a combination of economic growth and debt repayment under the Liberals, the debt now stands at 38.7% of GDP.

Is this referring to federal debt only, March?

I would be interested in seeing the "national" debt since 1993, including provincial, municipal and personal.

[Shawnski]

Originally Posted by Zarathustra

Anybody with an double digit IQ can recognize that the Liberals must have done something correct in order to achieve 8 or 9 straight years of surpluses.

What do you consider they did correct to attain balanced budgets, and in fact surpluses?

This should be fun.

Start perhaps with the GST... and how replacing the Manufacturors Sales Tax with the GST was a good move by them..... ohhh wait... the Tories did that. The Liberals just promised to axe the GST... but didn't.

You can talk about NAFTA (which the Tories implemented, and the Libs wanted to remove), the massive decline in global interest rates (not a Liberal doing), the drastic reduction of transfer payments to the provinces (Liberal offloading fiscal problems to them), Reaganomics, the UI tax grab, or any other "good" thing you might want to discuss that impacted Canadian Federal budgetary issues.

Please, enlighten us.

[Zarathustra]

Originally Posted by Shawnski

.

There is no way to prove what exactly lead to the boom. You can only infer and hypothesise. I am certainly no economist, but the upturn in the economy was because of many factors and policies, not just NAFTA. Some of the policies were from the Liberal gov't, others were from previous governments. To give the Liberal government no credit for the booming economy is simply absurd.

[Shawnski]

Originally Posted by Zarathustra

To give the Liberal government no credit for the booming economy is simply absurd.

Perhaps I may be wrong, but was it not you that just a few posts ago said:

Please, if you are going to make outrageous claims, have some evidence to back them up

You went from them being responsible for 8 or 9 years of surpluses to now being credited for the booming economy? Wow.... just.... wow.

[Zarathustra]

Originally Posted by Shawnski

Perhaps I may be wrong, but was it not you that just a few posts ago said:

You went from them being responsible for 8 or 9 years of surpluses to now being credited for the booming economy? Wow.... just.... wow.

Are you mentally imcompetent? Do you know how to read? A chromosome short?

I claimed the under the rule of the Liberal governemt, there have been 8 years of surplus'. This is fact, if you want some evidence check the governement website. Please, read my post slowly and think it through. I also said they deserve some credit for the booming economy. Is this really that hard to understand? We live in a semi-socialist country with government intervention.