Ottawa on track to beat deficit target

[Azure]

There really is no winning with you. Paul Martin tried fixing OAS back in 1998 but was shot down. It has been well known for years that the costs were going to escalate, but quite frankly it would have been suicide for a minority government to even attempt to fix it.

Given the Conservative majority, its not surprising in the least bit that they are seriously looking at reforming it. The Liberals would probably do the exact same thing.

I can't wait to here the NDP bitch about how unethical it is to reform the system. Better we spend ourselves into oblivion like the US has because we don't have the political balls to reform entitlement spending.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Slava

we heard nothing about our aging population and the problems it will cause going forward. Now within a year were told to accept major changes

If we had another minority, which seemed likely, then you still wouldn't be hearing about it. Only majority governments can make decisions for the long term good of the country. If the Libs had won a minority in 1993 they probably never would have balanced a budget.

[redforever]

If PM Harper wishes to reform OAS and still keep his support, he will have to reform the pension plan for MP's first.

[Free Ben Hur!]

The Conservatives GST roll back had less to do with economics than it did politics. Harper promised on the campaign trail that he would do it and he did it, systematically, over two budgets. This established a street cred with voters that transcended the economists and assorted experts. There's lots of ways for a government to raise money and a consumption tax is but one. Most important to the young Harper government was a tangible means of proving that they could make a huge promise and deliver. At a gut level, for many Canadians that were around when Cretien was busily telling 30 million people that we collectively misremembered his GST promises, Harpers actions had major impact on Tory trustability.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Azure

There really is no winning with you. Paul Martin tried fixing OAS back in 1998 but was shot down. It has been well known for years that the costs were going to escalate, but quite frankly it would have been suicide for a minority government to even attempt to fix it.

Given the Conservative majority, its not surprising in the least bit that they are seriously looking at reforming it. The Liberals would probably do the exact same thing.

I can't wait to here the NDP bitch about how unethical it is to reform the system. Better we spend ourselves into oblivion like the US has because we don't have the political balls to reform entitlement spending.

I probably got my back up because you opened the thread with a shot at me. Strange, I know.

I discuss OAS all the time with my clients and its a strange issue. You don't actually contribute to it. Its not like CPP for example. Yet if people think they should be getting it, they want it. OAS is income tested. The government starts a "claw-back" at $67k and if you have income over about $118k you get no OAS. Sounds totally reasonable, right? Why should the government subsidize the incomes of people who have $100k in income, just because of their age? I definitely think major reform is necessary here.

My issue is how its done. Why wasn't this discussed at all during the election? The CPC (or any other party, to be clear) doesn't have a monopoly on good ideas. Discussion and debate will bring these ideas forward so that a proper decision can be made about how best to reform the system. Instead we have a situation where the government of the day has pledged a bunch of tax credits and the like to come into effect down the road so that they can get elected, while ignoring the entire conversation of the looming demographic problem.

I'm well aware of the demographic issue and do want it solved. I just want some discussion and debate before ANY politicians implement generational change under the guise of fixing things. I don't think that's too much to ask!

[Azure]

Originally Posted by redforever

If PM Harper wishes to reform OAS and still keep his support, he will have to reform the pension plan for MP's first.

He has already acknowledged that the pension plan for MP's is creating a problem.

Doesn't mean he'll do anything about it. Politicians more often than not don't like to put themselves on the same level as the rest of us lowly citizens.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Slava

I probably got my back up because you opened the thread with a shot at me. Strange, I know.

I discuss OAS all the time with my clients and its a strange issue. You don't actually contribute to it. Its not like CPP for example. Yet if people think they should be getting it, they want it. OAS is income tested. The government starts a "claw-back" at $67k and if you have income over about $118k you get no OAS. Sounds totally reasonable, right? Why should the government subsidize the incomes of people who have $100k in income, just because of their age? I definitely think major reform is necessary here.

My issue is how its done. Why wasn't this discussed at all during the election? The CPC (or any other party, to be clear) doesn't have a monopoly on good ideas. Discussion and debate will bring these ideas forward so that a proper decision can be made about how best to reform the system. Instead we have a situation where the government of the day has pledged a bunch of tax credits and the like to come into effect down the road so that they can get elected, while ignoring the entire conversation of the looming demographic problem.

I'm well aware of the demographic issue and do want it solved. I just want some discussion and debate before ANY politicians implement generational change under the guise of fixing things. I don't think that's too much to ask!

It wasn't so much a shot at you, as it was a shout-out that concerns that both of us had(go back and read the original thread. I agreed with you)...are being listened too.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Azure

He has already acknowledged that the pension plan for MP's is creating a problem.

Doesn't mean he'll do anything about it. Politicians more often than not don't like to put themselves on the same level as the rest of us lowly citizens.

Not necessarily. When Ralph Klein was selling debt reduction in the early 90's, he realized that as leader, he had to take a role as well.

He started budget cuts from the top, getting MLAs off the welfare rolls. He abolished his clothing and car allowance and took a personal salary cut of 5%. Pensions were abolished for everyone who became a MLA after 1989.