Calgary Centre Federal By-election - Nov 26 (UPDATE - Crockatt wins for CPC)

[Bertuzzied]

Holy CPC apologists on here.

baaa baaa baaaa

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

Holy CPC apologists on here.

baaa baaa baaaa

Stay classy.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Here's another fact about federal funding for Calgary. Current major Rapid Transit Projects across Canada;

Vancouver Evergreen Skytrain line extension: $1.4 Billion
Federal contribution $417 Million

Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension $2.6 Billion
Federal contribution: $697 Million

Mississauga Bus Rapid Transit Project: $259 Million
Federal contribution: $83 Million

Ottawa LRT: $2.1 Billion
Federal contribution: $600 Million

Kitchener-Waterloo Rapid Transit/ LRT: $795 Million
Federal contribution: $265 Million


Calgary West LRT: $1.4 Billion
Federal contribution: $0


In Building Canada we got $54 million for Transit.

I've voted CPC in the past, but this makes me incredibly angry. LRT in Calgary has a better bang for the buck than LRT in Kitchener-Waterloo, there's no way we shouldn't be getting a comparable amount of money based on population.

Based on the figures above, I figure Ottawa owes us about 1/2 of an 8th Avenue subway.

[Tinordi]

I don't understand how people vote for the CPC based on their utter contempt for reasoned evidence based analysis, science and statistics. It's freaking scary how they are governing the country. Here we are in an age of highest levels of tertiary and higher education ever seen, unbelievable amounts of data, a focus on knowledge based economies and then we have a government that seems to be pandering to a mouth-breathing mass that still wants to govern on its ideological perceptions of how the world is and should be.

Sorry end rant.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

I don't understand how people vote for the CPC based on their utter contempt for reasoned evidence based analysis, science and statistics. It's freaking scary how they are governing the country. Here we are in an age of highest levels of tertiary and higher education ever seen, unbelievable amounts of data, a focus on knowledge based economies and then we have a government that seems to be pandering to a mouth-breathing mass that still wants to govern on its ideological perceptions of how the world is and should be.

Sorry end rant.

And yet you had a chance to vote in / urge others in this thread to elect someone other than the CPC in the latest by-election and instead, despite pretty much every poll indicating the best chance to do so was by voting Liberal, you only posted stuff supporting Chris Turner and the Green Party.

[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

And yet you had a chance to vote in / urge others in this thread to elect someone other than the CPC in the latest by-election and instead, despite pretty much every poll indicating the best chance to do so was by voting Liberal, you only posted stuff supporting Chris Turner and the Green Party.

Weakness.

Your argument is that I'm not being scientific in my voting preference therefore I shouldn't demand the same of my government?

Well, where to begin, I posted support for Turner prior to the end round polls showing he had no chance. Infact, I stopped endorsing anyone when it became clear that the CPC would win 5 days left in the election.

Second, the probability that my vote or the influence that I had on others' votes affecting the final outcome of the election is so small that it's actually scientific to stay home. THere's a higher likelihood that'd I'd be hit by a bus on the way to the polling station that my vote actually making a decision.

Which is why I didn't vote, the scientific, evidence based decision to make.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Weakness.

Your argument is that I'm not being scientific in my voting preference therefore I shouldn't demand the same of my government?

Well, where to begin, I posted support for Turner prior to the end round polls showing he had no chance. Infact, I stopped endorsing anyone when it became clear that the CPC would win 5 days left in the election.

Second, the probability that my vote or the influence that I had on others' votes affecting the final outcome of the election is so small that it's actually scientific to stay home. THere's a higher likelihood that'd I'd be hit by a bus on the way to the polling station that my vote actually making a decision.

Which is why I didn't vote, the scientific, evidence based decision to make.

Your decision was based on a poll, not scientific evidence. There could have possibly been thousands of Green Party supporters who ended up doing exactly what you did.... stay home and not vote.

You and others like you, possibly cost Turner the election. tsk tsk.

And if nothing else, you cost the Green Party $2.

[Bigtime]

FFWD "interviews" Joan Crockatt for their "Your Face Here" section:

http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/li...be-like-10087/

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

I don't understand how people vote for the CPC based on their utter contempt for reasoned evidence based analysis, science and statistics. It's freaking scary how they are governing the country. Here we are in an age of highest levels of tertiary and higher education ever seen, unbelievable amounts of data, a focus on knowledge based economies and then we have a government that seems to be pandering to a mouth-breathing mass that still wants to govern on its ideological perceptions of how the world is and should be.

Sorry end rant.

Yes, clearly their hate of all things rational and evidence based was the major reason why Canada has weathered the global downturn much poorer than the much better informed rest of the world, especially the left leaning educational European twin paradises of Spain and Greece and our closest neighbor whose spectacular veer left (towards science and reason?) has yielded nothing but milk and honey.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

...and our closest neighbor whose spectacular veer left (towards science and reason?) has yielded nothing but milk and honey.

Um, the primary reason for the global downturn was our neighbour wandering aimlessly in the conservative wasteland of financial industry deregulation.

[Table 5]

"

our closest neighbor whose spectacular veer left (towards science and reason?) has yielded nothing but milk and honey.

Uh, what? Since when did the US spectacularly veer left?

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by Makarov

Um, the primary reason for the global downturn was our neighbour wandering aimlessly in the conservative wasteland of financial industry deregulation.

Yup, the financial industry deregulation to ensure low income Americans could afford housing without proper income.

Sure is a sweet merrygoround they have down there.

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by Table 5

"

Uh, what? Since when did the US spectacularly veer left?

Since they've accumulated multi-trillions of dollars in deft financing?

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

Since they've accumulated multi-trillions of dollars in deft financing?

So the US veered to the radical left primarily under the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, then?

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

Yup, the financial industry deregulation to ensure low income Americans could afford housing without proper income.

Sure is a sweet merrygoround they have down there.

[Tinordi]

I had no idea the world was so simple. All it boils down to is left or right and which way you want to justify things.

mental note

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

Yes, clearly their hate of all things rational and evidence based was the major reason why Canada has weathered the global downturn much poorer than the much better informed rest of the world, especially the left leaning educational European twin paradises of Spain and Greece and our closest neighbor whose spectacular veer left (towards science and reason?) has yielded nothing but milk and honey.

It seems to me that the biggest reason Canada weathered the financial crisis is that there was a well established regulatory framework that was already in place for the banking sector.

I will give the Conservatives credit for leading us through this period in decent shape but I fail to see any master strokes they played - more like they didn't screw it up (which is a creditable accomplishment compared to other countries)

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

So the US veered to the radical left primarily under the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, then?

Last Bush and Obama, primarily. Sadly, Obama looks likely to obliterate any past borrowers in US history, passing Crazypants Bushs' borrowing in just 4 years... 15 trillion and counting.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

Last Bush and Obama, primarily. Sadly, Obama looks likely to obliterate any past borrowers in US history, passing Crazypants Bushs' borrowing in just 4 years... 15 trillion and counting.

Ronald Reagan:

From 1981 to 1989, nominal debt held by public nearly tripled. On the one hand, President Ronald Reagan increased military spending and lowered tax rates. (Reagan slashed the top income tax rate from 70% to 28%, although bills passed in 1982 and 1984 later partially reversed those tax cuts.)[7][9] On the other hand, congressional Democrats blocked attempts to reverse spending on social programs.[7][10] Because of the budget deficits that resulted, debt held by the public as a share of GDP increased from 26.2% in 1980 to 41% by the end of the 1980s.[8]

George W Bush:

Debt relative to GDP rose due to recessions and policy decisions in the early 21st century. From 2000 to 2008 debt held by the public rose from 35% to 40%, and to 62% by the end of fiscal year 2010.[15] During the presidency of George W. Bush, the gross public debt increased from $5.7 trillion in January 2001 to $10.7 trillion by December 2008,[16] due to decreasing tax rates and two unpaid wars.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...es_public_debt

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

Last Bush and Obama, primarily. Sadly, Obama looks likely to obliterate any past borrowers in US history, passing Crazypants Bushs' borrowing in just 4 years... 15 trillion and counting.

You may want to check your sources on that.

The US debt grew by 188.6% under Reagan and 89% under Bush, a per-term average of 94.3% and 44.5%, respectively. In Obama's first term, the debt grew by 41.4%, slightly lower than GWB's per-term average and less than half of Reagan's per-term average. Most of the debt growth attributed to Obama occurred in the first two years of his term. In 2012, the debt growth has slowed to a rate of 4.8% per year. It's an almost certainty that American debt growth will continue to slow over the course of Obama's second term as the US emerges from the recession into a recovery period.

Source: http://www.skymachines.com/US-Nation...ental-Term.htm

[Edit]
Also, the rate of debt growth has slowed during all four years Obama has been in office.

2008 (last Bush year): 15.9%
2009: 15.1%
2010: 13.9%
2011: 7.8%
2012: 4.8%