Federal Election Called for Oct 19, 2015

[IliketoPuck]

Originally Posted by Slava

interesting points, thank you Slava

The recovery of the global economy since 2007-2009 has been placed squarely on the shoulders of consumers by central banks in the form of low interest rates. This is further supported by federal governments providing tax credits that additionally incentivise the general public to spend rather than save.

A preliminary step towards shifting the onus of economic growth from the everyday consumer to private corporations will be the U.S. Fed raising interest rates.

As far as Liberal vs. CPC, the outcome isn't going to be determined in Alberta.

I wanted to point out that comparing the most recent Liberal economic track record to the current CPC record on a federal basis is not fair as the circumstances during each party's tenure were drastically different.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

We're technically in a recession yet again, so while they have "gotten back into the green" (and only then by raiding contingencies and selling assets), they haven't put Canada in a very good spot in the short and intermediate term, which as we know is all anyone will care about come election day.

And then you remember there would be no stimulus to help the recession without the Liberals and NDP forcing it, and that there's also rising unemployment currently, and it makes you wonder if the CPC achieving very little positive economically is worth unequivocally trusting that they are the only ones who can manage the economy. But I know, Justin is a pretty boy with nice hair and we can't trust that, we can only trust boring ass Steve and his $6 hair cut.

I know you are saying that in jest in your post but I'm hoping you are smart enough to know that having the privileged make decisions for commoners is taking a page out of monarch rule. Justin was born privileged and has more in common with Donald Trump than he has with you and I.

[Zarley]

Just returned from a trip to southern Ontario (KWC area) and I was surprised at the level of Conservative support that I observed.

Also interesting to note is that the general perception of the economy there is positive; a complete contrast from mood here in Calgary. People out there are so far removed from what is happening in Alberta (as usual) that they do not seem to realize that the oil bust is real and will certainly result in a national recession. I think this sentiment works against the Liberals as it will have people questioning the need for deficit spending.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

They also did not have to deal with the Great Recession, so your argument is fundamentally flawed.

But they certainly did promote the liberal party in Quebec very well:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponsorship_scandal

As corrupt a government as there has ever been in the country's history but they managed to balance the budget in good economic times so I guess their stellar track record is enough support some rationale that they deserve another shot.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

The recovery of the global economy since 2007-2009 has been placed squarely on the shoulders of consumers by central banks in the form of low interest rates. This is further supported by federal governments providing tax credits that additionally incentivise the general public to spend rather than save.

A preliminary step towards shifting the onus of economic growth from the everyday consumer to private corporations will be the U.S. Fed raising interest rates.

As far as Liberal vs. CPC, the outcome isn't going to be determined in Alberta.

I wanted to point out that comparing the most recent Liberal economic track record to the current CPC record on a federal basis is not fair as the circumstances during each party's tenure were drastically different.

Well this seems like as good a time as any to reference a blog post I recently wrote on this topic. The dirty little secret in Canadian politics regarding the economy is that it makes almost no difference which party is in power. They all say they're going to be the best and that they have superior policies, but when you actually look statistically, over the longer term, there is very little difference at all. We don't know about the NDP because they haven't been a federal government. Purely to give the NDP supporters here the gears: I think that we can all agree that would be an unmitigated disaster though!

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

As corrupt a government as there has ever been in the country's history but they managed to balance the budget in good economic times so I guess their stellar track record is enough support some rationale that they deserve another shot.

Not to mention the break in logic in that "The Hair" categorically rejects his parties fiscal policies of years past, promising to run deficits and allowing the budget to 'balance itself'.

Paul Martin's Liberal Party would have totally cleaned up in this election if Canadians are ready to forget the billions stolen by the Librano's under Chretien.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Zarley

Just returned from a trip to southern Ontario (KWC area) and I was surprised at the level of Conservative support that I observed.

Also interesting to note is that the general perception of the economy there is positive; a complete contrast from mood here in Calgary. People out there are so far removed from what is happening in Alberta (as usual) that they do not seem to realize that the oil bust is real and will certainly result in a national recession. I think this sentiment works against the Liberals as it will have people questioning the need for deficit spending.

Ontario has a few staunchly conservative areas and the Kitchener area is a bit of a bible belt. They have also seen a lot of urban expansion in recent years, so there is a perception that things are ticking along fine inside the fishbowl.

Toronto is a bit of a different story though. Crumbling infrastructure is making it look more like Detroit in some areas, and the manufacturing industry has been suffering for a long time to the point that people are just getting used to it.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I know you are saying that in jest in your post but I'm hoping you are smart enough to know that having the privileged make decisions for commoners is taking a page out of monarch rule. Justin was born privileged and has more in common with Donald Trump than he has with you and I.

My point is whether they're beautiful people with sharp hair, or ass ugly with a Trump haircut, it's mostly irrelevant. If it is relevant to anyone as a voter,they should have their voting rights stripped. That CPC supporters seem to bring it up often makes me think they have a crush on him more than anything.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Slava

Well this seems like as good a time as any to reference a blog post I recently wrote on this topic. The dirty little secret in Canadian politics regarding the economy is that it makes almost no difference which party is in power.

Haha, don't tell Justin that

[polak]

Honestly I'm thinking I'll be leaning towards voting Liberal for the first time (have voted CPC since turning 18, don't really know why...) but I'm totally an open vote looking to be swayed by any party, yet so far the only thing I've learned about the Conservatives platform is that they are seriously out of touch with me on social issues and that Treadau has got a dope ass hairline and we should all be jealous?

Awesome campaign so far Stephen.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by Zarley

Just returned from a trip to southern Ontario (KWC area) and I was surprised at the level of Conservative support that I observed.

Also interesting to note is that the general perception of the economy there is positive; a complete contrast from mood here in Calgary. People out there are so far removed from what is happening in Alberta (as usual) that they do not seem to realize that the oil bust is real and will certainly result in a national recession. I think this sentiment works against the Liberals as it will have people questioning the need for deficit spending.

Until its happening in your backyard - you don't notice it. Ontario (particularly the Southern parts - south of KWC) were hammered in the years prior that I doubt many in Alberta cared about while oil boomed.

Conservatives swept the KWC area in the last election. They are a bit of different cat compared to the rest of Ontario in that they are the defacto tech capital even with Blackberry shrinking - Google and everyone else has swooped into land talent.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by polak

Honestly I'm thinking I'll be leaning towards voting Liberal for the first time (have voted CPC since turning 18, don't really know why...) but I'm totally an open vote looking to be swayed by any party, yet so far the only thing I've learned about the Conservatives platform is that they are seriously out of touch with me on social issues and that Treadau has got a dope ass hairline and we should all be jealous?

Awesome campaign so far Stephen.

Look away Polak! He is dazzling you with his flowing curls and bright eyes, as they are the only reason anyone would vote for the Liberals. He's brainwashing a very significant amount of Canadians with his handsomeness.

Mulcair is similarly enticing the voters with his unique combination of crazy eyes and lumberjack beard. I was going to vote Con until I was drawn into the gloriousness of his facial hair, wondering how I could make mine look so much like a child psychiatrist's.

Don't get sucked into their web of weed smoke and taxes!!

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Zarley

Just returned from a trip to southern Ontario (KWC area) and I was surprised at the level of Conservative support that I observed.

Also interesting to note is that the general perception of the economy there is positive; a complete contrast from mood here in Calgary. People out there are so far removed from what is happening in Alberta (as usual) that they do not seem to realize that the oil bust is real and will certainly result in a national recession. I think this sentiment works against the Liberals as it will have people questioning the need for deficit spending.

I think that a large part of that is that Wynne has completely fouled up that province and now she's hand in hand with the federal liberals and is basically running her own anti-Harper campaign right now because he won't bail her out of her mismanagment.

If Trudeau and the Liberals were smart they'd tell her to take a hike and stop associating with them.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Jacks

Haha, don't tell Justin that

Like I say though, they all say their the best. The truth is that the biggest political impact on the Canadian economy is the US government. When the presidential cycle is in its final year and when the Democrats are in power, the Canadian economy outperforms. It makes no difference whether it's the CPC or Liberals in power here economically.

That's something none of the parties will ever admit. Harper is still floating this great 'economic stewards' BS, and Trudeau is giving his lines about the middle class. They have to. Factually though, it's irrelevant. You might as well elect someone based on your thoughts regarding social programs and things like that because the economy is not as differentiating as you would expect.

[Jacks]

Well their isn't much difference as long as the party in power maintains reasonable fiscal policies, in recent history the Libs and Cons have been mostly similar there. It wouldn't be hard for a government to bork up the economy if they started screwing around though.

[calculoso]

Originally Posted by Blaster86

And all it took was selling off assets to do it. Otherwise it would be another deficit.

Honest question - when were those assets bought? I seem to remember that the GM shares were bought in that same 2008-09 timeframe... so doesn't that mean the graph shows the deficit as worse than it otherwise would have been, just the same as this 'profit' is better than it otherwise would have been?

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by calculoso

Honest question - when were those assets bought? I seem to remember that the GM shares were bought in that same 2008-09 timeframe... so doesn't that mean the graph shows the deficit as worse than it otherwise would have been, just the same as this 'profit' is better than it otherwise would have been?

Yep. Truthfully, they also probably made money on the deal. The question at hand is, why did they choose now to cash them in. Was GM stock as high as it's going to get and now made the most sense and it just happened to line up with the election; was there a specific plan this money has been earmarked for; or (and this is the one Liberals and NDP are going to point too unless the Cons make a compelling argument) are they just fudging the numbers and cashing these in now despite it not being a good time and having no real plan for the money.

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Look away Polak! He is dazzling you with his flowing curls and bright eyes, as they are the only reason anyone would vote for the Liberals. He's brainwashing a very significant amount of Canadians with his handsomeness.

I think, at least in the west, most people considering the Liberals are leaning that way despite Trudeau, not because of him. It's the rest of the people around him and their platform that has them back in contention.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Blaster86

Yep. Truthfully, they also probably made money on the deal. The question at hand is, why did they choose now to cash them in. Was GM stock as high as it's going to get and now made the most sense and it just happened to line up with the election; was there a specific plan this money has been earmarked for; or (and this is the one Liberals and NDP are going to point too unless the Cons make a compelling argument) are they just fudging the numbers and cashing these in now despite it not being a good time and having no real plan for the money.

According to this article they lost $3.5-billion on the deal. Some of the comments from the article indicate that it was not a good time to sell.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...ticle23828543/

[Daradon]

So is anyone sick of the election already? I think, that even if I was going to vote for Harper to begin with, I'd simply not vote for him now out of spite for doubling the length of this thing.