Harper and Ignatieff: cut from the same cloth?
You wouldn’t suspect so, but recent commonalities have left me wondering if they’re not. Take recent statements from both leaders as evidence. Harper, on Friday: “We won’t raise taxes or cut spending.”. Ignatieff, end of September: “We won’t raise taxes. For now. We might cut spending. Wait and see.”. Hello, look familiar? Each party has taken turns accusing the other of lacking accountability. Nevermind the supposed absence of an economic plan both parties are supposed to have–we know one of them doesn’t, anyway. Is the other fooling? If yes, they’re doing a hell of a job–the gaping hole in the polls is evidence of that.
Every economist in the country is, naturally, screaming the government of the day will eventually need to either raise taxes or cut spending if the intention is to balance the books by 2016. Makes sense, considering the toilet the economy is slowly climbing out of. Logic does say eventually, something’s gotta give. But, both parties say no to raising taxes, and one party says wait and see, or not a whole lot different than no, to cutting spending. If either one of these gentlemen has a hidden trick up their sleves that they’re not sharing with the rest of the class, it might be a halfway smart choice to do that. Before folks start to clue in and make things interesting–I’ve never seen the NDP leading in the polls. If they don’t, then Stephen Harper should just get on with the business of raising our taxes and just shut up about it, and Michael Ignatieff should really just shut up about it.
