"Jim Flaherty, former finance minister, dead at 64"

[applegrove]

Last edited Fri Apr 11, 2014, 08:43 PM - Edit history (2)

Jim Flaherty, former finance minister, dead at 64

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jim-flaherty-former-finance-minister-dead-at-64-1.2605728

He was finance minister in a Conservative Government that followed Keynsian policies during the recession. We must thank him for not drinking the koolaid where our economy was concerned. Apparently he was a nice guy too. I was in a Mexican restaurant when the staff announced it. Someone there said he was the best finance minister ever. Which I obviously don't agree with. I think Paul Martin was....Martin reduced the Canadian deficit during good times and refused to deregulate bankers. That saved our country from a subprime mortgage. But I am reminded to day that we are very lucky in Canada when our politicians temper their policies. Martin could have not payed down the deficit. Flaherty could have not done infrastructure projects during a recession. We are very, very lucky to have the stewardship we have had. And that means staying away from fundamentalism.

[PDJane]

1. We haven't stayed away from fundamentalism. Stephen Harper is a neo-con, a bigot,

And a fundamentalist Christian.

Up until the current choice, our finance ministers have been reasonably good. This one isn't, and we are headed for stormy weather. By the way, there's no need for the current austerity, either.

[applegrove]

2. Oh I agree Stephen Harper is a fundie. I'm just thankful Flaherty was

into reality and not the bullshit that deficits should be cut during recessions.

[PDJane]

3. This is true....I concede the point.

I would note that apart from being a fundie, Harper was one of the founding members of the Northern Alliance. That, in itself, would have made me vote for almost anyone else.

[CHIMO]

4. Common

Sense emotions.

If he wanted to help his fellow Canadians he could have started out earlier utilizing the talents he was given!

[Fiendish Thingy]

5. Flaherty created a housing bubble potentially worse than the US

He allowed 40 year amortization and 0% down loans, which allowed kids working at McDonalds to buy condos, which are now falling in value. Even when he saw the error of his (or his master Harper's) ways, he only gradually tightened the lending requirements. Unlike the US, Canada has the CHMC, which guarantees the mortgages of low down payment borrowers. Canadian taxpayers are on the hook for billions of dollars in high risk mortgages.

Canadian baby boomers, on average, have little saved for retirement, and are depending on the inflated equity in their homes to fund their golden years. This will not end well. The housing market in Canada currently appears to be where the US market was in 2006- prices peaking, listings swelling, sales volume down...tick...tick...tick

[applegrove]

6. Oh yeah. There was bad there. But he could have gone all fundie

on the infrastructure and he didn't. You have to give Flaherty credit for not being totally fucked up. I have no doubt there was pressure on him to bankrupt the middle class no doubt by allowing the most unemployment and thus reducing wages. And he chose not to.

[laundry_queen]

9. Definitely not worse than the US

That was a convergence of shit policy of epic proportions. Canada has more than a few things going for them in comparison.

[RedSock]

7. Flaherty - An Enemy of the People

Flaherty was part of Mike Harris’ government in Ontario, whose cuts to water inspection services led to an E.Coli outbreak that killed seven people in Walkerton, Ontario. The same government imposed massive cuts to welfare and social housing ...

Flaherty was also part of cuts to healthcare at both provincial and federal levels. ...

Flaherty was also proudly part of the Harper government that turns its back on global health crises ...

While destroying social services, Flaherty and the federal Tories have poured billions into the military ... At the same time, Flaherty’s budget policies included the New Veterans Charter—cutting benefits from veterans despite an epidemic of suicides and protests across the country.

http://www.socialist.ca/node/2227

[applegrove]

8. I was going to say that...he joined Harris in 1997. But I thought - the man is dead.

Leave him alone.

[arikara]

11. Sainthood isn't conferred on people

just because they die.

I'm sure his family and friends loved him a lot, and they have my condolences for his loss. However, Flaherty was a top tier conservative and responsible for making life harder for a very many people. A person's history shouldn't be rewritten when they die.

[applegrove]

12. Point taken. I didn't mean to imply he was a saint.

[arikara]

15. I know you didn't mean that

but I don't think his record should be unstated just because he died. He might have been good to his family and he was definitely good to the ones he worked for... but he wasn't good to the rest of us, or to the country.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

10. Nope, no , no way, no, No, ugh, wrong.

Flaherty was a great friend to the 1% and corporate Canada. He was an enemy to the commons, and to the poor. He was a pandering, bumbling fraud artist, who perhaps by way of poetic justice died before getting his chance to gorge with his Bay street pals.

Flaherty never balanced a budget, and squandered the small surplus he had before the 2008 meltdown.
In 2009 Flaherty tabled yet another austerity budget, and claimed that there is no recession in Canada. Under howls of protest by the other parties, and skewering by the media, he revised the budget to create $40B is stimulus spending. The money was distributed in a partisan manner to provinces that were not suffering from high unemployment, and spend disproportionately in Conservative ridings. Add to this that not all of the money promised was even spent.

Flaherty facilitated the $114B secretive bank bailouts, which at first were denied and then rephrased as preventative asset swaps. This ‘unnecessary’ move to create liquidity, did nothing but add the horde of cash that banks were already sitting on, and increased the risk held by the people of Canada.

Flaherty raided the Employment Insurance fund (as did he his fellow 1%er Paul Martin), and then raised the premiums on workers. He also rescinded the guarantee for provincial transfer payments to cover healthcare.

Between 2007 and 2012 the Corporate Tax rate was further slashed from 22% to 15%

In recent years he has fired 38,000 Federal employees.

He raised the OAS age from 65 to 67

He slashed funding to the CBC.

He eliminated:
National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy
Katimavik
National Aboriginal Health Organization
Experimental Lakes Area
Canadian Immigration Interim Federal Health Program
Arctic atmospheric research lab called PEARL

In his first budget he defunded: the Kyoto protocol, and the Kelowna Accord

As a Mike Harris crony, and part of the ‘Common Sense Revolution’, in his capacity as minister of labour he fully supported Workfare, and drastic cuts to welfare benefits.

His record speaks for him. Good riddance.

[applegrove]

13. And Stephen Harper is making it into a State Funeral. Politics never stops. Why

do I when someone dies and I feel for their families? Because I'm a cream puff. Over empathizing with other people, even people who have attacked me, always gets me into trouble. When will I ever learn. Your greatest strength is always too your greatest weakness I guess.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

14. aw,

I'm sure he was a very nice man, to his family and friends, unfortunately he hurt many, many people with his fiscal policies.

We have 2 Canada's, the 'official' version approved by Ottawa and Bay street insiders, that are lionizing and aggrandizing him all over the media, and then by contrast there is the comment section for the P&P poll. It seems that everyday folk have longer and more concise memories than the spin doctors would like. http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/politics/inside-politics-blog/2014/04/power-politics-ballot-box-question-427.html