Ancestors

Written by M. Grégoire on 2025-01-11 at 13:29

In the 2015 Canadian general election, the Liberals were desperate. For over a hundred years, their party had been first or second in Canadian federal politics — mostly first. But they were starting in third place. Was their destiny to be pushed aside by a party further to the left, as had happened in #ukpol and some of the provinces? #JustinTrudeau and his team decided to take some risks...

1/2

[#]CanPol #cdnpoli

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Toot

Written by M. Grégoire on 2025-01-11 at 13:34

Their most significant gamble was probably their promise to run deficits, outflanking the NDP on the left. I know that for many on Mastodon their (broken) promise to end #FPTP still stings.

But here, let me list a few good but unpopular policies they promised to cancel:

• The shift to community mailboxes
• The toll on the new #ChamplainBridge
• The phased increase in age to receive old age pensions

It's a shame.

2/2

[#]CanPol #cdnpoli

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Descendants

Written by John Francis on 2025-01-11 at 22:07

@mpjgregoire Mulcair promising needless and harmful balanced-budget austerity and electoral reform got me to vote OLP 2015.

But it didn't pan out. Mulcair went away and Trudeau lied. So it goes.

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Written by M. Grégoire on 2025-01-13 at 03:09

@johnefrancis Was Tommy Douglas wrong to balance budgets in Saskatchewan?

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Written by John Francis on 2025-01-13 at 03:18

@mpjgregoire SK is not a currency issuer. So an entirely different set of principles. Provinces are currency users like everyone else outside the federal govt and have real fiscal constraints and pay debt interest with money they don't create.

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Written by David Megginson on 2025-01-13 at 03:31

@johnefrancis Banks are allowed to lend more than their assets (the minimum CAR is only 8% according to Basel III, I think), so anyone can increase the amount of money in circulation by borrowing; it's not limited to the federal government.

That said, Saskatchewan is probably too small to trigger inflation or move the needle for the CAD on international money markets, unless they actually defaulted.

@mpjgregoire

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Written by John Francis on 2025-01-13 at 03:52

@david_megginson @mpjgregoire a bank issuing a loan doesn't affect the net balance of the bank - it receives the loan asset in return. This is very different from a province running a deficit...the things a province might run a deficit for don't return a financial asset. Even though they often result in an increase in future collectible taxes. Like healthcare.

Run deficit, pay for healthcare. Have alive citizens.Tax their income. Pay off deficit. Only the deficit is counted in this scenario.

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Written by David Megginson on 2025-01-13 at 11:37

@johnefrancis A bank loan doesn't affect the bank's balance sheet, but it does increase the amount of money in circulation, just like government spending can.

@mpjgregoire

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