Budget 2009 a big disappointment
After all the pre- budget announcements of the past week, there wasn’t much left for Finance Minister Flaherty when he presented the federal budget this afternoon.
He might just as well have settled for a press release.
The budget, all in all, is a big disappointment.
A disappointment to Canadians who thought the Harper Conservatives had learned their lesson and would opt for progressive policies in the face of the growing recession.
A disappointment to mayors across the country who learned, like David Miller of Toronto, that the money promised for infrastructure development is going to be tied up in red tape, and very hard to access.
A disappointment to taxpayers who thought that a significant tax break RIGHT AWAY would put money in their pockets that they could spend by Spring.
A disappointment to the culture community that believed the Minister of Heritage, James Moore, when he boasted that the Tories would be showing that they really do like artists and they really don’t think, as Prime Minister Harper said during the election, that they’re not “ordinary Canadians.”
A disappointment to ecnomists who believed this government had learned its lesson and would provide the kind of economic stimulus that every other industrial country is offering.
The letdown of the budget is incredible, considering the near-death experience of the Harperites before Christmas. Yes, there are a few positives, as Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, said, but it’s also loaded with an awful lot of negatives.
For the New Democrats, the budget gave Jack Layton another heaven-sent opportunity to pillory the Harper government as “untrustworthy.”
Here’s what the government could have done on each of the points I’ve raised above:
Infrastructure - Put the money at the immediate disposal of the cities, rather than bury it in an Ottawa-controlled pit of red tape.
Income taxes – Declare a tax holiday on a major part of our 2008 taxes payable, so that people would get an immediate refund when they file this Spring, instead of a dribble of a couple of hundred bucks a year over the next six years. By then, the recession will be a distant memory and the tax breaks will have been eaten up by inflation.
Culture - The boast that Ottawa will pony up $60 million over the next two years to help build local libraries and museums is penney ante stuff. My nearby city of Orillia is spending $20 million by itself on a new library. How far will three times that much go when spread across Canada?
Economic Stimulus – Experts are in agreement tonight that the budget lacks focus and will have a marginal impact on the economy. Once again, the Harperites have tried to target different interest groups, rather than mount a coherent, coordinated strategy to promote productivity, new technology, the environment, and deal with our excess energy dependence.
What is Michael Ignatieff thinking tonight?
The pundits are saying he’ll vote to allow the budget to stand. He’d rather let Mr. Harper struggle on with the recession than take the reins of office right now.
In his own words, spoken right after delivery of the budget:
“We have to make a global judgment whether the budget is in the national interest.”
Ignatieff met with top Liberals tonight, and tomorrow morning he’ll address his caucus. He’s to announce the Liberal decision Wednesday at 11 o’clock EST.
My guess is that Mr. Ignatieff is unwilling to gamble on leading a Coalition bid to upset the Conservatives. He’d rather wait it out, thinking he’ll be able to win a Liberal majority in the next election.
But voting to prop up Mr. Harper? Sounds too much like Mr. Dion. The prospect of a Liberal abstention on the budget vote looks pretty good right now.
