Modeling Journey

Harper is on record as saying that the Tory budget will contain stimulus measures, but must include tax cuts for the middle class:

“In an interview with the National Post, Mr. Harper said that he believes it is very important that the middle class is part of the stimulus program. "It is very important to help the vulnerable, struggling sectors and help people who are losing their jobs. But you can't sustain economic activity without having stimulus for the middle class as well. That's very important. Since the middle class is paying most of the freight, the middle class has to share in the stimulus program and we will be making sure that is the case," he said.”

But the leader of the Bloc does not buy the magic mushrooms which Harper seems to want to include in his ‘stimulus’ budget:

“Ignatieff has cautioned against proposed stimulation measures floated by the Conservatives, including widespread tax cuts and incurring a deficit as high as $40 billion.

The Bloc is also tentative about tax cuts, Duceppe said. Harper is "talking about tax cuts like it's a magic recipe," he said. "We have seen the application of this magic recipe in the last few years, with the results looking like an enormous deficit."

The priority should be job creation and preserving current employment, Duceppe said. "When you don't pay taxes, it's hard to pay less [taxes]."”

In the USA, Bush pushed through a so-called stimulus package of some $150 billion, which included tax cuts, and the multiplier effect of jobs created through the tax cuts was very, very low (some estimated as low as 10% of the tax cut amount). Why? Because the middle class paid off debt, or bought luxury goods, most of which were imported, rather than spending it all on goods made in America by Americans.

Duceppe will get his chance to voice his rejection of Harper’s magic mushrooms when he votes on the Tory budget in a week or so.

The Cat agrees: we don’t need magic mushrooms or other voodoo measures now; what we need is a stimulus package incorporating the principles set out in the Accord signed by the Liberals, NDP and Bloc.