Of course these are not real checks but the the advertising value is real enough. Maybe Iggy should make up huge checks signed by the Canadian Taxpayer to pay for the multi-billion dollar Conservative deficit. Or I guess it would be more appropriate for that to be done by Harper's former boss the Canadian Taxpayer group.
Ethics chief probes cheque complaints
Commissioner unsure of her mandate
CBC News
Canada's ethics commissioner will investigate dozens of allegations that Conservative MPs are using taxpayers' money for partisan purposes.
But Mary Dawson says she's not sure how far her mandate allows her to go into ethical issues, despite her job title.
Dawson is looking into how to deal with the dozens of complaints about Tory MPs putting their own names and party logo on economic stimulus cheques.
"We're still receiving the 50-odd complaints," Dawson said Tuesday.
Opposition MPs claim Conservative MPs are breaking the rules by passing off taxpayers' money as their own or that of the Conservative party in government funding announcements.
But in her annual report, Dawson highlighted that while the word "ethics" appears in her job title, it does not appear in the Conflict of Interest Act or the Code of Conduct for MPs.
"It's quite unclear as to the extent to which my mandate extends into ethical issues that are not expressly referred to in either the code or the act and, in fact, one would wonder whether it extends there at all," Dawson said at parliamentary ethics committee meeting.
Will issue public report
Dawson said she has no deadline for her investigation but will make her findings public.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff slammed Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the cheque issue on the floor of the House of Commons on Tuesday.
"The money the government is splashing around does not belong to the Conservative Party of Canada. It belongs to Canadian taxpayers. Party logos have no place on government cheques," Ignatieff said.
Harper agreed that the use of a partisan logo on a government announcement "is not correct. We endeavour not to do that."
.......
Showing posts with label economic stimulus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economic stimulus. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Climate Keynesianism
This is from the progressive-economics blog. The article lists some progressive ways to prime the pump. The Tories of course will blanche at the thought of a budget deficit. It is interesting that the Conservative military Keynesians south of the border seem to be immune to concerns about military spending and that selective immunity seems to be spreading north. Maybe we need to convince the Conservatives there should be a war on environmental pollution. The problem is that their donors would in most cases be on the wrong side!
Climate Keynesianism
Posted by Marc Lee under cities, climate change, Uncategorized.February 15th, 2008Comments: none
With recession on everyone’s lips south of the border, how much longer can Canada hold out before we begin to feel the nasty effects in the Great White North? I am guessing that the Tories want to go to the polls now because they know the economy is slipping and they do not want to have to wear the downturn that is to come. Cause it might be a doozy. A major tumble in asset prices has historically been given the term depression not recession. And the prospect of this taking several years to unwind is a realistic one.
Not that I am calling for a depression (and unlike some who like the idea of a good cleansing, I certainly do not wish that kind of pain on so many people). We understand much more about how capitalist economies function and have lots of experience with policy options to mitigate the worst impacts – if we do not get blinded by ideology that is.
But neither is this likely to be your garden variety post-war recession. People are experiencing a major shift in mood right now, with so many headlines and punditry about the prospect of a recession, plus the occasional bad trading day on the stock exchanges (remember that 6% one-day drop in January). The biggest danger is by way of self-fulfilling prophesy, that we may just talk our way into a recession – consumers get antsy and pull back on spending while seeking to sock some money away (paradox of thrift, anyone), and as businesses see that softness in demand they hold back on making new investments. This compounds the negative wealth effects of falling asset prices.
Keynes called it the animal spirits of capitalism. Well, the animals have been on quite the bender, and we are starting to get a sense of how bad the hangover may be. To be clear, we are not there yet. And maybe we will be spared the worst of the US recession. Maybe not – Ontario seems to be feeling the pinch, though the West is still booming. But it would be prudent to start planning for stormy weather rather than be in denial until a recession actually shows up in the statistics.
In recent commentary, most fiscal policy recommendations have started with the notion of getting money quickly into the hands of those who will spend all of it. In Canada this would primarily work through EI, but one could also imagine souping up the GST credit, the Canada Child Tax Benefit and Old Age Pensions, not to mention welfare (which should be uploaded into a national income security program, like the others, but that is another story). In fact we could make a case for bigger ramp up of these income transfer programs because we really ought to bring in a carbon tax and this would be a good way of mitigating adverse distributional impacts.
In addition to this, why not contemplate some bigger infrastructure projects? The knock against them is that they take a while to get up and running. But if this is not your run-of-the-mill recession and could take a few years to wrench its way through the system, then why not set the wheels in motion for some major projects that would absorb employment losses and keep us closer to near full employment we now enjoy while addressing some shared priorities. (Even at full employment, if ever there was a case for public investment crowding out private investment this would be it)
What I’m thinking is a major public works campaign for climate-change-related infrastructure. Huge public transit investments. Energy efficiency retrofits. Alternative power. These are all things we need to be doing anyway, so why let resources sit idle. If employment drops these projects could be brought on line quickly if the pre-planning was already in place.
These projects would best be done at a municipal level since they know what infrastructure they need. In fact, they have been complaining about this shortfall for years. Let municipalities pitch projects that would be cost-shared with the senior governments. Give them 33 cent dollars to spend, and as long as they meet certain criteria set out that demonstrate GHG emission reductions, let the funds roll this fiscal year.
Climate Keynesianism
Posted by Marc Lee under cities, climate change, Uncategorized.February 15th, 2008Comments: none
With recession on everyone’s lips south of the border, how much longer can Canada hold out before we begin to feel the nasty effects in the Great White North? I am guessing that the Tories want to go to the polls now because they know the economy is slipping and they do not want to have to wear the downturn that is to come. Cause it might be a doozy. A major tumble in asset prices has historically been given the term depression not recession. And the prospect of this taking several years to unwind is a realistic one.
Not that I am calling for a depression (and unlike some who like the idea of a good cleansing, I certainly do not wish that kind of pain on so many people). We understand much more about how capitalist economies function and have lots of experience with policy options to mitigate the worst impacts – if we do not get blinded by ideology that is.
But neither is this likely to be your garden variety post-war recession. People are experiencing a major shift in mood right now, with so many headlines and punditry about the prospect of a recession, plus the occasional bad trading day on the stock exchanges (remember that 6% one-day drop in January). The biggest danger is by way of self-fulfilling prophesy, that we may just talk our way into a recession – consumers get antsy and pull back on spending while seeking to sock some money away (paradox of thrift, anyone), and as businesses see that softness in demand they hold back on making new investments. This compounds the negative wealth effects of falling asset prices.
Keynes called it the animal spirits of capitalism. Well, the animals have been on quite the bender, and we are starting to get a sense of how bad the hangover may be. To be clear, we are not there yet. And maybe we will be spared the worst of the US recession. Maybe not – Ontario seems to be feeling the pinch, though the West is still booming. But it would be prudent to start planning for stormy weather rather than be in denial until a recession actually shows up in the statistics.
In recent commentary, most fiscal policy recommendations have started with the notion of getting money quickly into the hands of those who will spend all of it. In Canada this would primarily work through EI, but one could also imagine souping up the GST credit, the Canada Child Tax Benefit and Old Age Pensions, not to mention welfare (which should be uploaded into a national income security program, like the others, but that is another story). In fact we could make a case for bigger ramp up of these income transfer programs because we really ought to bring in a carbon tax and this would be a good way of mitigating adverse distributional impacts.
In addition to this, why not contemplate some bigger infrastructure projects? The knock against them is that they take a while to get up and running. But if this is not your run-of-the-mill recession and could take a few years to wrench its way through the system, then why not set the wheels in motion for some major projects that would absorb employment losses and keep us closer to near full employment we now enjoy while addressing some shared priorities. (Even at full employment, if ever there was a case for public investment crowding out private investment this would be it)
What I’m thinking is a major public works campaign for climate-change-related infrastructure. Huge public transit investments. Energy efficiency retrofits. Alternative power. These are all things we need to be doing anyway, so why let resources sit idle. If employment drops these projects could be brought on line quickly if the pre-planning was already in place.
These projects would best be done at a municipal level since they know what infrastructure they need. In fact, they have been complaining about this shortfall for years. Let municipalities pitch projects that would be cost-shared with the senior governments. Give them 33 cent dollars to spend, and as long as they meet certain criteria set out that demonstrate GHG emission reductions, let the funds roll this fiscal year.
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