no, tom. tax cuts *don't* create jobs!

it doesn't work when a conservative does it, it doesn't work when a liberal does it and it doesn't work when a member of the ndp does it, either.

it might work if an mlm did it, because they'd just make up the employment report after and put you in jail if you argue.

in general, though, it doesn't matter what party somebody is in when they cut taxes. nary a job will appear.

www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-mulcair-manufacturing-1.3204311

i'm in the group of people that doesn't expect a rebound any time soon. the factors keeping oil down are pretty long term, and more likely to exacerbate. there will not be another reset in american-russian relations, nor is russia likely to fall apart any time soon as they've been banking on.

this should hopefully allow local businesses an opportunity to rebuild. i'm sick of buying tomatoes from mexico and strawberries from california. let's get the infrastructure for indoor growing up and running. you do it in bulk, you cut down on costs. and, the bigger the space, the more solar panels you can set up.

the reality is that a low dollar is a far better job creation strategy than any kind of tax cut or pipeline scheme - but it has to be maintained. and, hopefully we can get some leadership in place that's more concerned about jobs in the local economy, and is willing to set rates to keep the dollar low, than it is about investors and money launderers.

www.cbc.ca/news/business/enjoy-canada-s-low-dollar-while-you-can-don-pittis-1.3203133

Andy the Great
Low dollar is good for the super rich, not the common person!

You must be love the super rich then, the low dollar only helps them. Also it does not affect the labour market since most companies are not spending because of the low CDN!

As for Russia. Most people there only earn $500 CDN a year. Yeah let copy them

Jessica Murray
the reason the dollar is down is that the united states has put sanctions in place to hurt the russian economy. it's always funny that conservatives continue to be stuck in the 20th century in their insinuations that leftists have some kind of affiliation with russia. russia is one of the most right-wing countries in the world. and the fact is that stephen harper and vladimir putin have a lot in common.

one of the things they have in common is that they both banked very strongly on high oil prices. what that means is that sanctions designed to hurt russia by cutting the price of oil will also drive down the canadian dollar, because harper's economic policies are very similar to putin's, which has put us in a situation where we will suffer the same effects as they are from the sanctions put in place to harm them.

oops.

the truth is that there's a long list of similar screw-ups, including selling our oil to our protector's largest competitor. that's not going to happen.

it follows that the continued tensions between the united states and russia will have a long-term effect on the canadian dollar. which means you should get used to a low dollar.

one way around this is to diversify the economy. my understanding is that this will require a change in government.

now, regarding the dollar, the idea that it helps the rich is pretty much completely absurd. i'm not sure where you're getting that from, but it sounds like a conservative talking point - because it's the precise opposite of the reality of the situation.

as mentioned, it makes our labour costs relatively lower, which attracts investment. it makes our exports more competitive. and, it acts as somewhat of a tariff in the sense that it makes locally produced products cheaper than imports. these are all excellent things for the working class.

but, it's bad news for people with currency reserves, currency manipulators, certain types of investors and a long list of other wealthy people.

as an aside, the reason there's been little spending by corporations is because there's been little demand for products. this is largely an issue related to stagnant wages and rising *household* debt - people don't have a lot of disposable income. there's a few ways to try and stimulate that. a tax cut for middle wage earners is a good idea in principle. as might be traditional keynesian spending.

i'd personally take somewhat of a step back from that, due to recent structural changes in the economy. a lower dollar might actually help to reverse those changes, in the sense that it acts somewhat as a tariff. that would take time.

but, nobody would ever argue that a lower dollar would act as a disincentive for investment in canada. quite the opposite would be true.

Andy the Great
Good solution, one currency for North America and call it the dollar !

Jessica Murray
that's the one and only way to turn canada into greece. no thanks.

again: it's just all a giant exercise in absurdity. first, we had the conservatives claiming they were best at managing the economy. now, we've got everybody arguing over who is going to best manage the economy.

governments don't manage the economy.

tax cuts for businesses don't create jobs. tax increases for businesses don't destroy jobs. targeted tax cuts for consumers can increase purchases, but it's no longer clear that this creates jobs, either. direct investment can create jobs, but there are now rules in place that restrict our ability to do this. the only thing government can do to create middle class jobs is directly hire people - it can expand itself.

a low dollar makes us more competitive for jobs with high capital mobility (like call centers), and more competitive with exports (like cheese). in the context of expanding free trade, this is a good thing and should be maintained.

budget deficits do not affect the economy.

just, please, do me a favour: when you finally get rid of this government, do everything you can to change the ballot question and the narrative. we've reduced elections to a process of deciding which party is better at doing something that government doesn't do, and erected an entire vocabulary of nonsense in the process. the whole narrative is completely in the realm of fantasy. and, we wonder why nobody votes...

www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-justin-trudeau-accuses-tom-mulcair-of-austerity-over-balanced-budget-pledge-1.3202773

i just want to point out that there's no such thing as a blue liberal. i know it seems fair and everything, so your sense of fair play and equal treatment will scream at you. you want the symmetry, at least. but? nope. and there really never has been. there's not a trace of these people in any poll ever taken. the truth is that they're all red tories, there in that fiscally responsible and socially liberal space. once you get left of red tory, harper's never had - and never will have - a fighting chance. it's an impenetrable brick wall of perpetual concern regarding social issues.

but, i'm going to give harper a gift, because i'd like to realign the spectrum. what we've got going on currently isn't of much use to me. i don't want a right-wing ndp government.

something harper seems to have missed in his micro-polling and over-targeting is that there's a significant pool of voters that could be called "tim horton's socialists". i've been in broad contact with these people through various social organizing. the provincial ndp in ontario has been targeting these voters to varying effects, but is limited by where it can move. harper is less limited on this front, because he's more aligned with a syncretic kind of social credit position than anything traditionally conservative. the dynamic is reversed: these are voters that are socially conservative and fiscally socialist. they want big spending and help for the poor, but are rather right-wing on a host of issues from immigration to abortion to the death penalty.

if you conservatives want to help the left get rid of these voters, i think we'd both be better off.

ipolitics.ca/2015/08/25/its-not-your-first-election-mr-harper-time-to-stop-screwing-up/

this is scott brison's riding. i suspect it's a deal to ensure the ndp doesn't split the vote, in exchange for a cabinet position should they win. the ndp were not likely to win the riding, but a bigger than normal ndp turnout could cut into the liberal vote enough to swing it to the conservatives.

https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/death-of-a-candidacy