For the first time ever, I actually clapped in front of my TV sitting at home alone yesterday. Especially when the Finance Minister announced that spending will be focused only in areas that are of federal responsibility. Here is a good synopsis of what's contained.
Before saying anything I wanted to wait and see how the press reacted. It's overall pretty good coverage, with some predictable stuff about how it is "ideological". It isn't that ideological, but rather a shift in the modus operandi of the federal government. As Craig Oliver noted on CTV, this is the end of the style of government that throws money around into various ministries and foundations for pet projects and a return to letting Canadians have their own money. This is an absolutely huge and critical step in reversing the statist culture inculcated by the Liberals. Some conservatives may be unhappy with some of the spending increases, but make no mistake: this is a fundamentally sound conservative budget.
Lastly, I would love to hear from someone "in the know" about why the lowest tax bracket figure is being "raised" (read: not going ahead with the Liberal plan) by .5, from 15% to 15.5%. I know the overall amount of tax being paid by low-income people is still less under the Conservative plan, but why even do the small hike and give the opposition some ammunition? I'm sure there's a good political/economic answer, but I'd be curious to know it.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:38 AM
