Election = Stimulus
That’s right. Simple, isn’t it? Instead of calling it an Election, just call it Rapid Emergency Stimulus Injection.
I’m, of course, referring to the potential (?) upcoming election in Canada. It would see Iggy v. Harper v. Jack v. Ducceppe in an all-around nail-biter to see who can scrounge up two or three extra seats. Or, it could see a tectonic shift in Canadian politics and the ascension of a thousand-year Liberal Reich. Or Conservative Ascendancy. Or NDP Social Utopia. Or maybe an topsy-turvy world where Quebec is in charge of the rest of Canada. Who knows.
In any case, though, I think we can most comfortably look on another 300-million dollar exercise in dysfunctional democracy not as such, but rather as an instant stimulus package. If you think about it, I think you’ll agree that it works all too perfectly:
A Grand Betrayal
So, after a month-long forced vacation, the Canadian Parliament got back together for a friendly meeting this week. I’m sure there was milk and cookies for everyone! Even our head of state, the Governor General, dropped in to sit on her fancy chair (throne).
Anyway, that’s neither here nor there. What this post is about is the Federal Budget as pronounced by Messars Flaherty and Harper. The Canadian part of the solution, apparently, to the current crisis that has gripped the world.
However, in the midst of all this talk of crisis and a need to take immediate economic action (and after having taken a preliminary glance at the budget), one thing has struck me, and struck me hard:
No one gives a rat’s rear end about the economy. Not the Conservatives, not the Liberals, not the NDP. And, well, the Bloc is the Bloc: they care for Quebec’s chunk of the spoils, nothing more. But really, its sickened me to no end to see the sheer games that are transpiring on Capitol Hill. These guys have no shame. None at all. I just can’t believe it. Its like some magical hypnosis that enthrals MPs.
