Canada Balances it's Budget; Why Cant the USA?

[tinydancer]

The low-key spending plan leaves Prime Minister Stephen Harper well-positioned to offer tax breaks and other initiatives in the runup to an election scheduled for October next year.

Exactly what we need in the US, a fiscally Conservative government.

More tax breaks for the rich! Yeah baby!!!!!

Oh bite me. Grow up and stop with the talking points. The key to how we got out of the world recession as quickly as we have is by working towards a goal of not spending more than the revenue that is taken in.

You guys are screwed because your maniacs in Washington won't stop spending.

Called Economics 101. Oh and it helps that instead of my Prime Minister being a community organizer surrounded by idiotic academics, Harper has a Masters in Economics. And Jim Flaherty our Finance Minister really does look at "revenue" as part of Canada's economy as compared to Obama and the Democrats AND the RINOS who regard revenue and spending beyond their means as a way to purchase votes and keep going back inside the beltway.

 

[tinydancer]

You're forgetting that Clinton balanced the budget......But then came Bush.

The Budget and Deficit Under Clinton

He had help from a hard core R House and Senate.

No, Bill Clinton Didn't Balance the Budget | Cato Institute

 

[Toro]

Canada is awesome in so many ways.

BTW, Canadian conservatives don't cut taxes under any and all circumstances. They will cut taxes if they can cut spending. They don't slash taxes and then do nothing about spending.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Canada Balances it's Budget; Why Cant the USA?

More evidence that ignorance and stupidity are prerequisites for being conservative.

This is a false analogy fallacy, as has likely already been pointed out to you, and the premise of your thread fails accordingly.

 

[JimBowie1958]

You're forgetting that Clinton balanced the budget......But then came Bush.

The Budget and Deficit Under Clinton

He had help from a hard core R House and Senate.

No, Bill Clinton Didn't Balance the Budget | Cato Institute

And counting Social Security revenues with the general budget....

 

[JimBowie1958]

Canada Balances it's Budget; Why Cant the USA?

More evidence that ignorance and stupidity are prerequisites for being conservative.

This is a false analogy fallacy, as has likely already been pointed out to you, and the premise of your thread fails accordingly.

Yeah cause the USA is a nation-state, and Canada is a nation state on the same continent and fairly close culturally as well.

Yeah, apples and oranges totally......but that is unless you gun grabbing fascists want to blather on about how Canada and the rest of the world has tighter gun control than we do, ass-face bitch.

 

[OnePercenter]

Canada is awesome in so many ways.

BTW, Canadian conservatives don't cut taxes under any and all circumstances. They will cut taxes if they can cut spending. They don't slash taxes and then do nothing about spending.

It will be 80f this weekend in Vegas. In Toronto it will be 16f. Awesome?

 

[tinydancer]

Canada Balances it's Budget; Why Cant the USA?

More evidence that ignorance and stupidity are prerequisites for being conservative.

This is a false analogy fallacy, as has likely already been pointed out to you, and the premise of your thread fails accordingly.

What false analogy? Essentially the differences between Canada and America on so many levels are miniscule and few and far between.

One major difference during this world wide recession has been how my Conservative government has approached running up a deficit very cautiously with an exit strategy to get back to black.

On the other hand your Democrats, President and RINO'S have viewed your stimulus and deficits as a way to pay back donors and as payolla to offer "candy" to the voting public.

Pigs at the trough seemingly endlessly ready to snork up more and more revenue to enhance their chances of returning to Washington every election.

Of course the most blatant difference between our Conservatives and your lunatics inside the beltway is that the Canadian government understands that one should always attempt to spend only as much as you receive in revenue.

And credit where credit is due. Even our Liberal government under Chretien with Paul Martin as a finance minister kept us in the black. A little too much of a surplus for our liking in the end because we were getting seriously over taxed and that led to their demise. But it's saying something when I can compliment a Canadian Liberal Finance Minister for keeping us from deficits.

 

[History]

Because Democrats AND Republicans only care about the next election versus the future of this country..

 

[Toro]

Canada is awesome in so many ways.

BTW, Canadian conservatives don't cut taxes under any and all circumstances. They will cut taxes if they can cut spending. They don't slash taxes and then do nothing about spending.

It will be 80f this weekend in Vegas. In Toronto it will be 16f. Awesome?

Temperature is not one thing Canada is awesome at.

That's why there are so many of us Canadians here in Florida.

 

[DennyO]

Canada is not a wealthy country like the United States. The rich can borrow more easily than the poor because they have the assets as collateral, and can afford the interest costs. While Canadians individually are okay income wise, as their population is so much smaller, the country as a whole just don't have the kind of wealth the U.S. does.

If you look at a map of the United States, particularly west of the Mississippi, the extent of government land holdings becomes apparent in national parks and forests. Same thing with military bases, likely many of the states have more in military base holdings and equipment than the entire country of Canada.

I lived in Canada over 15 years ago, and its economy was really going downhill, and the debt on upswing, and their credit rating sinking when they realized it could no longer continue that way and even their liberal government of the time took drastic actions to cut spending and increase taxes and turned around their deficit. Cutting the deficit and then the debt is something even the Republicans have not done in the U.S. while they were in charge. They don't walk their talk.

 

[JimBowie1958]

Canada is not a wealthy country like the United States. The rich can borrow more easily than the poor because they have the assets as collateral, and can afford the interest costs. While Canadians individually are okay income wise, as their population is so much smaller, the country as a whole just don't have the kind of wealth the U.S. does.

If you look at a map of the United States, particularly west of the Mississippi, the extent of government land holdings becomes apparent in national parks and forests. Same thing with military bases, likely many of the states have more in military base holdings and equipment than the entire country of Canada.

I lived in Canada over 15 years ago, and its economy was really going downhill, and the debt on upswing, and their credit rating sinking when they realized it could no longer continue that way and even their liberal government of the time took drastic actions to cut spending and increase taxes and turned around their deficit. Cutting the deficit and then the debt is something even the Republicans have not done in the U.S. while they were in charge. They don't walk their talk.

Lol, they once were not 'walking their talk' but now they are, dude, and they have balanced their budget for 12 of the last 13 years.

How long ago did you work in Canada?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

They aren't supporting a hugely bloated and largely unnecessary military.

 

[tinydancer]

Canada is not a wealthy country like the United States. The rich can borrow more easily than the poor because they have the assets as collateral, and can afford the interest costs. While Canadians individually are okay income wise, as their population is so much smaller, the country as a whole just don't have the kind of wealth the U.S. does.

If you look at a map of the United States, particularly west of the Mississippi, the extent of government land holdings becomes apparent in national parks and forests. Same thing with military bases, likely many of the states have more in military base holdings and equipment than the entire country of Canada.

I lived in Canada over 15 years ago, and its economy was really going downhill, and the debt on upswing, and their credit rating sinking when they realized it could no longer continue that way and even their liberal government of the time took drastic actions to cut spending and increase taxes and turned around their deficit. Cutting the deficit and then the debt is something even the Republicans have not done in the U.S. while they were in charge. They don't walk their talk.

I'm posting on the fly today so I'm going to have to tackle some of your erroneous assertions piece meal.

If you lived in Canada in the 90's the Liberal government under Chretien and Finance Minister Paul Martin didn't have debt on the upswing. Au contraire.

They were able to turn around the deficit because a courageous Canuck Conservative called Brian Mulroney had the balls with his finance minister to overhaul our tax system.

It cost the Conservatives the next election in 1993, but the Goods and Services Tax here put us on the road to financial stability.

I've suggested a GST for America over and over. Some call it a VAT. BUT the American public lead by the nose by their disgusting progressive politicians prefer to practice "class warfare". In reality it is the fairest tax possible. If a quizzillionaire buys a yacht he pays the same GST % as I pay for a canoe. It's the great equalizer.

Read and learn:


GST at 20: Mulroney has no regrets on Canada’s most hated tax

It’s at least partly responsible for the destruction of one political party, the making of two prime ministers, and instrumental in setting Canada on a sustainable fiscal course that’s paying dividends today.

By: Julian Beltrame The Canadian Press, Published on Tue Dec 28 2010 OTTAWA—It’s the tax that keeps on giving, and taking.

It’s at least partly responsible for the destruction of one political party, the making of two prime ministers, and instrumental in setting Canada on a sustainable fiscal course that’s paying dividends today.

The GST — Brian Mulroney’s seven per cent solution to yesteryear’s deficit crisis — turns 20 on Jan. 1 and is likely only a shade less hated now than the day it was conceived.

But if he had to do it over again, the long-retired prime minister insists he would.



Yet economists insist Mulroney made the right decision. Former TD Bank chief economist Don Drummond, who was with Finance at the time, said studies show a broad-based consumption tax is the least disruptive in a free-market.



What is not appreciated, he said, is that the government saw the GST not as an isolated policy, but as one leg of a three-legged stool to transform the Canadian economy.

The first leg, he said, was free trade with the world’s biggest and richest market. The second was a reformed tax system that made Canada competitive with the U.S. The third was a formal pact with John Crow’s Bank of Canada to wring inflation out of the system.

Mulroney said he was not certain the prescriptions would work — “there’s always some uncertainty in your judgement” — but he feels vindicated today.

“When Harper cut the GST from seven to five (per cent), guess who was leading the protest? The Liberals and NDP ... there are mountains of irony in that,” he chuckled.

GST at 20: Mulroney has no regrets on Canada?s most hated tax | Toronto Star

 

[tinydancer]

Now to Paul Martin. Credit where credit is due. Between PM Chretien and Finance Minister Martin they kept the super progressive spend every penny we have and more at bay and with Mulroney's GST move turned deficits to surpluses.

You see Paul Martin was a genius of a businessman before he became Finance Minister as compared to Tim Geithner who had never had a job in the real world and was put in a position of power he should never ever have been let near.

And for a liberal, he did the unheard of. Holy toledo !!!!!! He slashed spending like crazy. AND utilized the GST to work towards a balance budget that he was finally able to introduce a balance budget in 1998.

Awesome. Just awesome. But one more time Economics 101 prevailed. He worked diligently to not spend more than the revenue he was raking in. And he made a lot of enemies in his own party for not bending to their "lets spend everything and more" ways.

Kudos to Martin. Big time. I will be forever grateful to this really brave men between Mulroney and his Finance Minister and ditto to Jean Chretien and Paul Martin. Man these guys really took a lot of heat and hits for the good of the country.

 

[OnePercenter]

Canada is awesome in so many ways.

BTW, Canadian conservatives don't cut taxes under any and all circumstances. They will cut taxes if they can cut spending. They don't slash taxes and then do nothing about spending.

It will be 80f this weekend in Vegas. In Toronto it will be 16f. Awesome?

Temperature is not one thing Canada is awesome at.

That's why there are so many of us Canadians here in Florida.

Also, cheap Levis, luggage, and liquor.

Canadians go home! And take Cruz with you!

 

[Toro]

Now to Paul Martin. Credit where credit is due. Between PM Chretien and Finance Minister Martin they kept the super progressive spend every penny we have and more at bay and with Mulroney's GST move turned deficits to surpluses.

You see Paul Martin was a genius of a businessman before he became Finance Minister as compared to Tim Geithner who had never had a job in the real world and was put in a position of power he should never ever have been let near.

And for a liberal, he did the unheard of. Holy toledo !!!!!! He slashed spending like crazy. AND utilized the GST to work towards a balance budget that he was finally able to introduce a balance budget in 1998.

Awesome. Just awesome. But one more time Economics 101 prevailed. He worked diligently to not spend more than the revenue he was raking in. And he made a lot of enemies in his own party for not bending to their "lets spend everything and more" ways.

Kudos to Martin. Big time. I will be forever grateful to this really brave men between Mulroney and his Finance Minister and ditto to Jean Chretien and Paul Martin. Man these guys really took a lot of heat and hits for the good of the country.

I loathe the Liberal Party, but Paul Martin was probably the best finance minister in the history of the country. The deficit was reduced 80% by cutting spending 20% and raising taxes.

 

[tinydancer]

Now to Paul Martin. Credit where credit is due. Between PM Chretien and Finance Minister Martin they kept the super progressive spend every penny we have and more at bay and with Mulroney's GST move turned deficits to surpluses.

You see Paul Martin was a genius of a businessman before he became Finance Minister as compared to Tim Geithner who had never had a job in the real world and was put in a position of power he should never ever have been let near.

And for a liberal, he did the unheard of. Holy toledo !!!!!! He slashed spending like crazy. AND utilized the GST to work towards a balance budget that he was finally able to introduce a balance budget in 1998.

Awesome. Just awesome. But one more time Economics 101 prevailed. He worked diligently to not spend more than the revenue he was raking in. And he made a lot of enemies in his own party for not bending to their "lets spend everything and more" ways.

Kudos to Martin. Big time. I will be forever grateful to this really brave men between Mulroney and his Finance Minister and ditto to Jean Chretien and Paul Martin. Man these guys really took a lot of heat and hits for the good of the country.

I loathe the Liberal Party, but Paul Martin was probably the best finance minister in the history of the country. The deficit was reduced 80% by cutting spending 20% and raising taxes.

Agreed! And I'm a die hard conservative. He rocked and put the country back on track. Martin took a lot of heat for sticking to his guns on working towards a balanced budget.

Kudos to the man.

 

[Interpol]

PM Harper's government will finally balance the books after growing the debt by a third.

Harper inherited 10 years of surpluses in 2006 (that year the surplus was over $13 billion). Like a typical modern conservative, he started to piddle it all away and the surplus for 2007 was less than half the $13 billion of the year before.

Deficits every single year since. The Canadian debt had been lowered to just under $450 billion under the Chretien administration, but the Canadian conservatives made sure to send the debt back up as they always do with their curious and illogical blend of tax cuts for top income earners and even MORE public spending.

The current Canadian debt is now roughly $620 billion.

That they're only going to break even because of big public service cuts heading into a general election year is even more curious.

It's hard to lead a country for more than 8 years without the public getting fatigued with you, and if PM Harper runs in 2015, he'll be doing so after having served 9 years.

 

[JimBowie1958]

PM Harper's government will finally balance the books after growing the debt by a third.

Harper inherited 10 years of surpluses in 2006 (that year the surplus was over $13 billion). Like a typical modern conservative, he started to piddle it all away and the surplus for 2007 was less than half the $13 billion of the year before.

Deficits every single year since. The Canadian debt had been lowered to just under $450 billion under the Chretien administration, but the Canadian conservatives made sure to send the debt back up as they always do with their curious and illogical blend of tax cuts for top income earners and even MORE public spending.

The current Canadian debt is now roughly $620 billion.

That they're only going to break even because of big public service cuts heading into a general election year is even more curious.

It's hard to lead a country for more than 8 years without the public getting fatigued with you, and if PM Harper runs in 2015, he'll be doing so after having served 9 years.

Interesting, but back to the OP, why cant the USA balance its budget as well?

It's funny how we are all talking around the real problem, the mandatory growing entitlement programs that are now about 62% of our budget and are a silently growing cancer to our federal budget.