McKennomics: lower personal & corporate taxes...
...but hike consumptions taxes (i.e. the HST and GST).
Related: Frankly, McKenna got it right, N.B. tax cuts required now, Apres Dion, Le Deluge, McKenna calls for Atlantic reduction in corporate, capital taxes, Education, small business best places to invest, McKenna desperate for region to work together
24 Comments:
talking out of both sides of his mouth once again.
Nope. Like I said over at "It's the Economy, Stupid!", he [McKenna] is taking advice from Scott Brison (who he backed for Liberal leader), in that, he is positioning himself politically as a Mulroney progressive conservative rather than a traditional Liberal, especially since 1.) it appears he's going to throw his hat into the ring federally and 2.) Harper tories have demonstrated longterm difficulties (stemming back to the reform party) in courting "Red Tories" (they don't trust him).
It could be a guy like McKenna, with no baggage in that "right wing fight", that could be the one to bring that Mulroney coalition back to prominence.
that's if you believe him.
I prefer the name Populist Organization of Red Nationalists... or the PORN party for short... Yes, I agree that Harper's liberal roots are clearly showing which is why there is a clear opening for a guy like McKenna to break onto the national scene. Does anybody know where Dion is??
Ummm, Trudeau and Mulroney had charisma. Harper and McKenna have not...?
I stand by my comments on Frank McKenna. Plus, I think Gerry Nicholls is bang on in his assessment of Stephen Harper's attempt at a working majority. In other words, strategy from the PMO may have created an opening down the road for a centre-right conservative...much farther down the road, that is.
Much farther down the road? Is it because they have no choice?
If so, it's because Harper is no longer the principled right-winger we saw during the last federal election. Harper has switched to an approach of get elected at all costs. He sees minimal risk in that approach because he knows the 30% or so of Canadians who seem to be right-of-centre have little choice.
He expects that they will compromise their principles and support him because, in the Canadian political spectrum which no longer includes the old Progressive Conservative party, they have nowhere else to go.
Although, as you have said, they may down the road in McKenna.
All McKenna would have to do is tout less spending, instead of increasing it; make government smaller, rather then bigger; get government out of most business affairs, instead of always meddling in the free market.
Pretty simple, don't u think?
I think we oversell this guy and what he did for New Brunswick. He looked after himself, of that there is no doubt, but what did he truly accomplish for the long term benefit of New Brunswick?
This guy was out selling phone lines for Aliant and attracting corporations with cheap labour and government money, combined with some weak labour laws, when he might have been better investing for the future. While places like Ireland were investing in Education, McKenna was cutting funding to education. Whose economy would you rather have now, Ireland's or NB's?
He gave the bulk of the crown land to the forestry industry, who rewarded NB with very little investment in innovation or technology. Because the forestry industry was happy to sell our resources at a discount, take profit, but not invest in new technologies, innovation or new product development, now they are looking for more wood and subsidized energy. How many mills closed because the the companies said the technology they were using was too old? I know they said that of Dalhousie for sure. McKenna gave away the farm (or the woodlot). Where was the R&D money and innovation from the industry when money was pouring in?
This is a good legacy for McKenna?
He made us feel good though, but so does my car salesman.
However, he may need the job, since the Carlyle Group fund went bust in the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. He must have had a few bucks invested in that.
And don't get me started on McKenna meddling in business affairs. I run a tourist business, and he and Camille Theriault stuck their nose in big time.
McKenna is as slick as a Miramichi lawyer...
I agree with Paul, his provincial legacy as premier has been way overblown. I laughed when I read on another blog that McKenna balanced the budget. Ummm, no. Every year (but one) he added millions to the provincial debt (which we are still paying for) while spending more and more each year. He is far from a fiscal conservative. and as Paul said, he made meddling in business an art form.
McKenna did nothing good for the province. He was a magician in the way that he had the belief that he was doing things for the province.
Remember People:
1. he gave millions to US giants like UPS(fortune 500) to set up call centers that in turn paid peanuts to the mostly female emloyees. He gave an 11 million dollar forgiveable loan so that we women could work for them below the poverty line. He did tout us as cheap labour. He did alot to break the spirit of the people. By the way he sat on their corporate board after leaving politics. Nice reward.
2. Implemented a Kindergarten program on the backs of female teachers with good credentials and then offer them a partial salary. I was shocked that the liberals got away with this ethically.
3. He always said that Corporate Canada has a terrible record on investing in education in Canada. And he was right. But know he is on the other side of the fence sitting on Corporate boards, so why is he not following his advice and investing in education.
4. He cut essential rural healthcare out of many communities, So for those of us that lived in rural NB got the shaft he closed down hospitals without seeing the problems that it creates but his liberals had huge investments and loans for Giant US corporations?
5. And he is still a walking mouthpiece of futile garbage and contracdictions. He has called the US Senate in Protectionist Moods but wait he works for TD that is protected from foreign competition due to the 1967 bank act. Yet they are free to buy into markets but Canadians can't use foreign banks within our borders for everyday banking and so the Big Banks charge us ridiculous user fees.
This might be beside the point, as I don't particularly care one way or another about Frank McKenna, but the rebuttal I always find persuasive in opposition to hiking consumption taxes as a main source of government revenue is that we don't live in a vacuum and people will just import rather than buying local goods. (Unless you put severe restrictions on trade, which I think would be worse.)
Obviously I prefer the incentives of a consumption tax to the incentives of an income tax, but I've never been able to think of a good answer to the above.
(Also: "Frankly, McKenna got it right..." -- I see what you did there!)
janet,
shouldn't you be studying? hee hee.
McKennomics: give the poor corporations as much money as they want, at least you get a nice gig with them after politics!
This guy is a self confessed "Globalist". He believes more in Corporate power and profits then the province of New Brunswick. Remember his stunt with Carlyle at a Moncton Golf Course with Bush Sr. Can you imagine that these fromer politicians with sensitive security information are bidding on military contracts. He has few morals and should not be given the forum to speak on issues that he knows nothing about. We are one of the poorest provinces and in terrible shape partly due to policies developed by the likes of McKenna and his elite status.
The province as it stands now is "cheap labour" for the 2 or three billionaire families in the province. Do you think that the Irving friendly liberals or the Irvings, want to have the Province become prosperous. No way, competition in the province would loosen the grip they have, and force them to pay proper wages. New Brunswick is controlled too strongly by to little and therfore most will suffer. And if you were a politician that is willing to call out the major employers here it would be political suicide because they control the media.
The debate about how to improve the province happened 20 years ago, 15 years ago, 10 years ago and again now with sufficiency plans. When are the people of the province going to wake up and see that this province is a gold mine to the few controlling families, along with whatever party is in and the media. Sounds bizarre but it is true. It will be the same argument in 10,15,20,25 years from now. People here are wise but when you are up against these types of odds it is hard to speak out.....
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... NB.. I think that you have a good point going.
... As Mr. Harper compromises all personal principles by becoming a fiscal Liberal, Mr. McKenna could well bring the Liberals back to power by coming up to the Right of the Conservatives.
I am just so happy to see that more people than I know mckenna is a dangerous nothing.How many poor Premiers leave office millionaires?
A strategy that makes perfect sense given what has transpired in the PMO.
I agree with Iain as McKenna was at Scott Brison's wedding in my neck of the woods last summer and I think it's safe to say he has the backing of the conservative business elite in Nova Scotia, PEI and New Brunswick.
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nbt, I am curious to know why you removed mikel's comments? I read them and there did not sound like anything offensive about them, except they are naive...
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