Turn That Trickle Into A Flood

During the most recent Canadian Federal election this past May, Stephen Harper's main campaign message was that, of all the possible choices, he was the only one capable of being Canada's "economic steward." Harper claimed that it was his small 'c' conservatism that had allowed Canada to avoid the worst of the global recession. He wanted to convince Canadians that a vote for another "unstable" minority government was a vote for economic catastrophe. It was up to the other parties to refute this wild claim. They couldn't. And, sadly, many who voted for Harper did so for this reason alone. Many were not necessarily excited about his broader agenda, but they were terrified that anyone else in charge (especially, gasp!, those financially irresponsible NDP-ers) would spell an even tougher time making ends meet than they were already having.

The fear of financial break-down that Harper so successfully manipulated effectively opened the door to what will undoubtedly come to be known as the most reckless and damaging majority government Canada has known. We are witnessing long-standing Canadian institutions, many founded on intrinsically Canadian principles (eg: regulation as a way to keep things fair for everyone, not as a block to business as it is most often painted as), either torn down or systematically starved of funds.

I remember, at the time, there were some brave critics pointing out that Harper's seemingly blemish-free economic record was actually not his to celebrate. In fact, Canadians could thank their country's banking regulations, laid out in the Bank Act of 1991. These regulations outlawed much of the speculation activity which had caused the American disaster and prevented Canada from getting dragged into the sub-prime mire.

But, of course, irrationality and misinformation won the day.

Now, here we are at the precipice of a new recession. There are some seriously crazy things happening in Europe and the United States, places that have been, at least for a very long time, the economic engines of the global liberal status quo. But now, substantial fault-lines are emerging; cracks beginning to show. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has claimed that the Euro-crisis is very serious threat to global economic security. And in his speeches and press conferences, he espouses the same old argument that those neoliberals always use, "cut spending, cut programs, cut corporate taxes, and all will be solved."

But, Flaherty has just announced that the Conservative government will not be able to meet their projected budget goals. One can only speculate that this will mean Flaherty will make the case for even more extreme cost cutting measures.And, once again, the neoliberal austerity measures will fail to target the real causes of the financial crisis.

Harper promised more jobs not less. He promised economic prosperity, not uncertainty. The truth is, nothing he and his cronies can do will really shield us from a global economic meltdown. I am just sad that so many Canadians bought his argument that he could. Now, we are stuck with not only another looming recession or worse, but a government infected with hubris and diligently removing the rug from underneath Canada's once-enviable democracy.

It all makes sense to me now. When a neoliberal says "trickle down," he really means trickle. If the 1% were really serious about finding a solution to the global economic woes, they would turn that trickle into a flood!