Within one year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slid from an all-time record high of 14,000 to a horrible 10,000 points. As most Canadians have shifted from the what if, to the how bad will the very probable recession be mindset, all four political parties seem to be stuck in the mud, ignoring the precarious economy.
Although this election has been one of the most boring in recent memory, its outcome may greatly impact the future.
“In good times, people think about ways to save polar bears; in bad times, they wonder if polar bears taste like chicken,” the National Spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality Niger Innis jokingly said at a Frontier Centre for Public Policy luncheon this week.
In essence, Innis’ joke is right, people do shift their preferences when conditions change. A year ago, the economy was going strong, Canadians felt secure. Today, with a global financial panic, jobs are at stake and Canadians’ confidence is shaken.
Although the environment is important, it is of little comfort to have carbon emissions fall when people are losing their homes because they are jobless. When families are sitting at the dinner table, discussions are not about saving owls or global warming, it is about whether they will be able to buy food for their kids tomorrow.
Under these circumstances, it is mind boggling that our politicians are turning a deaf ear to Canadians concerns and are instead trying to push their own unpopular agendas. Perhaps we need Bill Clinton to visit Canada and yell on a bullhorn, “it’s the economy stupid.”
Things could be worse, all political parties could be trying to sell tax increases. Luckily, there is one leader, Stephen Harper who is bucking the trend, the only politician advocating a reduction in taxes.
If a corporation that you worked for was about to go bankrupt, what would your preference be: A, accept a slight pay cut and keep your job, B, agree to current wages and pray to God that your employer doesn’t move operations to another country or C, demand a pay raise, lose your job and be stuck unemployed.
Canada faces exactly this same problem. Our tax policies aren’t invisible. This great country is not an island. All policies enacted can either encourage or discourage foreign investment. We are competing in a global market.
The Liberals wanting to enact Green Shift, the NDP advocating an increase to corporate taxes and the Green’s trying to hike the GST up all lead to option C, a situation where corporations go bankrupt or move to other countries. Either way, Canadians are out of work. The Conservatives are pushing for option A, understanding that we compete in a global marketplace, they want to cut taxes and fight to keep jobs in Canada.
It is unfortunate that more parties have not come to grip with reality. A simple rule: during an economic downturn, you do not increase taxes. It is discouraging that none of the parties has altered their campaigns to deal with the economy.
Cutting taxes is no panacea, but it alleviates financial stress. Increasing taxes on the other hand just adds fuel to an economic fire.
On Oct. 14, Canadian students have a big decision to make. Most of us will be graduating in the near future, looking for employment thereafter. If the economy moves into a recession, new graduates with little work experience will have an extremely difficult time trying to find a job.
For the good of the economy, it is disheartening that our politicians cannot put their intransigence aside. Come graduation, if finding employment is a priority, do remember to think about the economy before you make a trip to the ballot box.