Putting a Face on Harper Economics

A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to a radio show and a woman called in to describe how she and her husband had lost a massive part of their personal savings because of the elimination of the benefits with income trusts when the Conservatives took power in 2006.

This family had to sell their house.  They are retired.  They are broke.  They are now living week-to-week, being fed from soup kitchens and all because a cold and heartless government didn’t pause long enough to consider the human face on laissez-faire policies.

She cried on air as she described her situation.  She was humiliated and I cried as well as I listened.

And today, the Conservatives stand poised, ready to make another economic statement, unwilling to do anything until next spring when the worst of the recession will be upon us.  No infrastructure announcements.  No mercy for Canadians who want a future.  No waiving of some of the tax cuts to the world’s largest corporations that can afford to pay taxes a little more than most people on the streets.

(Of course, the companies that ‘we’ gave tax cuts to are all going broke, so remind me:  what was the point of corporate tax cuts when none of them are making money?)

No.

Today, Canadians will get more heartless and cruel neo-con policies.  Federal spending across the country will be slashed, properties and assets of the Government of Canada will be sold off in the biggest fire-sale ever, and Canadians will be left out in the cold just as winter approaches.

Expect the worse.  Anything better will be a surprise and will be positioned as such.  They’ll have one or two statements where they’ll make peanut butter sandwiches sound like manna from heaven, as they distract us from the great gutting of Canada.

Oh … and by the way … none of this would be necessary if they zeroed in on the massive, bloated defence budget.