The economy. ERA. Abortion. Deficits.  These are just some the issues George Bush has reversed himself on to become a Reagan team player.  To shelter what remains of his convictions, Bush is about to formally place his political manhood in a blind trust.
Doonsebury comic strip, October 30th, 1984

Well,  the worst kept secret in Canada is out in the open for all to see – Harper cares more about power than principles.  I’ve lost track of all the things he was against before he was for them.  You would see less flopping from rag doll in a clothes dryer.  Let’s see, fixed elections (or not), stacking the Senate (or not) clean government (or not), deficits (or not), coalition governments (or not) and now Liberal budgets (big “L).  You know those budgets, the ones long on talk and short on walk (how is that national childcare program working out for you?).  

But in all these contortions for power, one can still see hope for Harper to hang on to his no-government- is- good- government neo-con faith manhood.  Nope, upon closer inspection (not a pleasant task) Harper hasn’t completely put it in a trust, he just sold off a big chunk of it. The question remains if he got a good enough price to stay in power.

His budget give the impression of believing in government, in investing in Canada, perhaps even caring for the most vulnerable. But the budget is more like a photo slideshow –  you get a sense of what a place is like, but it’s not close to being there.  So we see a slide with a picture of infrastructure development, but of course it is just a picture.  To actually get any of this money provinces and cities have to kick in over 70 cents on the dollar.  More of a dream vacation I’d say.  We see a picture of  an expanded EI program.  But wait, no new money for expanded benefits.  Tax cuts are always part of the show, but this time they help low income people.  It must be true – just read the Toronto Star’s glowing coverage.   Ah but a closer look at that picture shows that low-income Canadians will get a whopping $33 tax break.  You can take that to the bank!  

Are there things in the budget I support?  I’m sure there are, but I won’t hold my breath about them until I get the full picture.  Until then I remain leery of a magic show by a man protecting what little he has left. 

Matthew Adams

Matt moved to Toronto from the U.S just in time for Mike Harris to take power in Ontario and has been stunned ever since. Matthew Adams is a co-founder of the Catalyst Centre (a social justice popular...