The numbers and politics behind Harper's proposed changes to Old Age Security.
pension plans
Protesters' testimonies ignored from Greece to Arizona
Response to this week's protests by workers and pensioners in Greece was disdainful. CNN logged it under anger and violence. "Tantrums," said the National Post, thrown by "coddled, bloated and overprotected people." The Globe and Mail sermonized, "Greeks have been living beyond their means for years, with extravagant social benefits and fudged public accounting," although you could easily switch "bankers and speculators" for "Greeks."
Harpo goes to Davos
In Davos, Harpo shared his plans to cut the Old Age Security supplement to Canadian seniors. Only one problem: he never told Canadian seniors.
Related rabble.ca story:
Not Rex: Harpo goes to Davos
Harpo let the whole world in on a little secret at the World Economic Forum in Davos: he's going to cut the Old Age Security supplement to Canadian seniors. Only one problem, he never told Canadian seniors. Not Rex calls him out from the cheap seats.
A number is never just a number: Grey power
• 0
Number of times Prime Minister Stephen Harper campaigned on proposed changes to Canada's Old Age Security (OAS) during the 2011 federal election.
• 1985
The last time a prime minister (Brian Mulroney) tried to change the public pension system without campaigning to do it during the federal election. A seniors' movement dubbed Grey Power forced him to back off. (Source and source)
• 1952
Selling austerity from Davos
Stephen Harper does not seem to care how Canadian government policies compare to those of other countries (other than the U.S.), or want to know how other countries build (or not) their industries, and care for (or not) their citizens.
When Harper was in Davos, Switzerland, last week to address the World Economic Forum, he did not talk about the subject of the conference, The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models, or address concerns about regulation of international banking, or global trade and payments imbalances. Instead he presented his austerity plan for Canada.
Canadian triumphalism increasingly bizarre
Prime Minister Harper went to Davos yesterday to sing Canada's praises. No sooner had he finished reciting a long list of our national achievements, however, he launched into a list of the sober, realistic, inevitable things that must be done in Canada to ensure "sustainability" in the long term. Top of the list is rolling back our universal public pension system (especially targeting the OAS and the GIS), which is one of our genuine national achievements. Harper plans to use his majority power and adept use of "shock doctrine" ideology to try to do what others (including Mulroney and Martin) failed: roll back this most important component of our sadly-inadequate pension system.
