You can't trust Harper on the economy

September 17, 2008

As you know the economy is dominating the election this week and Harper is still managing to appear like the “stern father” in charge of the household while he frames the opposition leaders as irresponsible children.

The “firm hand on the tiller” image is far from accurate and it is extremely important to debunk this as much as possible. The economy is turning into the number 1 or 2 issue in this election and the capitalist crisis to the south of us will likely keep it there. Harper is fine with that - so long as he maintains his image.

FRAMING: We have to frame Stephen Harper as a radical, laissez-fair ideologue who - even as the US catastrophe unfolds on nightly TV- still doesn’t get it. The world is moving rapidly back towards government regulation of the financial sector and the economy in general: Harper has not moved an inch from his laissez-faire ideology.

In fact he doesn’t believe he should have his hand on the tiller - he thinks the ship should sail itself.

But also..he isn’t shy about breaking his own rules if crass opportunism calls. He has consistently rejected financial bail outs for the auto industry - until just 4 days before the election was called. Which is the real Stephen Harper? The image of resilient consistency has been exposed as a fraud.

WRITE A SHORT LETTER  - AGAIN, IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO WRITE AN ESSAY, JUST A LETTER WITH ENOUGH ARGUMENTS TO MAKE PEOPLE QUESTION HARPER’S FRAMING

Here’s a few arguments...use one or two...

* Stephen Harper puts forward the image that he is somehow responsible for anything that is working in the economy (low unemployment in the West) at the same time as he says the government’s role is to let the market find its own way. Which is it?

* Harper says the economy is fine but in fact it is totally distorted: the rapid loss of high paying industrial jobs in Ontario and Quebec and the overheated economy of the West driving housing costs through the roof. This is the face of laissez-faire economics.

* Economists around the world are now calling for major govt involvement in directing the economy and re-regulating key sectors like financials, and explicitly admit that the sub prime mortgage disaster represents the end of the neo-liberal era of laissez-faire, economics. [see: http://tinyurl.com/6b5d86 ] But Harper isn’t listening. He’s still wedded to an ideology that is a threat to the Canadian economy

*  laissez-faire Harper  #1 -  Harper’s overarching economic policy is to tie Canada permanently to the US market - to an economy that is headed for permanent chaos: a financial crisis that will last for another 18 months, huge government deficits, consumer demand dropping like a stone, 10 % of mortgage holders in default, and a negative savings rate.

* laissez-faire Harper  #2: China and India are the growth centres of the world because they ensure a close collaboration between capital (business), universities and the government, carefully engaging in long-term planning of industrial development. Harper literally has NO industrial development strategy or policy. Our economy is completely on its own, pulled this way and that by a faltering globalization.

* laissez-faire Harper  #3: Harper keeps talking about us being competitive but he is squandering any competitive advantage we might have by completely failing to fund the  rebuilding of our crumbling infrastructure. In the years to come this infrastructure deficit will become a crisis but his $60 billion tax cuts means the government will have no money to respond.

* laissez-faire Harper  #4: Harper is so hostile to activist government that he has deliberately put Canada on the road to deficit by eliminating the healthiest surpluses the country has ever had. Just as we are headed for recession, and when the economy will need an economic stimulus, Harper has implemented huge tax cuts which will make such economic stimulus impossible.

* laissez-faire Harper #5: When the world is calling for renewed regulation, Harper is headed in the opposite direction. His deregulation economic agenda will affect every other aspect of Canadian life: self-regulation in food safety; self-regulation in airline safety; “harmonising” regulation with the deregulated US on pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables; abandoning separate Canadian testing of new drugs and more. [see: http://tinyurl.com/5jvcxe ]

 * OPPORTUNISM AND INCONSISTENCY: For his whole political career Harper has opposed economic assistance to specific industries in trouble (let the market decide) but just 4 days before the election he shows up at a Ford plant with $85 million. Who is the real Stephen Harper?   It all depends on whether or not he is in an election. [see:  http://tinyurl.com/5a8pfz ]

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