True North, Strong and Debt Free
I found an interesting statistic recently: of all the G8 nations, Canada has the strongest fiscal balance. Canada had the largest surplus as a proportion of GDP in 2004, and is projected to do so again in 2005 and 2006:
In fact, of all the nations that the OECD publishes this statistic for, only Finland (+2.3) and Norway (+8.2!) surpass Canada's fiscal vigor.
I am concerned that an election to test Canada's current minority Liberal Party government will result in a jaded electorate ousting the scandal-marred Liberals in favor of the Conservatives. Conservative leader Stephen Harper is trading on a dubious moral authority platform; even more dubious is his fiscal platform which promises more military, less taxation, and a laxity in the Canada Health Act. Compare this with Bush's conservative fiscal platform which plunged his nation further into debt than it's ever been, and converted long-running surpluses under Clinton into record budget shortfalls (see Update: New Canafornida).
Be very afraid.
| Fiscal Balance in 2004 for G8 Nations | ||
| Balance | ||
| Nation | (%GDP) | |
| Canada | +1.1 | |
| France | -3.7 | |
| Germany | -3.9 | |
| Italy | -2.9 | |
| Japan | -6.5 | |
| Russia | n/a | |
| United Kingdom | -3.2 | |
| United States | -4.4 | |
In fact, of all the nations that the OECD publishes this statistic for, only Finland (+2.3) and Norway (+8.2!) surpass Canada's fiscal vigor.
I am concerned that an election to test Canada's current minority Liberal Party government will result in a jaded electorate ousting the scandal-marred Liberals in favor of the Conservatives. Conservative leader Stephen Harper is trading on a dubious moral authority platform; even more dubious is his fiscal platform which promises more military, less taxation, and a laxity in the Canada Health Act. Compare this with Bush's conservative fiscal platform which plunged his nation further into debt than it's ever been, and converted long-running surpluses under Clinton into record budget shortfalls (see Update: New Canafornida).
Be very afraid.
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