Wynne says the NDP turned down the “most progressive budget in decades.”
Of course, this implies there was two decades of regressive PC and Liberal government. None of it was close to the left side of the political spectrum, that's for sure.
But it gets even better.
Progressive regression
According to Bloomberg, Wynne's platform actually contains the biggest cuts in decades: Wynne’s Budget Fortells Biggest Ontario Cuts Since Harris. Describes Wynne as a “less draconian Harris.”
Looks like the most progressive budget in decades also happens to be the most regressive budget in decades.
I imagine partisan cognitive dissonance of this magnitude must fry more brain cells than a crystal meth binge! Looks like I tore up my federal Liberal membership card Justin time!
Fooling pro-social
If Wynne does fool enough left-leaning voters into supporting her progressive/ regressive vision for Ontario, one has to wonder if Liberal progressives will even remember she ran on a progressive platform 3 years from now when we're eye-ball deep in “pain.”
I'm more than a little skeptical.
The fire
Many so-called progressives take an odd comfort in being in the frying pan rather than in the fire.
This certainly doesn't go unnoticed by those pulling the strings of the Liberal party. Every election Liberals raise the alarm about how terrible the fire is, hoping no one will notice how hot it's getting in the frying pan.
My “right-wing Rob Ford” idea of progressive is getting out of the frying pan and away from the fire!
In a hurry
It used to be said that the NDP was the Liberal party in a hurry. But over the past 20 years or so, it's become painfully obvious the neo-cons have taken on that role…
The NDP budget is pretty similar. It takes the same 3 year time period to get to deficit neutral. It gets a bit more revenue from the 1% corporate tax hike, and loses a bit of revenue from HST cuts and small business tax cats, and claims to cut roughly half the amount of waste than the Liberals. But on most of the major files like transportation and healthcare, the NDP plan builds on the existing Liberal plan, they just rearrange money so some of the numbers look a bit larger (50 clinics opposed to the Liberals 36, for instance, or a couple million more on children nutrition, etc).
ReplyDeleteThe basic math can't change. Given the similarities between the plans, pain for the one equals pain in the other. If the NDP had been brave and actually moved for a substantive increase in the corporate tax rate, a progressive income tax scheme, introduced a carbon tax (or at least left the HST on electricity), etc, then they would have had the revenue stream to promise a fast deficit turnaround without the pain. And then we would have had a meaningful alternative to vote for, instead of risking a horrifying Hudak government to gain almost nothing in major policy ideas from some kind of minority Liberal with NDP influence government.
Andrea's NDP is for reversing corporate tax cuts that the PCs and Liberals put in place. Andrea stopped further Liberal corporate tax cuts and made McGuinty raise income taxes on the wealthy.
DeleteThe NDP is the true party of tax fairness.
If they proposed going too far, they would come across as extremists. They want to appear as moderates to win broad support. Their pocket-book populism, gives savings to all, but benefits low-income the most. It is appealing to right-leaning voters as well, and helps split the right vote keeping the neo-cons from power.
But when push comes to shove, Andrea's NDP is pro-people not pro-corporation. She is going to embrace higher tax cuts on the rich rather than inflict more pain on the people as the Liberals have been doing the past few years: slashing benefits for the poor and disabled while absurdly wasting $2.4-billion a year on corporate tax cuts for the rich.
The BC Liberals did not put HST on hydro. But McGuinty did because he's a pay-as-you-go conservative. With delisted services, increased user fees, eco fees, regressive taxes and endless hydro hikes, the Liberals gouge the little guy while giving out free money for the rich.
Andrea's progressive-centrist NDP has real progressive and liberal values. Ones the Liberal party abandoned over 20 years ago.