Yes,
government’s expenditures must be checked, and I mean all governments.
The “stimulus packages” are just an other way how to burden our children with OUR debts, caused by irresponsible governments of our times.

I think Peter Coleman would be better off to shoot ahead of the current problem. He should fight to have a curriculum put into all the school systems on the pros and cons of socialism and capitalism. The current time frame should apply. Not the justification of socialism’s rise in the early nineteen hundreds. Our problem is in our school curriculum. The current crises in real estate and manufacturing is evidence that the majority of consumers do not have a clear focus on the reality of being members of a global economy.The province of Ontario has over fifty seven thousand five hundred civil employees making over one hundred thousand dollars per year. We cannot de-value our currency to appease greed and inefficiency. In the free market, people need to have purchasing power. A text in the encyclopedia on economics, states that a de-valued currency leads to a road of poverty. Truth is the absence of deceit! and the truth of the matter is we have all been deceived into thinking we can all live like Kings and Queens! and waltz around in luxury.We have gone from a nation of stay at home Moms to a nation of day care centres fueled by the myth that success is measured by the sizes of your bank account, whereas the wise people will tell you that success is to love and to be loved and to feel worthwhile. We do not need a future generation of cold hearts! I have a sister and brother-inlaw who pay almost fifty thousand dollars per year in icome tax. Wouldn’t you think my sister would have been better off to stay at home?

Both Federal and Provincial government politicians should take a pay cut. It is one thing for our political governments to ask others to bite the bullet and yet another for them to bite the bullet. On another point. I am not anti royalty,our Governor General and Lieutenant Governors are fine upstanding people, but no doubt after what I am about to say I will be perceived as being anti royalty, but I believe that it is well past time for Canada to STOP wasting the millions of dollars to support a Governor General, and Lieutenant Governors. The province of Nova Scotia just spent close to 6 million dollars renovating the Lieutenant Governor’s house when this money could be used for the betterment of the people of Nova Scotia. Lets face facts our governments do not listen to the people who elected them and unless things change they will continue to not listen to the people who elected them and the number of people who vote in federal and provincial elections will continue to decline. Why Vote?

It would be very encouraging to have a 5% pay cut taken by all MP’s. It would be even better to take 10%. I would like to see the reaction of the NDP and the Liberals.

Your proposal for government cutbacks will be very hard to implement with a minority government. Remember the the cries of SHAME! from Ed Broadbent when the Neilson report recommended $15 Billion in spending cuts to the Mulroney government. Nothing was done. Even the CBC who already has a billion dollar government handout does not have enough. There is no restraint anywhere except the taxpayer keeps paying.

The good lord didn’t need to creat a hell …he needed only to creat a politician like 75 % of them… that only know one thing …buy power at all costs …that’s a hell of it’s own ! If only we’d pay them more ,we’d get more of this for our money

In response to the economic downturn, companies are doing what they have to in order to stay in business. That means streamlining, downsizing, finding efficiencies wherever they can be found. Meanwhile, what are the bloated government bureaucracies and civil service doing as their part of the bargain? Nothing! A cushy job for life in government is still a cushy job for life. And after they retire they can live like kings on the fattest indexed pensions in the country. This is absurd. It’s time to give a break to the productive private sector and force the parasitic public sector to face reality. Anything less is dishonest and, ultimately, detrimental to the future of the country.

Right on! No one talks about the lurking danger from stimulous spending if the result is a long term spike in inflation (ie: the 1980’s), and interest rates increase dramatically and cannot be controlled. Governments do not have any money other than what they raise in taxes so they borrow to create stimulous programms. When interest rates rise, the cost of re-payment goes up and deficits rise accordingly. The only way government can afford the increased cost is to raise taxes, which in turn, depresses economic growth. Economists in the U.S. have voiced concern with this very possibility and have predicted that if inflations takes off, it could very well cause near bankruptcy of the country when foreign lenders withdraw their funds from U.S. government treasury bills. China and Japan have enormous investments in these borrowing instruments. Canada can get in to the same trap if the Federal Government bows to political pressure to continue pursuing stimulous spending.

I am very concerned about the profligate ramping up of the money supply. Governments will not have the political gonads to cut it back enough or fast enough, nor increase interest rates enough, for a soft economic landing. Thus, our children will have to pay back the dept and the future devaluation of the currency will leave retirees with very damaging inflation. I know it’s just a token in the budget but both the feds and the provinces should cut politician’s and civil service salaries (and pensions) by 10% - at least we already productive wage slaves who actually build stuff (as opposed to shuffling it around) would feel a bit better… and we might even work a bit harder still!

This is a message for Peter Coleman: Please suggest to him that in the 3rd paragraph of his message the line should read “some SEMBLANCE of fiscal reality” (not RESEMBLANCE). p.s. When are you guys going to take up my offer of free proofreading for your messages before you send them out? Good thing I have infinite patience or I’d be fed up with sending you corrections in your messages and never getting a response. Keep the faith, love your stuff. p.p.s Why don’t you correct the atrocious spelling and grammatical errors in those comment messages you print?. Some of them make your readers look like unlettered louts. Maybe some of them are but you shouldn’t let them appear to be. Dare I expect a response?? Will Peter ever see this message? etc. etc. Larry Wulff (Toronto)

Huge government debts are absolutely immoral. Politicians are buying our votes with money that must be repaid by our children and grandchildren! It is the equivalent of taxation without representation.

I agree we can blame the government-run education system for the economic ignorance of the voters. You should not expect the government-run schools to teach our children that government is the greatest threat to our freedom and prosperity. They don’t want our children to think for themselves; they want students to believe that government is good and knows what is best for you. Do not expect teachers who work in an essentially socialist environment to have any concept of the benefits of capitalism, let alone explain them to their students.

I guess I was naive to expect that Stephen Harper could make a fiscal difference. With his education and experience, if he couldn’t alter course, what hope do we have? Personally, I feel rampant government spending is far greater risk to our country than terrorism or social ills.

Once again our group of governments have, let us down. No leadership, no real ideas in putting forth an example but then, what would you expect from people who never have to worry about being let go, downsized or even, heaven forbid, fired. We have these people who could do a lot more than is currently being done but; you know it is so easy to go to work every day and suck off the public teat and know for certain that your pay and you pensions are secure. What would you expect? Frankly, I don’t expect very much from our governments and thus I am not surprised or let down.

Yes, strong leadership is an absolute must is this time of economic crisis. Unnecessary spending must be curbed. No matter how we approach this issue of spending there is only source of funding, us the taxpayers. Any deficits created now will have to be paid for. Don’t spend now unless we want to have a deficit to deal with later. Governments have a choice to make, think and plan long term or react to today’s issues. We will come out of this recession and long term thinking will avoid having to pay later.