Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Stephen Harper Vows to Put an End to Corporate Welfare Bums


Stephen Harper is invoking the late NDP leader David Lewis, and vowing to go after corporate welfare bums. Finally.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper revived an NDP slogan from the past, pledging to go after corporate welfare which is costing taxpayers billions of dollars. Speaking to the Toronto Board of Trade Wednesday, Harper challenged the business community to stop receiving government subsidies, making it a condition to lower their business taxes.

"I won't lower one without lowering the other," Harper said. "That is what I mean by low-tax solutions rather than high-spending solutions." Harper lashed out at a system that has allowed corporations to benefit from government subsidies, saying Canadians have not received value for their money.
Wait a minute .... This was in 2004 when he had taken a leave of absence from running the corporate sponsored National Citizens Coalition, to become prime minister, so he could work for corporations from the inside.

Phew!

For a minute there I thought he was actually remembering that he works us. And don't worry you corporate welfare bums out there. You're safe.

Harper cited as obstacle to ending fossil fuel subsidies

Ethanol subsidies won by corporate lobbyists

Subsidy Watch: The G-20 Toronto Summit, hosted on 26-27 June by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, concluded without any new commitments to take forward the pledge made last year to reform fossil-fuel subsidies, despite pre-summit hopes that Canada might show leadership by unilaterally eliminating some of its own.

Subsidies for Sports Arenas: Beyond funding the Quebec City arena, Harper is facing questions about whether he will provide money to build a new stadium for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.“Whatever we do in these two cities, we have to be prepared to do everywhere,” Harper said. “Ultimately, professional sports teams themselves have to be sound business propositions.”

You know, few things drive me up the wall as quickly or as cartoonishly as taxpayer subsidized sports arenas and stadiums. Not only is that a direct subsidy to private business, it's a subsidy to protected monopolies, which most leagues are.

Quebec arena subsidy has elements of perfect storm for Harper

And Stephen Harper has been the best friend corporate welfare bums ever had. Our Corporatocracy is alive and well.

4 comments:

  1. Whew, you just about had me there, Emily. I almost thought he'd reformed. Not much hope of that, however.

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  2. Best headline ever; if only it would be true.

    ---------------------------

    A new arena is a pre-condition for the return of an NHL franchise to the city.

    Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl PĂ©ladeau – whose interest in buying such a franchise is widely known – also happens to be the driving force behind a new Conservative-friendly television network dubbed Fox News North.

    http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/859158--hebert-stephen-harper-in-no-win-situation-on-funding-for-quebec-city-arena

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  3. I found the headline funny too when I came across it. Blowhard.

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  4. You're right Nadine. And we get stuck with the bill for both

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