On March 19, 2008, Stephen Harper posed for a photo-op at London's Electro-Motive plant to showcase a $5-million federal tax break given to Caterpillar, the American buyers of the Canadian company.
When Caterpillar, famous for union busting in the United States, amid record profits, wanted the employees to take a 50% pay cut and surrender their benefits, amazingly no new Harper photo-op.
However, in an interview from inside the bubble, one of Harper's many royal messengers, trumpeted the royal decree: “A low tax environment is the best way to ensure job creators come to Canada and stay in Canada, as proven by the nearly 600,000 jobs created in Canada since July 2009.”
Fortunately, when you live inside that bubble you are protected from an army of facts. Safe within its walls, you can blanket yourself in terms like "job creators" and "tax relief".
And if the army of facts come knocking, reminding you that the Washington Post has proven that the "job creators" did not create jobs, or that Canada lost almost 300,000 good full time positions, replaced with part-time - BOING! They just bounce right off.
When it turned out that our "tax relief" was only for the wealthy and that the average Canadian worker is paying more in taxes - BOING! Look out!
The wealthiest Canadians are now earning 189 times more than the average Canadian - BOING!
The $5 million gift to Caterpillar actually cost us 460 more good jobs - BOING!
Payroll taxes also went up for small business - BOING!
Cost of living has risen by 9% since Harper took office while wages have become stagnant - BOING!
The number of low income families has increased in Canada since 2008 - BOING!
Since 2006, fresh vegetables are up 18%, bread up 37% and dental care up 14%, just as examples - BOING!
Since 2006, the debt Canadian families carry relative to their disposable income has risen by 20% and Canadian households now hold the highest debt amoung the top 20 advanced countries in the OECD - BOING!
Since 2005, gas prices have risen more than 20% - BOING!
Since Harper took power personal bankruptcies have risen by 33% - BOING!
The cost of running the government has risen by 21% in the past five years - BOING!
I could go on but I'm getting tired of bouncing off that impenetrable bubble.
Caterpillar should have to give that $5 million break they got from us as "job creators" back, now that they are simply "job destroyers".
BOING! BOING! BOING!
I find the Action Plan and all the rest of the so called job creation is a steaming pile of you know what.
ReplyDeleteI live in the area that PM Dean Del Mastro is in.
I go to the Job Bank look in my area and there are nothing but jobs at 10.25 hr and about only 150 or less on average and it is the today it is just under 180 with a few high paying jobs
the site http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/res-eng.aspx?CmmGrp=GON032&OpPage=50&Stdnt=No&PgNum=1 I could say this is a good bench mark for how bad things really are and how the economy is doing. There is a lot of unemployed workers in this area. Over 10 percent.
Plus what do I hear in the news is Crime and Punishment as well as tightening our belts from them and they spend money like crazy.
On a side note I am moving to a smaller place because the cost of living is to high now a days guess the next place after this is a tent. If things carry on like they are
What a Neocon job