IT'S BECOMING AN OBSESSION

Watching ABC News a few nights ago I was startled but not surprised, when the newsreader said something like: “Americans are worried most about the deficit.” I suppose that ABC, who were the first to jump on the “weapons of mass destruction in Iraq” line that all that stuff was concealed in portable trailers which could move to avoid detection, should also swallow and perpetuate the dogma, beloved of conservatives, all the Republicans and many Democrats, that the deficit is the big villain in the America recovery.

First of all, it is not. Secondly, every survey that I have seen shows that “unemployment” is far and away number one in the American consciousness and the deficit lags quite far behind. Simply because the orthodoxy of deficit fighting has the upper hand politically, does not mean it should have. It’s the same in Canada. In the U.S. they go on and on about how borrowing to sustain the deficit makes America a debtor nation, putting a huge burden on the public purse and, as they always like to say: “On our children and grandchildren.” That is simply a lot of rubbish. It was not such rubbish that voters didn’t stream to the polls to elect the “no-more-Big-Government” members to Congress. Not so big that they didn’t accuse the Democrats of being “tax-and-spend.” The Harper gang uses the same dogma against our Liberals.

I know that I am obsessed with this. I know that many readers disagree. But I do believe devoutly, that the worst thing that can happen to an economy is to have unemployment that decimates the ability of the consumers to consume. The ridiculous irony is that while voters seem to be voting for deficit reduction, every poll says they want more jobs. And as far as “Big Government?” is concerned, who else but government should be installed to make decision that affects all of us? Those decisions ideally, are not made for selfish or self-serving reasons, but with an honest understanding of what is good for a country and its people. It is always sad to realize that so many people believe politicians are a lower form of life. For heaven’s sakes – they are the ones charged with the responsibility to make this a better place to live and work!! That's why we have elections!

So I’m back at my old hobby-horse: it would be better I am sure not to continue to grow the deficit, but unless government steps in, who is going to spend money. Certainly not business and industry who will not spend, will not hire, and will not make capital investments, until the economy improves. That’s Catch 22. It should be obvious even to the likes of Jim, Flaherty or Tony Clement, or for that matter Boemer and his gang in Congress.

Poor Obama. He has retreated so far from his election promises that they are nothing but a hazy memory, Even when he tries to spend money, like 55 billion (over many years to be sure) to build high speed rail, the opposition (and some of his own party) curse him for raising the deficit. Do I have to remind you that the same deficit fighters are the ones who voted against increasing taxes to the top 2%?

For me there is political irony right here at home. When Bob Rae was the N.D.P. premier on Ontario, he grew the deficit to provide jobs. Building was at a standstill. Paper mills were closing. Only government action could save them. And of course, the Citizen’s Coalition, led (remember?) by Stephen Harper was screaming that “you can’t spend your way out of recession.” May I humbly point out that that is precisely what Harper and Flaherty have been doing? And it has worked. The only part that will be missing, is that when times are good again and everyone is making money, taxes will have to rise to reduce the deficit. The irony is obvious: no party gets elected on a platform that includes raising taxes. No one seems to remember that “there is no free lunch.”