- Harper, the Con That Bored

Submitted: 7:54am, PDT, 7 Jun.'10
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/06/05/bank-tax-proposal.html
G20 ministers end push for global bank tax
'Most G20 members do not support the concept,' Flaherty says
Last Updated: Saturday, June 5, 2010 | 6:51 PM ET Comments478Recommend101.
CBC News

"The move is considered a victory for Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who has been a vocal opponent of the tax proposal from the International Monetary Fund.

. . . Opposition to the tax also came from G20 members such as Japan, Brazil, China and Australia."

Tell me this:

If the second, third largest economies as well as, Brazil, which is amongst the top, supported the tax would there be a victory for Jim Flaherty to claim.

I don't recall any Minister going to these countries to lobby them.

There is, if I recall, England, France, German, India, South Korea that Canadian tax payers paid large amounts for Minsters to visit to lobby, to little effect. When in fact, with China, Japan against it anyway, thus assuring it not be adopted, in actuality, these would serve no real purpose.

Seems to me that Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty are riding on other countries coat-tails, trying to take credit for something they really have very little right to so do.

These aren't the first coat-tails that Harper has jumped on. Recall his reasons for taking no action on Global Warming, he wants to wait to see what the Americans are doing to do the same thing. Now, Prentice is trying to suggest that the Harper government is actually shaping the American policy, as opposed to being notified of it.

That is, in a word, Canadians are being Con'd once again by Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty.

What about the Fleherty "embedded contingent capital". What kind of reception is that getting.

Also, I guess that means we can cancel the G20 now.

If Harper and Flaherty could achieve this victory by shuttle diplomacy (which governments engages in, usually when they feel they are at the end of their run - a kind of International legacy.) why the Billions.

Surely that can't be an example of putting your fiscal house in order.

Wouldn't it be wiser, and fiscally prudent, to try the shuttle diplomacy and see what happens then, if unsuccessful and the end justifies the expense take more elaborate steps (i.e, the rational-national approach - a cost-benefit analysis with the objective of benefiting all Canadians).

Let's cancel the G8+20 and start over again and do it right (morally).

A good first step would be getting rid of Harper and his Con's. Then, after putting our financial house back in order, we could take it from there.

Lloyd MacILquham cicblog.com/comments.html