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But when they were in a recession and their banking industry had to be bailed out and their housing market crashes and their unemployment hit the roof we didn't

by YZF 11y ago

But when they were in a recession and their banking industry had to be bailed out and their housing market crashes and their unemployment hit the roof we didn't get all of that. It sounds like you want to have your cake and eat it. I'm probably not voting for the conservatives but at the same time I don't think they're to blame for the current situation. It's not like the Canadian economy used to be more diversified when the conservatives weren't in power, if anything it's the other way around. We're resource rich and naturally that is something that influences the economy.

icegreentea 11y ago
But it's absolutely possible - at least conceptually - to have your cake and eat it in the realm of economics. This is literally an entire field where the predominant assumption is that life is not zero-sum game. That said, I feel that a huge chunk of all of this coverage is just delayed biteback for all the ridiculously heavy handed rhetoric that the Conservative party has been playing over the past ~6 years (for those not familiar, the Conservative Party has heavily played the card of being the party that knows how to make the economy strong). They've been playing the card of being fiscally sound and promoting economic growth, and I'm certain huge chunks of the Canadian media (cough CBC) has been just choking at the collar to call bullshit on it. This is all just sweet sweet payback from the perspective of all of the media for that. Honestly the biggest shame is that no one setup a sovereign fund like the Norwegians did. As a Canadian, this all sucks.
badsock 11y ago
It's not as if Norway is tanking right now; it is possible to have resources and not be a banana republic. But the Conservatives didn't make that transition in Alberta during the decades of power that they enjoyed there, and they didn't federally over the last decade - and they had the mandate to do it (Canadians, contrary to all evidence, believe that the Conservatives are competent stewards of the economy). They absolutely deserve blame here - this current downturn in demand was not even unlikely. With the Conservatives there's an unspoken deal: we'll cut social programs, which will hurt, but the economic benefit will be worth it. Canadians in this case neither get their cake (economic growth) nor eat it (social spending), so what exactly have the Conservatives delivered?
- YZF 11y ago
  Let's see, delivered: TFSA, income splitting (limited), lower taxes, balanced budget, startup visa. At least that's off the top off my head. Which social programs are we talking about here and what would not cutting them have done to counter the current depression? Like some other comment said the government can not create an alternative economy. It can only try to product the right conditions. If you have a startup in Canada your expenses are significantly lower than e.g. SV. There are a lot of programs to help you. What more are you asking for? The weak dollar, while sucks for me and you, is great for Canadian businesses that are not resource related, but even when the dollar was at its strongest it was still cheaper to start a business here.
adventured 11y ago
To be fair, Canada's housing market is likely going to crash yet. It's at far beyond sustainable levels with the new reality of the economy, and household debt has soared in the last ~12 years. Canada's housing market was sustained by taking on a lot more debt - http://i.imgur.com/UvoxS4d.png http://i.imgur.com/UvoxS4d.png
- YZF 11y ago
  As I'm renting- one can only hope. However they've been saying that for 10 years and the debt structure is very different than what was in the US prior to its crash. If anything the rise in house prices seems to be intensifying and demand here in BC seems to be spreading wider than before. Maybe the difficulties in China will change that, who knows.

by YZF 11y ago

icegreentea 11y ago

But it's absolutely possible - at least conceptually - to have your cake and eat it in the realm of economics. This is literally an entire field where the predominant assumption is that life is not zero-sum game. That said, I feel that a huge chunk of all of this coverage is just delayed biteback for all the ridiculously heavy handed rhetoric that the Conservative party has been playing over the past ~6 years (for those not familiar, the Conservative Party has heavily played the card of being the party that knows how to make the economy strong). They've been playing the card of being fiscally sound and promoting economic growth, and I'm certain huge chunks of the Canadian media (cough CBC) has been just choking at the collar to call bullshit on it. This is all just sweet sweet payback from the perspective of all of the media for that. Honestly the biggest shame is that no one setup a sovereign fund like the Norwegians did. As a Canadian, this all sucks.

badsock 11y ago

It's not as if Norway is tanking right now; it is possible to have resources and not be a banana republic. But the Conservatives didn't make that transition in Alberta during the decades of power that they enjoyed there, and they didn't federally over the last decade - and they had the mandate to do it (Canadians, contrary to all evidence, believe that the Conservatives are competent stewards of the economy). They absolutely deserve blame here - this current downturn in demand was not even unlikely. With the Conservatives there's an unspoken deal: we'll cut social programs, which will hurt, but the economic benefit will be worth it. Canadians in this case neither get their cake (economic growth) nor eat it (social spending), so what exactly have the Conservatives delivered?

YZF 11y ago
Let's see, delivered: TFSA, income splitting (limited), lower taxes, balanced budget, startup visa. At least that's off the top off my head. Which social programs are we talking about here and what would not cutting them have done to counter the current depression? Like some other comment said the government can not create an alternative economy. It can only try to product the right conditions. If you have a startup in Canada your expenses are significantly lower than e.g. SV. There are a lot of programs to help you. What more are you asking for? The weak dollar, while sucks for me and you, is great for Canadian businesses that are not resource related, but even when the dollar was at its strongest it was still cheaper to start a business here.

adventured 11y ago

To be fair, Canada's housing market is likely going to crash yet. It's at far beyond sustainable levels with the new reality of the economy, and household debt has soared in the last ~12 years. Canada's housing market was sustained by taking on a lot more debt - http://i.imgur.com/UvoxS4d.png http://i.imgur.com/UvoxS4d.png

YZF 11y ago
As I'm renting- one can only hope. However they've been saying that for 10 years and the debt structure is very different than what was in the US prior to its crash. If anything the rise in house prices seems to be intensifying and demand here in BC seems to be spreading wider than before. Maybe the difficulties in China will change that, who knows.