06.09.2011 06:37 AM

The National Post (of all people) on Timid Hudak

“Tim Hudak says he’ll end the agony, but can’t be believed. Sorry Tim, but it’s true. If the  campaign platform recently released by the Tories was handed in as a project in a first-year finance class, it would be returned with suggestions that the author find another line of interest. Like line dancing; something that doesn’t involve numbers, or adding and subtracting. Mr. Hudak says he’ll raise spending on all the important programs, but make up for it by finding “waste”. We all know that isn’t going to happen. Politicians never find waste. What they find is that if they keep spending money, their chances of re-election improve. The federal Tories have been promising to find waste for five years now, and have jacked up spending every year.

In addition to more spending, Mr. Hudak says he’ll cut taxes, remove the GST from power bills and stop charging consumers an extra fee to help pay off the mammoth debt still owing for past hydro expenses. He says the charge isn’t needed, because the debt has been paid off, even though it hasn’t. As the Star’s Martin Cohn points out, it’s still almost $15 billion; the only way you can argue it’s been paid is if you pretend governments don’t have to pay interest on their borrowing. But they do.

All this will be covered by uncovering “waste.” Sure, okay, if you say so.”

 

5 Comments

  1. Paul says:

    If Hudak’s team were to properly articulate the Hydro debt issue (and address skyrocketing energy costs) he might be able to win.

    Put it in simple terms: Yes, we need to retire this debt, but the problem is that Mr. McGuinty wants to charge you the debt retirement fee on top of pursuing an expensive “green energy” agenda, eco-fees, the stealth tax hike on energy via the GST portion of the HST and let’s not forget the crooked smart meters and the extra charges associated with paying for them (and that’s before we even get to the kW/h costs.)

    Sound fiscal management dictates that we should focus on retiring the debt first, and THEN maybe look at some of these other plans. Doing all of those things at once is quite frankly ridiculous and offensive to Ontarians who are seeing their standard of living decrease under the crippling costs of both hydro and gasoline.

    At least there is something resembling a market explanation for high gas prices. The price of hydro at least could be less if not for the overly ambitious agenda of the current government.

    • Michael says:

      Green energy is not some expensive luxury we can do without. If we wait to pursue green energy until the debt is retired, then we won’t have much of a environment to live in once we are debt free.

      There is a market explanation for the rise in hydro prices. In Ontario we have never paid the real cost of energy. And now that we are starting to approach the real cost of energy all you free market conservative types start squawking. I would expect that from the NDP.

      But then again, Hudak’s whole get rid of the HST on hydro bills policy was stolen from Jack Layton. So I guess we can’t expect any better.

      Can you please explain how smart meters are crooked?

  2. Marc L says:

    How about posting the headline and the first three paragraphs of the article as well. Unfortunately, Ontario’s choice does indeed seem to be between “bad and badder”.

  3. Jane says:

    We need green energy yesterday, because the planet is warming up at an alarming rate and it will be our children and grandchildren who will pay the consequences. Clean energy will be cheaper in the long run..that debt comes from our nuclear projects by the way. Mr. McGunity has a long term vision for Ontario that goes beyond the next election. For those who argue that Ontario contributes little to global climate change, you are right, but we can contribute big time in leadership to the rest of the world. Leadership that is sorely lacking at the federal.

    • Africon says:

      Ontario may not contribute that much to global climate change but lets not forget it is the biggest polluter in the country.

      This is the Nanticoke electricity plant.
      It has the dubious honour of being both Ontario’s leading spewer of toxic emissions that cause acid rain and smog, and the country’s biggest source of greenhouse gases ? those villainous brews causing the atmosphere to warm.

      From – http://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/EarthHour/article/299725

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