02.05.2012 01:00 AM

In today’s Sun: the axis of evil isn’t what it used to be

Here’s the truth.

It couldn’t have been a very good political fundraiser: None of us can now recall who was speaking. Most likely, it was a Conservative — because we were exiled to the furthest corner in the room, with some of the other Liberals in attendance.

While the speaker wasn’t at all memorable, the pleasant woman at our table was. She was employed by a mortgage broker association. Asked what was new in her field of work, she said: “Subprime mortgages. We’re quite worried about them. If things unfold the way we think they might, it could be very, very bad.”

How bad? she was asked.

“They could cause a new recession, we think,” she said.

46 Comments

  1. smelter rat says:

    Too big to fail, indeed.

  2. Mike says:

    Gord,
    I was curious to hear your comments on the Fournier-Harper links.

  3. GPAlta says:

    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/24/joe-nocera-gets-mad/
    Krugman is one of the very few public intellectuals who has proven consistently since well before the crisis and throughout the crisis that he knew exactly what was happening. He also knows where and why the kind of deliberate misinformation about Fannie and Freddie your spreading here originates. I’m sure it will interest you.

  4. Chris says:

    “Conservative partisans don’t want to hear any of this, of course, because it challenges their entire worldview.”

    Gord, you got a shoutout in Warren’s article!

  5. smelter rat says:

    Trying to move the goalposts again Gord?

    • Cameron Prymak says:

      Or he’s missed the point entirely because the reference to NGOs higlights the decline in trust. Nobody said NGOs should replace private organizations but you’d never know that from Mr. Tulk’s comment. Isn’t it likely that more people trust NGOs because they frequently take unpopular stands and go places to provide services where governments can’t or won’t?

      ‘Something called the “Edelman Trust Barometer,” you see, measures our confidence in financial institutions.
      For more than a decade, the Edelman folks have measured opinions about business and governments; this year, more than 25,000 people in 25 countries were surveyed.

      Their conclusion? Trust in banks and financial institutions has never been lower — and trust in government has gone into an “unprecedented” decline.

      “Throughout the world, people blamed their governments for the financial and political crises they endured in 2011,” said the report.
      “(Politicians’) credibility has taken such a beating that they are now the least-trusted spokespeople in the world.”

      Ironically, while respondents don’t trust governments, they don’t trust business, either.
      “(About half) of global respondents still want more regulation of business,” concluded Edelman.

      Meanwhile, for the fifth year in a row, “NGOs are the most trusted institution in the world.” ‘

  6. Cam says:

    Gord. I was hoping three times was a charm. Not to be. So for the forth time, I ask you, how many entitlements have you declined?

    • Cam says:

      Thanks for replying Gord.

      I’m not surprised, but a little saddened, that you haven’t declined any entitlements. It would have been refreshing and encouraging if you had declined some or even one entitlement. That would have demonstrated you put your money where your mouth is. If you were truly committed to what you espouse, then surely you would act on your beliefs. As they say “faith without works is dead”.

      Higher tax rates – what higher tax rates. Tax cuts have gotten us into this mess. Typical conservative approach of creating a crisis to give an excuse to implement their hidden agenda. So we have conservatives implementing tax cuts, creating a crisis with the treasury, and then saying we can’t afford social programs like health care and OAS.

      I wonder, if there was a referendum across the country which asked, are you willing to pay a little more in taxes to keep/improve our health care, pensions, etc, what do you think the answer would be?

    • Philippe says:

      I’m all for small health care user fees (to prevent abuse in the system) and raising the OAS to 67 (as most other industrialized nations have done). And I’m a Liberal. An adult conversation about these issues needs to be initiated with facts & honesty rather than rhetoric (I won’t hold my breath).

      At the same time, it’s not possible to trust your government because of misaligned priorities. If you were ideologically balanced, you would be proposing cuts across the board, not just in certain areas which you ideologically oppose. For example, cutting our military budget (as you like to say, there’s a lot of fat to be trimmed) would go a long towards building your party’s credibility. Now, rather than cut, you’re building super prisons (which are bankrupting states like California) to house non-existent criminals- and you’re talking about BUYING fighter jets that the Americans themselves are on the fence about. In a few words: are you completely nuts?

  7. Michael says:

    So Gord, what’s your take on the picture Warren posted of The Fourniers and Stephen Harper in 2003?

  8. que sera sera says:

    “NGO’s are more trusted to do what?”

    Deliver their mandate within their means responsibly and with a conscience.

    Making cars isn’t tough – or risky. Whenever they fuck up & the sh!t hits the fan the government bails them out with taxpayers’ money.
    Writing mortgages isn’t tough – or risky. Whenever they fuck up & the sh!t hits the fan the government bails them out with taxpayers’ money.

    Who’s bailing out the taxpaying middle class when the governments fuck up & the sh!t hits the fan? It sure as he11 isn’t Conservatives.

    The defence spending Canada would enjoy most would defend us from the decisions of a right wing theo-con government intent upon delivering domestic policies platforms and programs that have already been a proven fail in another jurisdiction (USA).

    The only guarantees that this government is making serves the agenda of corporate interests and the 1%, the rapidity in which the government is attempting to deliver underscores the fact that Harper recognizes his shelf-life is fast dwindling.

    Spinning that fast means you inevitably spin out of control.

  9. fred says:

    GordBot was gone for a couple of days while the Harpies reprogrammed it. GordBot, glad you got some new material, but it
    sounds like the same old shit.

  10. fred says:

    When the Derivative Bubble bursts your bailout dollars will be good for toilet paper. Except they’ll have to much plastic in them to flush.

  11. fred says:

    Darth Vader wants to steal $20,000 from grandma to buy non-flyable F35’s which cost anywhere from $90,000,000.00 to $150,000,000.00 apiece.
    Stock up catfood and crackers, grandma.

    • Bill says:

      Is that all you got Fred? Your confusing two different issues. Your argument is also flawed, F35’s are cheap compared to the yearly cost of OAS and GIS. Great countries have great militaries. F35’s will be a great Canadain investment.

      • Philip says:

        I’ll have a go, Bill.
        What makes you believe that the F-35, with a combat radius of 600 nm, is the best air superiority package for a country with the second largest land mass? Please keep in mind that both centerline and wing mount fuel drop tanks negate any stealth characteristics the aircraft may possess. Ditto the necessary air to air re-fueling package which is at least three aircraft, with one being completely unstealthy.

        Why is a single engine air superiority aircraft OK now when the original F-18 procurement specs specified a twin engined aircraft for the same role? Has our land mass changed in the mean time? Are our pilots more expendable now?

        Somebody wants these particular airframes very, very badly for reasons that don’t make a lot of sense.

  12. fred says:

    Why is that Bill? Are we going to be invading Iran? I doubt that the 76% of the electorate that didn’t vote for General Steve will be
    impressed with the waste of billions on the F35 boondoggle.

    • Bill says:

      What do you want to purchase then? How is Canada going to stand on guard for thee? Are you suggesting we just leave the barn doors open and hope for the best, that nothing bad can or will ever happen? The strong protect their people and resources. With out doing so would be gambling are kids futures.

      • allegra fortissima says:

        Don’t tell me that “The Russians are coming”…

      • Philip says:

        The Super Hornet package Bill. It fits with the airframe we already possess, it’s what the US is buying as the delivery dates for the F-35 blocks gets pushed further and further into the future. I’ll bet the PMO never included that little tidbit in their talking points e-mails to supporters.

        • Bill says:

          Let me understand this correctly. Your good with spending billions on new military air craft, just not the F35.
          Is that correct? I’m totally ok with a different jet, I just want to see that money go to a great investment. The Military.

          I don’t see investing in the military as a boondoggle as fred does. Billion dollar boondoggles are bloated public servant pensions and OAS qualify criteria that is outdated.

          • Philip says:

            You got it. Replacing aging military hardware isn’t just a Conservative value. The Super Hornet does everything we need out to the medium term and we aren’t paying extra for a dubious stealth capability. It’s not like the RCAF is going downtown Beijing or running triple A suppression packages all on it’s own. we add extra punch to coalitions and alliances, Canada has no projection capability in any of it’s service branches. Nor should we possess that capability IMO.

  13. allegra fortissima says:

    F35’s make a country great? No, above all, citizens make a country great. Statesmen like Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien. Artists like Cornelius Krieghoff and Tom Thomson. Pianists like Glenn Gould and Oscar Peterson. Architects like Frank Gehry and Arthur Erickson. Novelists like Jane Urquhart and poets like Leonard Cohen. Dads who volunteer in hockey and moms who bake cakes for fundraisers. Students who live and work in the developing world. Health Care and Education. And all those who fight for freedom and justice, soldiers included. But I don’t see much greatness in a billion dollar F35 fleet!

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