Conservatives penalty doesn't match the crime

This week, the Conservative Party plead guilty to spending more than its national limits in the 2006 election, just as Elections Canada had said in 2006, and which the Conservative Party has been denying for the last 5 years. This outcome is no surprise to anyone who has struggled with the election campaign budgets and the key distinction between national and local campaigns.

The party was fined $52,000 for spending $1.3 million over their limit. Big deal. Not a bad price to pay for winning an election, particularly relative to roughly $8 M the party spent nationally and the roughly $30 M they spent in individual ridings.

I think their spending limit for the next election should be reduced by $1.3 million. That would demonstrate some restorative justice. After all, aren't these the "tough on crime" people?

On deficit reduction

Today, our finance minister announced that they would have to postpone the date that they would ultimately balance the federal budget. They should have talked to us during the election, because that's what we told them then. It was extremely obvious to anyone who cared to look that they could not possible pursue a path of "lowering taxes" and investing in fighter planes and military ships (did they actually buy any?) and eliminate 50 billion in spending from the budget. Nothing has changed, but they act like some new event or thing has changed their "outlook". Just another deception in a long line of deceptions.

The thing that really troubles me is that, according to recent polls, about 40% of Canadians still think that these idiots are the best people to manage the economy in difficult times. The same party that wanted to remove restrictions on banks to invest in derivatives, which would have made our financial sector exactly equal to the US so we could tank together in 2008. Of course, now they claim that Canada is strong because of our strict regulations. Good thing they weren't in power prior to 2006, or we would be really screwed now.

Let's hope that good analysis trumps good old feelings. Last century's parties are not an answer to this century's problems.

Jim