"Go North", not to Alaska, but Canada

A lot of bloggers have been praising the opt-ed by Washington Times journalist James Bacon titled "Go north, young man, go north - Canada is quietly surpassing the U.S. as the land of opportunity".

Some excerpts:

"Look what's not happening in Canada. There is no real estate crisis. There is no banking crisis. There is no unemployment crisis. There is no sovereign debt crisis. Recent reports suggest that consumers are loading up too much debt, but Canada shares that problem with nearly every other country in the industrialized world."

"Now, instead of expanding Canada's welfare state, the conservative government led by Mr. Harper is intent upon building the nation's global competitiveness. Our friends in the Great White North cut their corporate tax rate to 16.5 percent on Jan. 1 and will see it drop to 15 percent next year. That compares to the current U.S. corporate tax rate of 35 percent. That will give Canada the lowest corporate tax rate among the G-7 nations and an eye-popping advantage for businesses wondering whether to locate on the U.S. or Canadian side of the border."

Wait a sec... 35% U.S. corporate tax rate compared to 15% in Canada?!!!  That's a huge difference.  Luckily, I work for a good company that has profit shares, share options, and wide benefits.  With a lower corporate tax rate, those savings are simply passed onto our employees.  Then, guess what, the government still gets its money from income tax, CPP, and EI deductions.

All the lefties like Jack Layton bash business when they see that companies get to keep more money.  It makes no sense to me and defies logic.  Here they want their union members to get more benefits from a company but want to tax those same companies at a higher rate.

With the Canadian Loonie and U.S. Greenback now at par for some time, will Canadian investors keep their money in Canada or buy up companies in the U.S. and abroad, or both?

The Liberals' Big Ideas

So after the hoopla, what were the big ideas that came out of the Liberal Thinkers (Not Doers) Conference over the weekend?

Freeze the corporate tax rate

Two-tier health care (!)

Carbon tax

The Liberals believe that when they had a similar conference back in the 60's and early 90's that it helped propel them into power shortly thereafter.  Do any Liberals believe that's really going to happen now, especially in discussing the dismantling of the very big idea that they created stole from the NDP out of the conference back in the 60's... public health care?

It's obvious that this whole event was a charade to simply raise money for the party and get old party hacks like David Dodge and Frank McKenna involved again. At over $650 a pop to attend, they claim it was non-partisan and using technology, they reached out to over 50 places (read: Liberal MP offices) in Canada. 

Whatever.

To prove it was non-partisan, the Liberals left out the actual people who would implement the big ideas coming out of this conference if they ever came to power--Liberal MPs.

Let's look at the ideas...

They want to freeze the corporate tax rate.  After coming out of the recession, Liberals want to choke hold the very engine that actually creates jobs and provides wages, and thus more income tax revenue.  What thinkers!!!

But with the Liberals opening the door on private delivery of health care, will the Conservatives use this as a wedge issue for the next election, or will Canadians have to finally open up to the idea that our cherished public health care system won't be able to afford to cover everything into the future?

On the carbon tax... this again?  Ignatieff doesn't seem warm to it anymore, but don't count it out.  Notice though, that whenever Iggy comes up with an idea that there's backlash against it and he ends up backtracking by saying, "Canadians have said loud and clear they don't want a (carbon tax, election, etc.)".

I don't know about you but I think all three ideas are unpopular with the majority of Canadians and the Conservatives can use them to their advantage.

Instead of invigorating ideas that might get them elected, it appears that this Thinkers Conference did the opposite.