Even Paul Martin thinks the global bank tax is a non-starter

Without out-right agreeing with current Prime Minister Stephen Harper strong stance against it, former Prime Minister Paul Martin expressed is opinion on the proposed global bank tax.

"And so it makes absolutely no sense, it simply doesn't reflect the banking world as it is," he said.

Paul Martin's legacy recently has been making waves in Britain and Europe, on how in the 90's, he tackled the deficit and implemented new financial policies.  But his notable legacy was as finance minister, not as prime minister.  He admits that being in a majority situation enabled the Liberal government to enshrine these policies.  At the time, having an opposition party such as the fiscally-minded Reform Party, certainly helped frame the issue of government finances as a top priority.  However, many forget that cuts to government services was primarily achieved by unloading the burden of health care spending onto the provinces--a strain we continue to see to this day, they also increased the tax burden upon middle class families up to $3500 per year.  So I believe that Euro-praise may go a little too far.

But nevermind my old feelings of Paul Martin, here is my new one.  When common sense prevails in politics, even across party lines, I think we as citizens should take notice of this more often.  We tend to solely focus on differences in ideology and approach, yet the point of a democracy is for our representatives to find the common ground between them for the common good.  Of course, you likely won't find them praising the other side, but it's certainly better than back and forth partisan bickering, spin, and cry-wolf opposition.