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.

Stephen Harper fights global socialism

While currently in Europe, Prime Minister Harper is pushing back on this global bank tax, saying that Canadian banks didn't need to get bailed out because of proper regulation here in Canada, so why do we have to take the hit for other another country's lack of governance?

We don't.  Now look at what this Barroso guy says about this tax.. "level playing field"...

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said such a tax should be applied to banks worldwide to "have a level playing field" and ensure that nations are working together to prevent another meltdown.

"We believe it makes sense -- at least to avoid this situation to come again -- that there is some contribution from the financial sector, a kind of insurance against this coming back again," Barroso told reporters. "And we believe it makes sense to do it if possible at the global level to have a level playing field and not to have contradictory measures."

CTV's Roger Smith, who is travelling with the prime minister on his four-day trip to Europe, said Harper disagrees with the proposal.

"(Harper) says Canadian banks have been well-regulated, they never took some of the risks and reaped the benefits that some of the banks that got into trouble did. He said there were no bailouts in Canada, so why should Canadian banks have to be punished?" Smith told CTV News Channel in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon.

"Now he says he will be pushing against a bank tax when the two (G8 and G20) summits occur next month in Toronto and Huntsville and arguing that the world should concentrate on a better system of regulation for banks, rather than more taxes."

And I'm glad we've got a Prime Minister who's willing to stand up for Canada globally and economically.  This global bank tax is the dumbest idea I have ever heard of and we should fight any tax forced upon the sovereignty of the people of Canada. Because any tax on a bank is only going to show up in more and more fees and no bank tax is going to weather the storm of another financial meltdown.