tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post1063802202556093561..comments2024-02-07T16:22:39.625-05:00Comments on Jeff Jedras: On coalitions, budgets and deficitsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-41831371311217010762009-01-26T20:00:00.000-05:002009-01-26T20:00:00.000-05:00Olaf,I used the phrase permanent tax cuts not as s...Olaf,<BR/><BR/>I used the phrase permanent tax cuts not as some sort of war room communications strategy, but that is the phrase Stephen Harper himself has been using. Two examples:<BR/><BR/><I>"I think that if we're talking about tax cuts, these measures in most cases have to be permanent to be effective," the Conservative leader said in an interview with La Presse, the French-language daily.</I><BR/>-- Jan 24, Reuters<BR/><BR/><I>"There will be some tax measures and some of those measures will be permanent, but the tax measures are modest and they're affordable in the long term," Harper said.</I><BR/>-- Jan 23, CanWest<BR/><BR/>Google Harper "permanent tax cuts" and you'll get plenty of more examples.<BR/><BR/>You are correct, of course, that any tax cut can be reversed. But in this context, a temporary tax cut would be intended to stimulate the economy and it would be stated at the outset it would be reversed at a fixed date when the crisis has passed. A tax holiday of sorts, if you will. A permanent tax cut, in this context, is one the government is stating is not intended to be temporary, but will not (as far as anything is ever permanent in this world) be reversed once the crisis passes.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14971310821484459106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-33764795514307276202009-01-26T19:53:00.000-05:002009-01-26T19:53:00.000-05:00All the budget is is words. We know from experienc...All the budget is is words. We know from experience that Harper is a liar. Why give him even more time to cause harm to Canadians?Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06509182679650412982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-63261681903455992222009-01-26T19:31:00.000-05:002009-01-26T19:31:00.000-05:00Jeff,I'm sorry, but "permanent tax cuts"? How are...Jeff,<BR/><BR/>I'm sorry, but "permanent tax cuts"? How are <I>any</I> tax cuts "permanent"? Is Harper proposing a constitutional amendment entrenching the tax rate that I'm unaware of?<BR/><BR/>Every government tweaks taxes - raises and lowers them, adds some and takes some away - and they do so at their leisure. Suggesting that <I>any</I> tax cut (or tax increase, such as Dion's supposedly "permanent tax on everything") is "permanent" makes no sense whatsoever. And you used the term or its derivatives 5 times in this post, which leads me to think it was quite intentional. When you start to veer into the CPC War room's rhetorical territory, you might be pushing credibility somewhat.<BR/><BR/>Otherwise a good post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com