Is there a glimmer of electoral hope in Christy Clark's future? Is that light at the end of the Liberal tunnel either the Adrian Dix express barrelling down the track or is it a shiny ray of hope?
Two items last week have offered some hope for Clark and the Liberals and if Clark can put some focus into the campaign she may stand a competitive chance next May when we trot off to elect a new Legislative Assembly.
First, the once-threatening provincial Conservatives have not had an easy time of it. John Cummins survived a leadership vote last Saturday with 70-per-cent support and recent convert MLA John Van Dongen left the Conservative to sit as an independent. We'll label him migra-Tory. Neither event bodes well for a party trying to establish some momentum on the provincial scene. History shows us the B.C. New Democrats can only form government when there is a substantial vote split on the right. Currently the Conservatives are crumbling and all Clark has to do is show some semblance of leadership and the Liberals could eke out a win.
The second issue - and a big one if the Liberals can get their policy act together - is Adrian Dix's promise to raise corporate taxes one point from 10 per cent to 11 per cent. In a recent speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade Dix repeated his promise to raise the corporate tax. Saying, "This is the reality of our times," The current Liberal fiscal plan called for the tax to be increased in 2014, if justified. Dix would raise it immediately.
Dix defended the NDP corporate tax promise saying, "We would return them to the 2008 levels they were under the Gordon Campbell government."
If Dix is attempting to justify tax policy by a passing reference to 2008, he's four years and a couple of fiscal calamities late.
In case he's forgotten, Dix should be reminded 2008 was the year the United States banking and securities-industry meltdown blew up the world. It was the worst blow to the world economy since the Great Depression. The Campbell government had to act and did by lowering corporate taxes and insuring investors that B.C. was a safe and stable place to do business.
Campbell's plan worked.
This year B.C. led Canada in job creation and this is the lesson the NDP has yet to learn. Fiscal plans, raising, or lowering taxes take a few years to flow through. A corporate tax cut in 2008 lead to increased employment in 2012. Conversely, the NDP corporate tax raises in the 1990s led B.C. to double-digit unemployment by 2001.
The impact of bad tax policy is slow but it will eventually grind employers down and kill jobs.
The other issue Dix misses is the upcoming impact of defeating the HST. Sure everyone likes a cheaper cup of coffee, but a return to the old PST/GST will cost the B.C. business community $2 billion in additional tax costs. Who will pay for that increased cost of doing business? You and I the consumer.
Adrian Dix may have done the Liberals a favour in his Board of Trade address. He's clearly outlined the NDP tax-and-spend agenda and he's shown he has absolutely no understanding of the fragile B.C. economy. What's changed in NDP policy since the days of Glen Clark, fast ferries, high taxes, a struggling business community and high unemployment? Nothing.
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The bucket trip.
Years before the 2007 movie hit The Bucket List, I had one. It wasn't actually a written list, and unlike the characters in the movie there is no impending deadline, at least not one I'm aware of. My list has always been more a loose collection of things I'd like to do.
As you read this we're in Winnipeg. On my bucket-list is a visit to far-flung family members. This trip will take us to Winnipeg, Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto, and Carrollton, Missouri. On the way we'll be attending the Oct.13, 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 at Queenston Heights, Ontario. We'll be following the U.S. Presidential race, staying three days on Times Square in New York, checking on gas prices across Canada, and the U.S. Ditto for booze prices.
After a tough day on the road and numerous naps Lady Beverley likes to unwind with martini or two.
So I'll be reporting on the prices of a large bottle of Smirnoff Red Tassel vodka. It's $56.99 in B.C. In Calgary the best price I could find was $49.55.
I filled up at a Costco in Medicine Hat, Alberta and the price of gas was $1.12 a litre. In Regina it's around a $1.29. But, as captivating as Medicine Hat can be, I'd still rather live in Prince George.
Next week every thing you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask, about Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
