Harper and the Economy

http://www.thestar.com/Article/542017
Gotta love the dance Harper has done around his economic management record. Remember during the campaign when he said The Green Shift would create the worst economic hit since the Great Depression, and that those spendthrift Liberals would put Canada in deficit? At APEC, Harper said:

"The world is entering an economic period unlike, and potentially as dangerous as, anything we have faced since 1929," he said, in a speech to business moguls in Peru's capital for the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum.

Canada now faces "the classic circumstances under which budgetary deficits are essential."

Harper created deficits are evidently what Canadians get for trusting in his strong leadership. When Harper says the deficit is a result of factors beyond his control though, I guess he has a point. It isn't like he destroyed a huge surplus which could have helped sustain both social programs and economic competitiveness in a time of global downturns by implementing meaningless tax cuts which not a single major economist agreed with, and delivered no real savings to Canadians or helped stimulate the economy while crippling the fiscal intake of the government. It isn't like he ramped up spending on pet vote-buying projects while drastically cutting government intake. It isn't like he broke his promise on income trusts and made Canadians savings vulnerable in a time of economic downturn. It isn't like he railed against the very same Liberal maintained banking regulations while in opposition that have now prevented a wide-scale credit crisis. It isn't like his government discouraged investment in the province most hit by an economic downturn.

So really, not much Harper can do other then plunge us into deficit. Interesting to see if they will run on their record next election or try and even more inane "Leadership" based campaign. If they had a 44 page platform with 23 pictures of Harper pre-deficit, the next platform will probably just be a scrapbook of Harper in better times.