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Thursday, November 20, 2008
Mike Harris: How Ontario became a have-not
Ah, if only those of us in Ontario could fire that Dalton McGuinty guy and just re-hire Mike Harris as premier of Ontario.
Harris has a nice op-ed in the National Post out. Here's an excerpt:
We cut personal, capital, corporate and other taxes almost 200 times, dramatically reduced the size of government, forced the broader public sector to become much more efficient and eliminated Ontario's massive deficit. We scrapped Bob Rae's job-killing labour law and gave people a hand-up, not a hand-out, by creating work-for-welfare. In doing so, we created an environment that led to unprecedented economic growth, the creation of almost a million new jobs and 700,000 fewer people trapped in the cycle of welfare dependency. In 2002, our economy was booming and we had a budget surplus. Ontario was the envy of the world and the foundation was in place to ensure our province's future prosperity. As I said in one of my last speeches as premier, I only regret that we didn't move faster, and push even harder, to make the changes we did.
Since then, the government of Ontario has slid back into its self-destructive old habits. Massive increases in public spending and the return of high taxes are dragging Ontario down and risking the economic future of our province. Ottawa's recent declaration of our "have-not" status is the culmination of a five-year decline. This announcement proves that Ontario isn't just on the edge of a fiscal and economic crisis -- we've toppled over a cliff, and no one really knows how far down we might fall.
If only he did move faster and push harder. But I don't have a beef with Harris. The anger he faced from teacher's unions and other unions was palpable. He did it anyways, and he got the first vote I could ever cast.
If only our federal government would swallow hard and make some tough decisions and, at the very least, move in the right direction. I'd be really curious to hear what Mike Harris thinks of our federal Conservative Party, whether he, too, thinks the policy they're pushing is required by the tough circumstances they find themselves in as a minority government, or whether they've sold out for the sake of political power.
Read the rest of Harris' piece here.
Posted by P.M. Jaworski on November 20, 2008 in Canadian Politics | Permalink
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Comments
"Since then, the government of Ontario has slid back into its self-destructive old habits."
Couldn't have said better myself.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2008-11-20 10:22:18 AM
See? There is life after 911
Posted by: 419 | 2008-11-20 10:53:57 AM
Teachers Unions are happiest only when NDP bonifides are in charge of that hopelessly socialist enterprise called public education. Vouchers and Charter Schools are the only politically realistic solution to that cesspool of PC left-lib-green indoctrination and decline.
Harris has guts and he would be a welcome addition to the CPC for that reason alone but I am still haunted by his lack of judgement in pitching for Belinda Stronach during the Conservative leadership campaign.
Posted by: John Chittick | 2008-11-20 11:30:38 AM
Unfortunately, Torontonians have recently shown a preference for voting NDP when the Liberal stink becomes to overwhelming to ignore. They've never forgiven Mike Harris for amalgamation and downloading expenses to municipalities. In theory, it should have worked great. Each city would pay its own way, courtesy its own citizens. But he didn't cut provincial tax by enough to offset the increases in municipal taxes that would have been necessary to offset the transferred costs.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2008-11-20 11:38:58 AM
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