Please, a leader, any leader
Are there any real leaders left out there, at any level of government?
Politicians capable of inspiring public confidence in hard times?
Clearly, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty aren't up to the job given their daily game of pin the tail on the deficit.
During the recent election, Harper said Canada could no more run a deficit than he could have a baby.
Oh ... wait ... that was the late Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, whistling past the graveyard of an earlier fiscal disaster -- the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
But, same difference, since Harper is as credible now as Drapeau then.
As late as his government's recent economic statement that almost plunged Canada into an unwanted election or constitutional crisis -- and still might -- Flaherty was merrily predicting modest budget surpluses, even though Harper was already sounding a more cautionary note on the international stage.
Now, the latest word from the finance department is -- surprise! -- Canada is facing four years of deficits totalling $15.5 billion.
We're not suggesting Stephen and Jim can spare Canada from a global recession, but could they at least get on the same page and decide what the page actually says?
Which brings us to Premier Dalton McGuinty, who noted this week that yep, the province's market value assessment system is going to screw a lot of homeowners on their property taxes because the evaluations of house values were made before the real estate market collapsed. And nope, he isn't going to do anything about it other than punt the whole mess over to municipalities.
Finally, at City Hall, Mayor David Miller, the police board and police union pronounced themselves reasonably pleased with an abritrators' award giving police a 10.31% pay hike over three years. The mayor says that will cause a 2% jump in property taxes. Apparently the idea of finding the money in ... uh ... efficiencies, never even crossed his mind.
As they used to say of the woebegone New York Mets' first season, Stephen, Jim, Dalton, David: "Can't anybody here play this game?" Apparently not.
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