Saturday, April 28, 2012

Oh Ontario how you frustrate me

 The title is born mostly of frustration.  I've been on the job market since late November... and let's say I've had enough bites to know that it's more likely because of job market conditions than any lack of qualifications on my part.   The fact is a lot of employers simply for whatever reason aren't hiring.

And I think it's about to get worse.  On Wednesday the announcement came down that Standard& Poors was downgrading our economic outlook, and Thursday Moody's decided to downgrade Ontario's credit.  It likely has something to do with the budget deal struck Monday, and then the budget voted on, Tuesday.

It probably is really  no more than a verdict on the provincial budget.  Specifically on the fact there is a new tax being applied when conventional wisdom shows us that business tax cuts are a better way to stimulate growth in private business.  And who runs private business? Usually people making over $500 thousand... aka those being asked to fork it over by the N.D.P.

It's a wake-up call to Dalton McGuinty that he's got to stick to his guns on the Public Sector wage freeze, and the other cost-cutting measures contained within the budget.  This may even shock him into re-thinking some of his response to the Drummond Report, and really going at it to cut spending.  At least these are the things I keep trying to tell myself.

I look at these moves as a job hunter and wonder if I'm banging my head against a brick wall trying to find a job here.  I wonder who will invest in a province that's got this enormous debt, and where the Premier is so beholden to his opposition he introduces a new tax just to keep power? Who will invest in a province where a government is constantly on the verge of collapse and the Premier let's face it, isn't exactly the most trustworthy as it comes to public money these days? Who will invest in a province  where taxes are probably going to keep going up?  Nobody, that's who.  Not a single investor will, and I can't say that I blame them.

And the worst part of is Dalton McGuinty is probably the best of the bunch.  In her deal with the Liberals N.D.P. leader Andrea Horwath showed a penchant for taxing, and spending usually associated with the party.  In doing some reading on their website the P.C.'s have some ideas, but they're vague at best;the minute they become policy ideas is the minute they become a serious threat to McGuinty.

So when did that happen? When did a leader who has regularly broken promises, whose government has been in recent years plagued by scandals involving out tax dollars become the best we can do? Probably after the last provincial election when even after nearly a year of campaigning voters still didn't know Tim Hudak that well or trust him.

Dalton McGuinty made the mess.  Now's the time to clean it up... if he doesn't then voters should do it for him by electing someone else next time out.  At least I hope that's what will happen.  If it doesn't  I'll move to Saskatchewan.

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