Blaine Higgs, Minister Alone

First off let me state I think Minister Higgs is wrong to suggest higher taxes (as he has recently), is the answer to our fiscal problems.

But at least he is stating the obvious, we are in a pickle.

We are like the alcoholic that wakes up in the morning thinking the solution to our hangover is "Hair of the Dog".


Our problem is they cannot stop spending our children's future incomes. We need real solutions to their spending problem, not just another credit card that someone else makes the minimum payment on.

I worry nobody is listening to Minister Higgs, whether it is in the Legislature or the halls of the government offices.

We need to eliminate a dozen departments, hundreds of programs, and thousands of civil servants. Just raising taxes to have it wasted in Fredericton will not make us richer, it will only transfer wealth from the creators of the wealth (businesses and their employees) to government employees. Which is only great if you are one of the chosen with a job for life and a defined benefit pension plan.

ALWARD - MORE PROGRESSIVE THAN CONSERVATIVE

When the political pundits get bored in the in the distant future and decide to do a historical search for “Canada’s Worst Provincial Premier EVER”. Shawn Graham would be NB’s nominee.

Comparing Alward to Graham is ridiculous in the sense that Graham performed so poorly that we would have been better served by a semi-retarded lump pulled from the Jobs Unlimited labour pool. In other words, Alward can only be measured by his actions. Lets have a look at some of them.

1.The New Brunswick Energy Commission: Remember this? Bill Thompson and Jeannot Volpe roaming the province with their “public engagement” entourage. What were their final recommendations?

a.Provide more bureaucratic over-site for the already bloated crown corporation,

b.Ban electric baseboard heaters and

c. Increase power rates for those who already have them installed.

Not bad content for a 10 yr energy plan. Somebody should dig this report out if or when Craig Leonard decides to do something with his portfolio other than open an office in Fredericton and make sure his sister has cushy job in the Premier’s office.

2.The Cell Phone Legislation: The list of unnecessary legislation is long but this one may be the proof that the PC Party of NB is really not in the business of doing anything that really makes a difference. The Nanny State grows yet again. What’s next? Tanning beds?


3.Cut Spending and Lower Taxes: What is the correct word for a government that says one thing but does the exact opposite. Gas tax up, booze tax up, gov’t spending up 63 million. Not to mention this gov’t is trying to soften the ground for an HST hike. This isn’t governing, this is pandering.


4. INVEST NB: WTF?? They created ANOTHER gov’t agency! This all we needed…more government. Whatever the current moniker of age old gov’t sponsored economic development, the results are always the same, cronyism and the vanishing of taxpayers money.


5. Alward DID NOTHING to help New Brunswickers get to the bottom of the ATCON scandal. $70 million gone forever and tory backbenchers silenced on the issue.

That being said, the most disappointing aspect of Alward, year 1, was the budget. They missed the best opportunity in decades to tackle the size of government.  I will end with a question. Do fiscal conservatives exist?

It Was Not Just Us Who Got Screwed on Solar Panels

From National Review:

The best quote from the article could be written about scores of New Brunswick politicians, many masquerading as Conservatives.

"His economically illiterate base spends its time decrying “corporations,” but urban-gardening cooperatives don’t create a lot of jobs, and community-based nonprofits by definition don’t create any profit, and therefore no investment capital, and therefore no economic growth. You want to see some real, sustainable, long-term jobs created, your best bet is to look to a “corporation”—“corporation” simply being the word for a business that has grown large enough or profitable enough to require the legal organization of its affairs. But if you’re Barack Obama, not just any corporation will do: It has to be just the right sort of corporation."

Here in New Brunswick we spend our days complaining about the Irvings and McCains being too rich. The difference between them and our politicians is you can buy gas and French fries if you want. Or not. But short of leaving, which many of our friends have done, you cannot escape the ever greedy politician.