We're Like Mike

Somewhere today, Mike Harris is smiling.

The vicious thug who believed it was the job of government to destroy what previous generations had built and to terrorize the weak and powerless has achieved his goal of permanently transforming Ontario into a mean-spirited, economic backwater.

When Harris cut taxes by 30%, economists (at least those who didn't butt-smooch for banks or right-wing "think" tanks) warned that he was destroying Ontario's "fiscal capacity". That was a fancy way of saying we wouldn't have enough money to pay our bills. Like me or you saying, "To hell with it; I'm cutting back to three days a week."

They were right. Harris skipped town on ballooning government debt and a huge deficit.

A newly-elected Dalton McGuinty caused an uproar when he tried to disguise the tax increase that was necessary to balance the books as a "health premium". But he learned his lesson: tax cuts are popular; tax increases are not.

So when he did the right thing fiscally by harmonizing the GST and PST, he also did the irresponsible, but popular, thing politically: he simultaneously cut personal and corporate income taxes. You hadn't noticed? That's because, just like Harris' cuts, the benefits of such cuts go mainly to the wealthy. That's the point.

And then the Great Recession hit Ontario, and the grateful corporations closed their factories and fired their workers, and Ontario was a few billions short -- $17 billion to be precise.

You didn't hear about that during last fall's election – from any of the parties. It's what's called "an inconvenient truth". But McGuinty had already appointed a former bank economist called Drummond to "study" the situation. He wasn't allowed to consider tax increases; he was to find "efficiencies". And buy time until after the election. And to soften us up. And to provide political cover.

In fact, as part of the softening up process, McGuinty himself criss-crossed the province telling us we would all have to make sacrifices. And boasting how his government had cut our taxes by $18 billion a year. Remember that $17 billion annual deficit? In other words, a deficit entirely of his making, Entirely unnecessary. Completely avoidable.

Restore taxes on the wealthy and corporations making record profits to the level they were just a few years ago. Do that, and the deficit disappears. No need to sacrifice children, the disabled, the poor, the elderly, the sick, and all those who are going to lose their livelihoods and homes with the budget proposed yesterday.

The Liberals will say they made "hard" choices; that they're being "tough". They always say that when they pick on the powerless and the unpopular, like public sector workers.

Want to show me how tough you are McGuinty? Raise taxes on the rich. But that really would be hard.

And that's why Mike Harris is smiling. Because he succeeded in changing us. He remade us in his own image: a province of selfish, small-minded bullies, unwilling to pay a few bucks a week – the price of a large double-double – to preserve the Ontario our parents bequeathed to us.

Follow me on Twitter: @AeneasLane

Mike Harris, Ph.D'Oh!

I see where the Ontario Teachers Federation has its knickers in a knot over Nipissing University's decision to award Mike Harris an honourary degree. The very idea has them so unhinged, they've threatened to take out their pique on teacher candidates from Nip U.'s education program.

I say these poor kids have suffered enough. Bad enough their school years were blighted by Mike's "reforms", but now they've got to carry the stigma all their lives of having graduated from an alma mater that granted him an honourary degree. Oh, the Humanities!

Anyway, this isn't a first for Nipissing.

Remember when their Womens' Studies program granted an honourary PHD (Professional Horn Dog) to Tiger Woods for his efforts to assist nocturnal hospitality workers?

And when the English Department recognized Sarah Palin, for "her impassioned eloquence, that speaks to all that's best in Nipissing", well, no one made a peep.

Of course, there was that minor flap over who was going to give the convocation address to the Business School, Conrad Black or Bernie Madoff. That turned out for the best though, as scheduling conflicts meant neither gentleman could attend, and BP CEO Tony Hayward was able to fill in at the last minute.

So to the Ontario Teachers Federation, I say lay off Nipissing, and lay off Mike. This is his one chance to get a degree.

And to all you Nipissing grads readying your commencement outfits, remember: the eye holes go on the front, and paper, not plastic.

Nothing Worth 500 Words

This week I've been tossing around ideas for a post without being satisfied that any of them were really worth expending five hundred words on.

The Ontario budget? Nothing much new there that hadn't already been leaked or hinted at ahead of time. The cut to transit funding for Toronto is something Torontonians are going to have to finally stand up and fight back over. Maybe it's time they stopped expecting someone else (the feds, the province) to solve their problems and just put tolls on the DVP and Gardiner to pay for the TTC and roads. Public sector wage freezes and cuts to welfare are something we saw with Mike Harris. At least McGuinty pretends to be doing it reluctantly, unlike Harris (and Hudak) who acted with gleeful meanness; but scapegoating the poor and public sector workers is what all governments do these days on behalf of "hard working, tax-paying families", so not even the NDP really objected.

And Mike was back in the news this week. Seems they're thinking of naming a new library at Nipissing University for the guy who gutted education in Ontario and slashed library budgets. Better we should officially rename the 407 the "Harris Highway", as it's already informally known.

Ann Coulter? She came to Canada and was widely quoted as saying that all terrorists are Muslim. I wondered what her reaction would be to the midwestern American Christian militia accused of plotting to kill police officers. I went to her website, www.anncoulter.com, wanting to send an email to ask. Unfortunately, there's no way to do that. Seems Ann's all about free speech -- for Ann. For you and me, not so much.

Speaking of right-wing, media-spawned buffoons, I see Don Cherry is the subject of a made-for- TV movie biography.

Which reminds me, the U.S. promoter of something called "Ultimate Fighting Championship" wants to bring his act to Toronto. If people will pay to watch the Leafs, no doubt they'll pay to watch this. I say let 'em.

Oh, and it seems most people ignored Earth Hour this year. According to the Star, Toronto Hydro reported only a 10% drop in electricity usage, while across Ontario, use was down 560 megawatts. Since normal usage on a Saturday evening in March is about 15,000 megawatts, that represents about a 3-4% reduction, or about one or two light bulbs per household. And though I support Earth Hour and the motives behind it, I have to wonder if it sends the right message. Should we really be saying to people, to effectively deal with climate change, you have to turn off the lights and sit in the dark? Maybe it's time for a different approach. Small acts of individual self-denial have a lot of appeal to the highly-committed, but smart technology, conservation, and, yes, higher pricing will be necessary to make a real impact on climate change.

So that's it, a pretty ordinary week. Makes a guy wish Harper would prorogue Parliament or a cabinet minister throw another tequila tantrum. Come on guys, I'm counting on you.