A watershed moment

I have long maintained that right-wing economic proposals always end up winning in the war of ideas.

This morning on Canada AM, Liberal MP John McCallum and Conservative MP Monte Solberg were debating the merits of the proposed 2% cut to the GST as proposed by the Tories. McCallum actually stated that "cuts to personal income taxes are the way of the future" (link here).

I could hardly believe my ears. This, coming from a Liberal cabinet minister on a national broadcast and during an election campaign?

For years, the right has advocated income tax cuts as a way to encourage growth, savings, investment and employment. And once again, it seems that a idea long promoted by the right has become the conventional wisdom.

Let's look at the record.

Free trade? Check.
Balanced budgets? Check.
Debt reduction? Check.
Personal income tax cuts? Check.

Centrists and left-wingers can make fun of the Fraser Institute all they like but should get used to listening to what the FI and like-minded voices have to say. Inevitably, five to eight years down the road, those ideas become common currency in Canada.

(I think the next big fundamental paradigm shift is going to be over health care. Watch Quebec, which is going to be a prime mover on this issue, thanks to the Chaoulli decision and with a little help from the film The Barbarian Invasions - which everyone should see, by the way.)

And while the Liberals and Tories were discussing the best way to allow Canadians to keep more of their own money, the Bloc was talking about a future Quebec hockey team and the NDP were talking about subsidies and redistribution for unionized auto workers who are already paid upwards of $35 per hour to screw in a panel.

Please.