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The Tory Budget in Microcosm
Jan. 28th, 2009 09:00 amIt's hard for me to comment on the budget tabled by Harper and his band of buffoons yesterday, other than to laugh at every philosophical and policy 180 it represents.
One item affects my household directly, and if that can be seen as a microcosm of the budget, this budget is not what the country needs:
Snake and I are doing a major renovation on the ground floor of our house in the Spring. The budget promises up to $1,300 in tax credit for renos of $10,000 or more. First of all, as the business commentator on CBC pointed out this morning, people who are prepared to spend over 10 grand at this time are probably not making any kind of decision to go ahead or not based on such a tax credit. This means that the government will lose tax revenue without causing much increase in economic activity.
What's more interesting is the way that the market will balance itself out and make the savings moot. If there is a rush to renovate, we will have a much harder time getting trades in and, as a result, will have pay more one way or another to get the reno done in a timely matter. Ditto for the price of materials if there is a rush.
In other words, this budget item might only be window-dressing. What other items in the budget are the same?
I still support the coalition toppling the government tomorrow.
One item affects my household directly, and if that can be seen as a microcosm of the budget, this budget is not what the country needs:
Snake and I are doing a major renovation on the ground floor of our house in the Spring. The budget promises up to $1,300 in tax credit for renos of $10,000 or more. First of all, as the business commentator on CBC pointed out this morning, people who are prepared to spend over 10 grand at this time are probably not making any kind of decision to go ahead or not based on such a tax credit. This means that the government will lose tax revenue without causing much increase in economic activity.
What's more interesting is the way that the market will balance itself out and make the savings moot. If there is a rush to renovate, we will have a much harder time getting trades in and, as a result, will have pay more one way or another to get the reno done in a timely matter. Ditto for the price of materials if there is a rush.
In other words, this budget item might only be window-dressing. What other items in the budget are the same?
I still support the coalition toppling the government tomorrow.
