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It looks like Manitoba's deficit and unemployment continue to grow while Brian Pallister and his team eye up more cuts to social programs to make life even more difficult for Manitobans struggling to make ends meet.  
 
Go ahead and blame it on the Manitoba NDP or global politics, instead of the poor leadership of the PCs.  
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/deficit-forecast-manitoba-1.3905475  
 
PS. I scratched my vote in the last election. I'm not an NDP supporter. I am anti-austerity though. Austerity seems to be all the PCs know. History shows that time after time austerity always fails. Even the IMF agrees:  
 
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/27/austerity-policies-do-more-harm-than-good-imf-study-concludes

years of miss management and serious over spending by previous governments isn''t going to be a quick fix and people are going to hate it when the unnecessary vote buying spending that doesn't help the province but only ndp supporters gets eliminated.  
 
Edited by Kent1963, 2016-12-21 07:29:42

Diogenes said "It looks like Manitoba's deficit and unemployment continue to grow while Brian Pallister and his team eye up more cuts to social programs to make life even more difficult for Manitobans struggling to make ends meet.     Go ahead and blame it on the Manitoba NDP or global politics, instead of the poor leadership of the PCs.     http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/deficit-forecast-manitoba-1.3905475     PS. I scratched my vote in the last election. I'm not an NDP supporter. I am anti-austerity though. Austerity seems to be all the PCs know. History shows that time after time austerity always fails. Even the IMF agrees:     https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/27/austerity-policies-do-more-harm-than-good-imf-study-concludes "

What is the solution in your opinion. If you took over a business that was deeply on debt, previous owner /manager did not tell the truth how bad the debt was what would you do? The issues did not happen over night and will be solved over night.  
 
To get out of debt you have reduce spending or increase earnings . In a government cut programs or increase taxes .  
 
Is there another option?

Although I don't support the conservatives financially, I did vote for them last election. Am I optimistic, maybe not, I would say I'm hopeful, hopeful that they can get spending under control, because spending under control means taxes under control.

Brian Pallister has some fresh ideas.  
He can't change the policies overnight, and must slowly earn the confidence of investors.  
I think that we are at least going in the right direction.

Here are the PC's making excuses saying it's still "all the NDP's fault" and "it takes time". Yet federally, the Liberals were supposed to make changes the second they took power, and when they didn't, they're considered a failure. Nice double standard PC supporters. Well done.

nickm_13 said "Here are the PC's making excuses saying it's still "all the NDP's fault" and "it takes time". Yet federally, the Liberals were supposed to make changes the second they took power, and when they didn't, they're considered a failure. Nice double standard PC supporters. Well done. "

I wouldn't say that the Trudeau Liberals have done very little.  
In 1 year,they have imposed 6 new taxes & massively increased federal debt & deficits.  
It's the NDP/liberal way.

yes! The PCs are reviewing everything and being responsible with our tax money.

The NDP has been spending money Manitoba's never had for over 10 years. Such a naive statement - what are the PC's supposed to do? How much debt can a province of just over a million people take on? The Manitoba NDP's are like a 'door mat' parent, afraid to say no to there kids when they want more money. The money is not there to keep borrowing, it never was. Are we going to go to cry to Ottawa because we need more money? We have to figure it out ourselves.

It's not like the Conservatives could just flip the "everything will be better now switch". So many years of irresponsible spending can't be undone overnight. One cane blame whoever, but the debt and spending need to be brought under control; it's no easy task, and it may hurt a little bit to get there.  
 
 
Diogenes said:"History shows that time after time austerity always fails."  
 
We all have first hand experience as to what out of control spending creates, have you a suggestion on how Manitoba can control taxes, debt and spending without making some cuts somewhere?

What if any other party leader decided to be just part time and spend 2 months in another country where he owns 2 company's  
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pallister-costa-rica-1.3902366

ynot said "    nickm_13 said "Here are the PC's making excuses saying it's still "all the NDP's fault" and "it takes time". Yet federally, the Liberals were supposed to make changes the second they took power, and when they didn't, they're considered a failure. Nice double standard PC supporters. Well done. " I wouldn't say that the Trudeau Liberals have done very little.   In 1 year,they have imposed 6 new taxes & massively increased federal debt & deficits.   It's the NDP/liberal way. "

but let's not forget who was increasing the federal deficit for the last decade or so. Harper owns a lot more of the federal debt than Trudeau. In time that may change but that is where it is at right now.

How can we not be optimistic? I mean, Pallister is going to LEAD by EXAMPLE he said. He said that MB politicians' wages are too high, so he's gonna make sure no one gets a raise, in fact he wants to cut salaries and forget about increasing minimum wage, even though cost of living is going up astronomically... because we just have to learn to MAKE DO WITH LESS. Right?  
 
Except him and his cronies. They all got fat raises before they even started work!  
 
Why are all the PC supporters not screaming about that?  
Seriously - somebody tell me how that's okay?  
 
Steal from the poor, mentally ill, disabled, or just plain middle class and give to the rich. That's what the PC party is about. Never changes.

Would be nice if Diogenes could explain what anti-austerity means in laymen's terms .  
 
Should he have leaded by example freezing his and other politicians wage increases? Absolutely. Maybe even roll them back to 2014 levels. For him personally would have been no hit at all. His income from his business interests are probably three times what he gets in a salary as premier.  
 
Pallister did not get were he is in business by not putting in the effort and hours. He does have people in place to manage the dept of the province. In this day and age with technology anyone can mage from anywhere in the world almost.  
 
To be successful in business you cant work 40 hours a week. Hourly employees do not understand this. If he has taken on this big task of managing this province out of a huge hole it is not because of the money. He has done it for a bigger reason only he knows.  
 
The big issues is both parties are part of the problem that got us here and need tp be part of the solution to turn it around.

Have to stop the bleeding, before healing can begin, and it's going to hurt!

is just a legalized form of the mafia.......  
 
A legal way to steal and pillage from the working class.  
 
JMO

Itll be the same story we'll be even further in debt and the PC's will come up with the excuse "the NDP's dug a hole that we couldn't get out of"

So can we all agree that the NDP dug a pretty deep hole for the people of Manitoba.

Midway55 said "What if any other party leader decided to be just part time and spend 2 months in another country where he owns 2 company's     http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pallister-costa-rica-1.3902366 "

How is this any different then anyone else who gets 6-8 weeks of holidays at their job? Why does it matter if he's on holidays here or Costa Rica?

Midway55 said "What if any other party leader decided to be just part time and spend 2 months in another country where he owns 2 company's     http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pallister-costa-rica-1.3902366 "

spent ten months in CR and two months in Manitoba that would be part time Premier.  
 
The guy and his family own a home in CR, he might want to enjoy it. Let`s cut him a break!

Johnbisonbear said "    Midway55 said "What if any other party leader decided to be just part time and spend 2 months in another country where he owns 2 company's     http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pallister-costa-rica-1.3902366 " spent ten months in CR and two months in Manitoba that would be part time Premier.     The guy and his family own a home in CR, he might want to enjoy it. Let`s cut him a break! "

Our company had a couple employees the worked out of Winnipeg and Brazil. Nobody complained....more jealous that they didn't have same perk of having a destination place to work from. Not everything he does is face to face. So really why does he need to be 100% here? I know a lot of people that have 1 month holidays a year. So really this is an extra month to look at it that way. The party has been here less than a year and people want to cut them down. They said they would need about 8 years so see where they are after 4 first.

I just can't understand some people.  
Where do they think the money comes from.  
It comes out of the tax payers pocket.  
Selinger liked to keep spending money we didn't have, so increase the PST.  
Put hydro in the hole by routing bi-pole III the wrong way( a billion waisted there)  
After while, when taxes become unbearable, people and businesses leave the province, resulting in a smaller tax base to pay the already unpayable debt.  
But if the government says they have to get spending under control people cry a river.  
Time to curtail spending on non-essential programs, it has to be done.  
Giving money in the form of grants to every group that comes with their hand out.  
Palster, holidaying in Costa Rica, would it be any different if he had a cabin on some remote fly-in only lake in Northern Manitoba with no phone or cell service.  
He will be cummincating and doing government business from his resort residence that he has.  
I think there are far too many that are envious of his business skills and can't understand that to be successful in private business a person has to be ruthless at times and put in lots of hours.

I would like to remind people that Selinger and the NDP started running deficits in 2009 and in five years the net debt rose to 20.4 billion $ .  
It now costs us taxpayers $ 900 million a year just to service the debt load.In addition our credit rating dropped from AA-1 to AA-2 rating and will result in higher interest rates on our debt.It was our first downgrade in over twenty years , that's a lot of debt for a Province of barely 1.3 million people . Thanks Mr. Selinger...

If austerity means cutting welfare and social programs that help lift citizens from poverty to curtail government debt, then anti-austerity means finding a different solution to government debt that doesn’t i:nclude cutting welfare and social programs. In Manitoba the majority of the working population (or roughly 500,000) earn $34,999 or less annually. In 2014 (the latest statscan data) 53,400 Manitobans were earning $100,000 or more, 4,530 of which were earning over $250,000. The CEO of Manitoba Hydro earns nearly $500,000 a year. If I remember correctly Deborah Poff (BU’s last president) was raking in 400,000 a year. Manitobans earning this much pay the same tax rate as someone earning $67,000. The Manitoba government could introduce a new tax bracket system that taxes the wealth of Manitoba’s wealthiest 1%. Doing so would help reduce Manitoba’s debt without hurting the people that need support the most. Deeping Manitoba’s poverty and cutting programs like Neighbourhoods Alive will only increase crime, drug and alcohol abuse and healthcare costs. In the end, it’ll probably cost more to cut the programs than it does to keep them.  
 
I agree that the BiPole III is a stupid waste of money. If Manitoba Hydro wants to have extra revenue, southwestern Manitoba has a huge potential for solar energy production, and the infrastructure already exists. If BiPole III was scraped and they started up solar farms, they’d already be generating electricity and selling it. The US and Saskatchewan would be quick to buy to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.  
 
I know many of you conservative eBrandoners like to think that government should operate like a business. But it isn’t a business. The role of government is to provide for the people. I understand we live in a world where money is more valuable than lives, but when the government fails to provide for its most vulnerable people, it’s no longer doing its job.  
 
I’m not defending the NDP. Like I said in the original post, I’m not an NDP supporter. I did not vote for the NDP in the last election. I wish that the people on eBrandon would get over this dichotomy and actually hold the PCs responsible for what they’re doing. There was so much criticism of the NDP from conservatives until the election, and now the PCs are in power and everyone has gone silent. But whenever someone criticizes the PCs the conservatives are so quick to say, “Well, the NDP did this or that”. And when the NDP were in power, it was the PCs to blame for everything that was wrong. We’re never going to get anywhere until the government in power finally takes responsibility for governance. You need to wake up and realize that they, NDP or PC, are all politicians and their number one interest is being in control. They’ll say whatever they think you want to hear to maintain power for as long as possible. Right now it’s, “THE NDP ARE BAD. TIGHTEN YOUR BELTS AND NEVER VOTE FOR THEM AGAIN BECAUSE THEY MADE A BIG MESS AND YOU’RE ALL GOING TO SUFFER BECAUSE OF IT”. Please try to see through to the real issues at hand. Thanks!  
 
Edited by Diogenes, 2016-12-22 15:08:05

Johnbisonbear said "yes! The PCs are reviewing everything and being responsible with our tax money. "

Why does Pallister lie about where he is and then expect us to believe he works 60 hours a week. I don't think Pallister knows what hard work is. I would say hat some people that have to work outside in the extreme cold are hard working not someone going to Cota Rica lying in the sun telling us how hard he works. http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/brian-pallister-on-costa-rica-i-dont-stop-working/

Whiskers said "    Johnbisonbear said "yes! The PCs are reviewing everything and being responsible with our tax money. " Why does Pallister lie about where he is and then expect us to believe he works 60 hours a week. I don't think Pallister knows what hard work is. I would say hat some people that have to work outside in the extreme cold are hard working not someone going to Cota Rica lying in the sun telling us how hard he works. http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/brian-pallister-on-costa-rica-i-dont-stop-working/ "

vs. hard working.  
 
Do you think doctors and nurses don't 'work hard' just because they don't work outside in the elements?

Johnbisonbear said "    Whiskers said "    Johnbisonbear said "yes! The PCs are reviewing everything and being responsible with our tax money. " Why does Pallister lie about where he is and then expect us to believe he works 60 hours a week. I don't think Pallister knows what hard work is. I would say hat some people that have to work outside in the extreme cold are hard working not someone going to Cota Rica lying in the sun telling us how hard he works. http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/brian-pallister-on-costa-rica-i-dont-stop-working/ " vs. hard working.     Do you think doctors and nurses don't 'work hard' just because they don't work outside in the elements? "

I do think Doctors and Nurses do work hard, I never said they didn't. There are lots of people that work hard and never complain. Yes all these people work harder than Pallister.

Whiskers said "    Johnbisonbear said "    Whiskers said "    Johnbisonbear said "yes! The PCs are reviewing everything and being responsible with our tax money. " Why does Pallister lie about where he is and then expect us to believe he works 60 hours a week. I don't think Pallister knows what hard work is. I would say hat some people that have to work outside in the extreme cold are hard working not someone going to Cota Rica lying in the sun telling us how hard he works. http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/brian-pallister-on-costa-rica-i-dont-stop-working/ " vs. hard working.     Do you think doctors and nurses don't 'work hard' just because they don't work outside in the elements? " I do think Doctors and Nurses do work hard, I never said they didn't. There are lots of people that work hard and never complain. Yes all these people work harder than Pallister. "

Curious. How hard exactly is it? Have you worked along side him? I work in an office and have put in over 500 hours of overtime this year (plus many many hours not put on the clock), on top of my regular 2080 hours for the year, plus answering my phone during vacation days and weekends/evenings. I am mentally drained at the end of the day. What is hard work to you because not all people can do management jobs either. As others will say....It is hard work.

Fishin Guy said "    Whiskers said "    Johnbisonbear said "    Whiskers said "    Johnbisonbear said "yes! The PCs are reviewing everything and being responsible with our tax money. " Why does Pallister lie about where he is and then expect us to believe he works 60 hours a week. I don't think Pallister knows what hard work is. I would say hat some people that have to work outside in the extreme cold are hard working not someone going to Cota Rica lying in the sun telling us how hard he works. http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/brian-pallister-on-costa-rica-i-dont-stop-working/ " vs. hard working.     Do you think doctors and nurses don't 'work hard' just because they don't work outside in the elements? " I do think Doctors and Nurses do work hard, I never said they didn't. There are lots of people that work hard and never complain. Yes all these people work harder than Pallister. " Curious. How hard exactly is it? Have you worked along side him? I work in an office and have put in over 500 hours of overtime this year (plus many many hours not put on the clock), on top of my regular 2080 hours for the year, plus answering my phone during vacation days and weekends/evenings. I am mentally drained at the end of the day. What is hard work to you because not all people can do management jobs either. As others will say....It is hard work. "

I don't believe a word you said.

Ok Whiskers. What part do you not believe? By all means stop by my office tomorrow and I can easily pull my hours for you. .