Nothing to salute

Ottawa was too cold today for the 21-gun salute that traditionally opens Parliament. I’m not sure if that means anything or not. The Speech from the Throne lasted 8 minutes, and promised us "a difficult year — perhaps a several difficult years." Maybe there was nothing to salute.

For a government that is normally tight-lipped, they have been leaking like a sieve about this new budget. It sounds like they are planning to use the worst financial crisis in years as an opportunity to cut taxes. Big surprise. Apparently they haven’t figured out that when you are forced to run a deficit that is not the time to cut taxes.

I realized the other day that with all this talk of tax cuts, helping the middle class, yadda, yadda, I have absolutely no expectation that things will improve for me. Harper will help his friends because he wants to, and some of the very poor because he has to if he doesn’t want to be replaced, but the ones in the middle will get stuck paying for it.

Jack Layton is already planning to vote against the budget, because it is a Confidence vote, and he has no confidence in the government. That doesn’t seem quite fair, but I do understand. He obviously has the same feeling that I do.

Of course, the budget can, and likely will, go through without him. And Harper will smile that nasty smile of his, and go on playing President a while longer.

I still think a coalition would be a good idea. There would have to be talk and agreement and actual compromise. The politicians would all learn a lot.