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The steep decline in the 12-month moving sum that was produced by the recession finally turned around in early 2010, but the rebound lasted only a few months.

The graph also makes it clear that the trend to deficit began in early 2008, several months before the recession began.

The federal government’s decision to cut the GST would have produced a deficit even if the economy had remained stable.

One of the first items on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s agenda when Parliament returns will be reintroduction of a $278 billion budget that includes a sprinkling of social and economic spending and a plan to slay the budget deficit in several years. And the government will continue with a $6 billion corporate income tax cut.

“The risks still lie outside the Canadian border, which as we’re well aware can have a spillover effect on Canada,” said Royal Bank chief economist Craig Wright.

“We’re seeing continued uncertainty and concerns still with respect to the Eurozone and where it’s headed,” he said. Uncertainty on economic growth is also being fanned by volatile energy markets and the questionable U.S. business rebound, Wright said.

Prospects for Canada are also complicated by expectations that spending by debt-burdened consumers could slow in 2011 and by the shut-off of the Conservatives’ two-year, $47 billion emergency stimulus program.

With government spending slowing, the Conservatives have staked a great deal on their view that the business community will pick up the slack and stimulate the economy with expansion-minded investments.

Besides phasing in corporate income tax cuts worth $14 billion by 2012, the Conservatives in recent years have provided a wide range of investment incentives for business, including easing taxes on small business and manufacturers. In all, tax cuts for business by the Conservatives total an estimated $60 billion by 2013.

both Flaherty and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney have pointedly talked about the urgent need for more spending on machinery and equipment by companies.

But many are not convinced, with some Canadians saying the government would be smarter to tie tax incentives directly to company investments to ensure that corporations don’t just pocket the extra profits.

Speaking of corporate tax cuts, Canadian Association of Social Workers spokesperson Fred Phelps said it would be one thing “if corporations turned around and invested those funds into the economy.” But he said that hasn’t been happening in recent years. “What really has driven us out of the recession,” he said, “is spending by households and government, not business.”

We will not give in to Opposition demands to impose

This reckless policy would lead to continuing deficits and higher taxes on all Canadians. It would stall our recovery, kill hundreds of thousands of jobs and set families back.

We need to keep protecting and creating jobs now

Keeping taxes low A key part of that foundation is low taxes.

Our tax cuts are also helping employers to invest, grow and create jobs.

Our government will take further action to encourage them to expand and create jobs.

The Hiring Credit for Small Business will provide a one-year EI break for some 525,000 Canadian small businesses

Expanding international trade Beyond this, we will promote new export opportunities for all Canadian businesses

We will provide greater financial security for Canadians, and practical help to make ends meet.

o get my vote on the debt ceiling..Medicare will be a part of it

argued against using $80 billion in taxpayer dollars to try to save General Motors Co., Chrysler and many of their suppliers."

economists largely predicted the U.S. recovery would ramp back up as short-term disruptions such as higher gas prices, bad weather and supply problems in Japan subsided

he ownership rate is now back to the level of 1998, and some housing experts say it could decline to the level of the 1980s or even earlier

Cutting tax breaks for retirement won't raise a lot of money;

economy

medical school free

This risk is amplified by special rules created by politicians that encourage banks to lend freely to governments.

In the case of Greece, government actions and regulations also lie at the heart of what threatens to be a European financial crisis.

Here’s how it works. Governments require banks to hold capital against the loans that they make, anticipating that in the normal course of business, some of the loans will not be repaid.  The riskier the loan, the more capital that needs to be held in reserve. However, under international rules negotiated by government representatives through the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), government loans fit into a special category that has a 0% risk requirement.  That means European banks do not have to hold any reserves against loans they make to European governments.  That’s right, politicians implicitly promised banks that governments would never default.  And, given the opportunity to make “risk free” loans that require no capital commitment, bankers purchased mountains of government debt.

In the near term, households are under pressure as rising food and energy costs cut into their budgets

“I will never, never do that again. I want to have the money up front before I buy something, because I don’t want to get into that trouble again,” said Ms. Thornton

the household debt service ratio – debt payments to disposable income – jumped to a three-year high of 7.8 per cent from 7.2 per cent

Kim Thornton, for example, is one fatigued consumer. The mother of four says her family ran up about $50,000 in debt in prior years on credit card spending

In the longer term, high debt levels could restrain spending for years

Canadians are getting the message about whittling down debt, and that is translating into fewer purchases of discretionary goods

reduced hours and leaner wages – a legacy from the recession – mean many families have less money with which to service their debt, he added