Should Finance Minister Jim Flaherty respond to the surge in unemployment (up to 7.2 per cent in January) by bolstering his government's stimulus package?

6 Comments

  • Mars - 16 years ago

    Very unwise for Governments to go into debt!!! Taxes have to --increase & increase --to pay for all this--it's mainly people themselves that have created this--they don't live within their incomes!!!! Stop charging things-- & pay for what you need--not want!!! the Governments cannot create jobs-- that's where the economy comes i n--& if you mistreat it-- no job!! Also time unions started to think about all this-- it's better to have a steady job-- so you can pay your bills & put bread & butter on the tab le-- than go on strike-for all--it's the steady job that is needed to pay bills--the economy will suffer as long as all countries believe in all this strife--going on-wars do not help--only create more problems etc. etc.

  • sal - 16 years ago

    No one really (not even our revered economists) knows what is going on with our economy or whether the package(s) will work. We must understand the problem before we can address it. Let the windstorm stop, let the dust settle and then pick our pieces and see what direction to go in. Everyone agrees that there is no precedent for what is happening, so why are we rushing to help when we do not know who really needs the help. Some sectors will die and these should be buried and new life will rise when the time is right.

  • Mary Lou - 16 years ago

    Yes, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty should respond to the surge in unemployment by increasing the Government's stimulus package. He also needs to take a serious look at the outrageous interest rates being charged consumers by banks and finance companies. It is high time laws are put in place to limit the amount of interest being charged, whereby protecting the consumer from this form of robbery. Just think how much more money consumers would have to spend if it didn't cost so much to service their debt load. This one move alone would help to stimulate the economy in a big way!

  • Tim from alberta - 16 years ago

    Most of the unemployment rise in in manufacturing.Most of the jobs lost are redundant jobs in a dying industry.Many others(auto,lumber)are industries that are in a down cycle...at this time.There is no good to come out of throwing money down these black holes.R&D,retraining,relocation...these are things the government needs to spend money on.Ei should also be made quicker and easier to get....for the time being.EI for people that lost jobs....not EI for the chronically unemployed.
    Times are changing.....people need to change as well.

  • Les Radcliffe - 16 years ago

    I have a vison. I see a great big pig pen filled with swine of all sizes. The head farmer fills the feed bin. Being pigs they all rush to the feeder. Big pigs can take what they want. Middle size pigs get some. But little weak pigs might pick crumbs from the ground but are too small to reach the feed bin. The government (whoops) farmer can stand tall and say we are helping

  • Bruce - 16 years ago

    Overwhelming debt by households started this whole crisis and for the government to propagate this situation with still further debt is extremely unwise.

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