[ridenrain]

$1:

Now we know the real reason behind changing the name to “Employment Insurance”. It allowed the Liberals a way to keep upping the fees on the employed… and by miliking this tax system, they were able to create a surplus.

Remove this theft of funds, and you’ll see the real picture of how poorly they governed Canada through the years of growth.

Today the courts ruled against the Federal Government on the overcharging of EI.

They ruled the Liberal Cabinet - not Parliament - illegally collected EI premiums for three years — 2002, 2003 and 2005 – and overcharged business and taxpayers of $54.1 billion by 2007. (Not that we’ll see a cent returned).

The Bottom line is that they cheated Canadians to create a surplus. It’s just another example to add to the ever growing list of how the Liberals shafted us.

The good news is that Harper has corrected this wrong in the last federal budget by creating a new Crown corporation to run the (un)employment insurance system. They can’t use it as a slush fund anymore.

The new program restricts the use of the EI fund for EI benefits only, and limit premiums to the amount needed to cover the cost of EI, plus a $2-billion cushion.

So that probably means we’ll need to wait a few years to see the real savings.

Remember this next time you hear of how the Liberals gave us all those great years of surpluses.

[uwish]

ridenrain ridenrain:

$1:

Now we know the real reason behind changing the name to “Employment Insurance”. It allowed the Liberals a way to keep upping the fees on the employed… and by miliking this tax system, they were able to create a surplus.

Remove this theft of funds, and you’ll see the real picture of how poorly they governed Canada through the years of growth.

Today the courts ruled against the Federal Government on the overcharging of EI.

They ruled the Liberal Cabinet - not Parliament - illegally collected EI premiums for three years — 2002, 2003 and 2005 – and overcharged business and taxpayers of $54.1 billion by 2007. (Not that we’ll see a cent returned).

The Bottom line is that they cheated Canadians to create a surplus. It’s just another example to add to the ever growing list of how the Liberals shafted us.

The good news is that Harper has corrected this wrong in the last federal budget by creating a new Crown corporation to run the (un)employment insurance system. They can’t use it as a slush fund anymore.

The new program restricts the use of the EI fund for EI benefits only, and limit premiums to the amount needed to cover the cost of EI, plus a $2-billion cushion.

So that probably means we’ll need to wait a few years to see the real savings.

Remember this next time you hear of how the Liberals gave us all those great years of surpluses.

[HyperionTheEvil]

DerbyX DerbyX:

HyperionTheEvil HyperionTheEvil:

Im glad to see you admit finally that the Liberal party broke taxation law.

I didnt say paying down the debt wan't legal, the court said it was legal and it's something you're ignoring. They broke the law by setting rates in the EI program that amounted to taxation without representaion. What they did before has no bearing on whether they broke the law, which they did.

There's no argument here. The Supreme court just found that the Liberal Party broke the law. and yet her you're ae defending them.

Again you can't read.

You objected to my quote here:

$1:

The money was used properly in paying down the debt.

They simply stated that the Liberals failed in 3 seperate years to properly consult parliment like they did the other 7 times.

All that means is that they should have gotten the same input each and every year. Of course they were lowering it each and every years also so perhaps they figured since they weren't raising it they were OK. They were wrong on not getting input.

Correct to pay down the debt.

Clearly I said they failed to properly consult parliment, an act I had not been aware of. I'm not defending that. I'm defending the debt usage of it as well as pointing out they did indeed consult parliment 7 out of 10 times. Why those three? I'm not sure. There might be an explanation even if their isn't an excuse.

Like I said before though, the IE contributions went down every year so even though they were obliged to consult parlimanet for a rate change at best you can argue is that they illegally lowered them.

I'm glad to see that you undertsand it was legal to pay down the debt with it though where you get I'm ignoring that fact is beyond me seeing as its always been my point.

In which case the Liberal party was breaking the law. Please deny this if you can. I want to hear you say that the Liberal Party did nothing wrong here?

One cannot rob a liquor store to pay your mortgage and claim you're still doing the right thing. And the rate payed, and the benefits you may've thought they wlowered them. The facts remain the the Liberal party broke the law and the Supreme court- That bastion of liberal thought has smacked them down hard.

[Zipperfish]

uwish uwish:

I think it is a bit of a stretch linking Harper to the worlds economic issues.

A monkey could be in the PM's office and the same thing would have happened.

Of course it's a stretch--for you. The problem with the Conservatives is that they've been in Opposition too long. In opposition, you always blame the other party for everything that's going wrong. When you're actually IN power, it's no longer any good to just slam the Oppostion. You have to govern. And you have to take responsibility for you governing.

All I know is that under the Liberals we have had over a decade of fiscal responsibility, surpluses and economic prosperity. Conservatives get back in, and down the toilet it goes.

Global economic woes? Sure. But he was also sitting around figuring how to increase his power instead of dealing with the critical issue at hand--the economy. Again, that's something you expect from teh Opposition, not from teh government.

Harper's been in power a while now. We still have th gun registry, murderers walk in five years, the senate is unelected and he's just run away and suspended Parliament. Lame. Duck. Leader.

And this EI business is just not going to stick. The mainstream media don't seem interested, even if the partisan blogosphere is.

[JBG]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

Of course it's a stretch--for you. The problem with the Conservatives is that they've been in Opposition too long. In opposition, you always blame the other party for everything that's going wrong. When you're actually IN power, it's no longer any good to just slam the Oppostion. You have to govern. And you have to take responsibility for you governing.

But running a minority government is a bit different than running a majority government.

Nice avatar by the way.

[ziggy]

Zip,they robbed the EI fund to pay down the debt and lied about it and then got caught.Me and Derby been going round in circles on this for many years.
The people who needed EI back then were getting denied and yet the libs had no problem taking more from workers and putting it on the DEBT.

EI should be revamped anyways,I pay into it but cant collect it,how fucked up is that?

[ziggy]

I'm doing a ground disturbance course tommorow,the guys on EI get it paid for them,I have to pay for it out of my own pocket for my course yet I pay into EI.

Time for a revamping.

[RUEZ]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

Well, at least the Liberals had a pretty good economic record and were paying down the debt. Harper's been in for two years and the economy is crap now. Oh, I know, I know, it's not poor Stevie's fault. It's everybody else's fault.

For fuck sakes. You're not actually blaming Harper for the economic problems are you?

[RUEZ]

ziggy ziggy:

I'm doing a ground disturbance course tommorow,the guys on EI get it paid for them,I have to pay for it out of my own pocket for my course yet I pay into EI.

Time for a revamping.

Well to be fair, EI is there for people that need it. Should you find yourself on it some day you will benefit from it as they are.

[ziggy]

RUEZ RUEZ:

ziggy ziggy:

I'm doing a ground disturbance course tommorow,the guys on EI get it paid for them,I have to pay for it out of my own pocket for my course yet I pay into EI.

Time for a revamping.

Well to be fair, EI is there for people that need it. Should you find yourself on it some day you will benefit from it as they are.

I cant collect it but have to pay into it.

No EI for me! So dont go on EI.

[RUEZ]

ziggy ziggy:

RUEZ RUEZ:

ziggy ziggy:

I'm doing a ground disturbance course tommorow,the guys on EI get it paid for them,I have to pay for it out of my own pocket for my course yet I pay into EI.

Time for a revamping.

Well to be fair, EI is there for people that need it. Should you find yourself on it some day you will benefit from it as they are.

I cant collect it but have to pay into it.

No EI for me! So dont go on EI.

How does that work? I know soldiers also pay into it but can't collect it. Doesn't seem right.

[ziggy]

When I was hourly and in the union I was eligible for EI,now that I'm an independant contractor,I'm kinda on my own yet still have to pay EI premiums.

[Zipperfish]

JBG JBG:

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

Of course it's a stretch--for you. The problem with the Conservatives is that they've been in Opposition too long. In opposition, you always blame the other party for everything that's going wrong. When you're actually IN power, it's no longer any good to just slam the Oppostion. You have to govern. And you have to take responsibility for you governing.

But running a minority government is a bit different than running a majority government.

Nice avatar by the way.

Shlomo the REindeer!

[ziggy]

EI was a cash cow for some liberals at the time it was abused.
A convenient way to raise money off the backs of workers to garner support for the lib party when they started useing the fund to pay down the debt and not use it for it's intended purpose which was getting people back to work.

[Thanos]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

Well, at least the Liberals had a pretty good economic record and were paying down the debt. Harper's been in for two years and the economy is crap now. Oh, I know, I know, it's not poor Stevie's fault. It's everybody else's fault.

The Liberals under Chretien also had a horseshoe up their ass because their "economic miracle" was to basically ride the wave of the US economic expansion of the 1990's. Corporate welfare in Canada also reached a staggering $186 billon dollars under Chretien and Martin so in that light alone they can hardly be seen as responsible caretakers of the Canadian treasury. Not to mention that cutting over $25 billion worth of health care transfers to the provinces and then threatening to hammer them with the Canada Health Act if they tried to privatize or rationalize services to cover the gap created by the lost funding was hardly fiscally diligent either, or even remotely close to the quaint concept of fairness. Lemme know if you think that they would have been so successful if they'd had to deal with an economic meltdown of the same magnitude, the creation of which is almost solely the responsibility of the United States, that Harper has to deal with right now.

I'm also still trying to understand how they screech at Harper for bringing back a mild deficit at the same time they demand that he inject $30 billion worth of federal stimulus into the economy. It'd also be nice if they could bother to mention at least once where the money for the stimulus is supposed to come from.