The clock is ticking

Well, it's less than a week until we head to the polls and at last glance, the world economy is in a tail spin. So the big question on my mind (and likely on the minds of the majority of voters) is which party has the gumption and the willingness to intervene to get the Canadian economy back on track?
Personally, I'm not convinced any of the four PM wanna-bes can do much to stop the blood-letting. The real power lies in the Bank of Canada, which lowered the prime interest rate a half of a percentage point last night. Will this be enough to regain public confidence and get us to open the wallets and start spending again? Perhaps. But like it or not, Canada is at the mercy of the world economy and more specifically, at the mercy of our US neighbours. As our main trading partner, we can't help but be swept up in the US's woes.
So, it doesn't much matter where we mark our X. The new guy (or gal) in the big seat will likely talk a good talk but things will not improve economically until the US starts to climb out of its financial sink hole.

Comments

[Gerry Whalen]

The Government's attempt to nudge the economy was rejected by Canadian Banks. It would be interesting to hear from our local candidates. Do our candidates feel that the government or the Bank of Canada should do anything to the banks which refuse to pass on interest rate decreases announced by the Bank of Canada? If so what should they do? (The underlying question is who controls monetary policy in this country, the banks or the government?)