Canada's Harper Joins G-7 Chorus, Pins Crisis on U.S. Policies

[FarCenter]

By Theophilos Argitis

Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said U.S. policies helped create the crisis in financial markets, adding to criticism from other Group of Seven leaders and saying there's little his government can do to help. Poor oversight, cheap credit and a tax structure that may encourage housing bubbles are among the causes of the turmoil roiling U.S. markets, Harper said in an interview with Bloomberg News. Harper, vying for re-election on Oct. 14, has framed his campaign around the notion he's the best party leader to steer Canada through economic turbulence.

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Harper joined a growing chorus of criticism within the Group of Seven industrialized nations over the way the financial system has been managed in the world's biggest economy, highlighting the U.S.'s isolation as it seeks to stop the rout. Canada is the biggest U.S. trading partner and one of its closest G-7 allies. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking at the United Nations on Sept. 23, urged a November summit of the world's major economies to deal with the ``mad system'' that he says produced the meltdown. German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck used a speech this week to say the ``Anglo-Saxon'' model of banking has ``an exaggerated fixation on returns.''

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U.S. allies also have refused to back Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion rescue plan. Earlier, Paulson had said he was confident that several nations would take steps comparable to his measure, under which the government would buy up mortgage-related securities to stem the financial crisis.

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Harper said one factor behind the U.S. crisis is ``over- deregulation'' and regulators that often are grasping to play ``catch-up'' with increasingly complex financial instruments. There is also an ``inherent bias'' in the U.S. tax code that gives homeowners incentive to take on too much debt, he said. ``Some of it may be regulation, some of it may be, and this would be something not popular to say if I were an American politician, mortgage interest deductibility,'' Harper said. ``There is an inherent bias in the tax code for people over-leveraging.'' He also cited ``mismanagement'' of housing lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which were taken over by the government earlier this month, and indications the Federal Reserve may have kept borrowing costs too low. ``Interest rates had gone down too far'' in the U.S., Harper said.


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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ams6XK7VMiLg&refer=home

[LiberalFighter]

1. Where were they in the last 8 years of Bush Admin during their group 7 meetings?

[hulklogan]

2. Harper has turned out to be a bit more reasonable than he seemed back in the day

when he looked like the bastard love child of George W. Bush and Preston Manning.

[Sebastian Doyle]

3. No, the thing with Harper is....

The Canadian political system limits his power. A narrow margin of victory in a Canadian election is exactly that. You don't get a less than 1% margin of victory up there and claim it as a "mandate" like Chimpy did. Stevie would love nothing better than to drive Canada into the neocon ditch, but he can't do so under the parliamentary system.

Of course a lot of the Canadian "Liberal" party are like their version of the DLC, so it's my theory that Canada is just one staged "terrorist attack" away from complete appeasement from that crowd. The spineless wonders will completely roll over there, just like they did for Chimpy here, if that ever happens north of the border.

[gcomeau]

4. The thing is...

Of course a lot of the Canadian "Liberal" party are like their version of the DLC, so it's my theory that Canada is just one staged "terrorist attack" away from complete appeasement from that crowd. The spineless wonders will completely roll over there, just like they did for Chimpy here, if that ever happens north of the border.

Canada's system is more robust against things like this too. Sure, it might happen, and it could have a nasty short term impact. But Canada has relatively viable third parties. If the Conservatives and Liberals piss people off too much the Canadian voters can and will actually do something about it besides sulk and stay home because they don't like their two available choices. They'd take them both down a peg in the next election by swinging their votes elsewhere. I still remember when the Reform party basically seized control of all of western Canada back in the early 90s and became the official opposition in the Legislature when people there got especially ticked off about how the major parties were running things.

[Sebastian Doyle]

5. Isn't that the crowd that Harper came from?

Didn't they "merge" with the old Conservative party and drag them to the neocon right? Or was that some other right wing group from Western Canada?

As a possible future Canadian (if there are any more stolen elections) I'd love to see the NDP get more power though.

[arthritisR_US]

6. they merged...and the Alliance (aka KKK) are so entrenched in the Conservative

party it makes a persons head spin...and they are still being financed under the table by Ralph Reed minions.