Northern exposure of universal plague

For the record, I thought it was a bad idea--when faced with the "credit crunch," for gov't officials to micro-manage the economy or attempt to counter market forces simply because the economy was headed for a rough patch and there were cries/threats that something--ANYthing, had to be done. That being said, this report about political chess-playing in Canada (TheStar.com | Canada | "Harper avoids the axe") provides a glimpse of what probably would have transpired here in the U.S. if Dubya et al had tried to stand in the way of Statist/Populist do-gooding:

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper appealed to his opposition rivals for economic advice in an attempt to defuse their outrage over the unprecedented shutdown of Parliament.

. . . .

Harper yesterday adopted a more conciliatory tone than he had since the crisis erupted over his government's economic statement on Nov. 27.

Liberals, NDP and the Bloc had united in opposition over its lack of measures to kick-start the sluggish economy. Moreover, proposed cuts to public subsidies for political parties and the suspension of public servants' right to strike were political dynamite.

The Prime Minister called on the opposition parties to 'engage with the government,' and cited Canadians' 'frustration' at all political parties for their failure to work together on the economic crisis.

'We are all responsible,' he said yesterday. 'The public is clear. They want us to discuss specific proposals and that we propose things, especially on things where we are able to find consensus.'"

Though "doing something" for the economy was the political football, the petty special concerns of the Left were the real rub in the matter. Ol' Heartless Harper wants to decrease the amount of public monies given to political parties and is not interested in preserving the ability of (ostensibly essential) public employees to strike.