Best Canadian Prime Minister Since WWII?

[Sumner 1868]

Okay, so are there any non-Israel-firsters here who think Harper is the greatest PM Canada ever had?

It's more Mulroney being a corrupt embarrassment with a horrid economic record ("honorary Third World status") and Diefenbaker having no sense of maintaining good relations with the US. Right-wingers really have to vote Harper.

Kim Campbell is obviously the greatest Canadian PM since WWII and second only to Charles Tupper overall.

Why?

[136or142]

Mulroney did a lot of good things:

1.Supported Mandela at some personal cost to himself internationally.

2.Opposed the reintroduction of the death penalty.

3.Brought in the GST to replace the job killing manufacturer's sales tax.

4.Played a role in helping to mostly eliminate acid rain.

[Hatman 🍁]

Kim Campbell is obviously the greatest Canadian PM since WWII and second only to Charles Tupper overall.

Why?

I sense he is being facetious

[Sumner 1868]

Mulroney did a lot of good things:

1.Supported Mandela at some personal cost to himself internationally.

2.Opposed the reintroduction of the death penalty.

3.Brought in the GST to replace the job killing manufacturer's sales tax.

4.Played a role in helping to mostly eliminate acid rain.

Okay, but you still have disastrous trade agreements, the unworkable constitutional proposals, the corruption, etc, etc.

 

I sense he is being facetious

It's a strong possibility.

[136or142]

Mulroney did a lot of good things:

1.Supported Mandela at some personal cost to himself internationally.

2.Opposed the reintroduction of the death penalty.

3.Brought in the GST to replace the job killing manufacturer's sales tax.

4.Played a role in helping to mostly eliminate acid rain.

Okay, but you still have disastrous trade agreements, the unworkable constitutional proposals, the corruption, etc, etc.

 

I sense he is being facetious

It's a strong possibility.

Being a former economics student I disagree completely that the trade agreements were 'disastrous" except, of course, for chapter 10.

Meech Lake was a disaster and Mulroney's handling of it was even worse.  "Seamless web" and especially "roll the dice" will forever tarnish his reputation.

I was a big backer of the Charlottetown accord and I believe had it passed several of it's proposals, especially the triple E Senate and the parts for natives would have been very positive.  That said, it's failure to pass certainly didn't have the negative consequences that it's backers claimed it would, and it seems to be largely forgotten today.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

GSTs are seldom if ever 'good things'.

[136or142]

GSTs are seldom if ever 'good things'.

GSTs are the best form of tax as they are less distorting than all other taxes, especially when combined with credits for the poor.  The best form of taxation is a broad range of taxes all kept to the lowest rate possible. 
   
“The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing”
 Jean Baptiste Colbert quotes (French Economist and Minister of Finance under King Louis XIV of France. 1619-1683)
 

[Hatman 🍁]

Now that both these threads have 44 votes, we can do a net approval/disapproval:

King: +2
St. Laurent +3
Diefenbaker -1
Pearson: +15
Trudeau: +1
Clark: -1
Turner: 0
Mulroney: -6
Campbell: 0
Chretien: 0
Martin: +1
Harper: -14

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

GSTs are seldom if ever 'good things'.

GSTs are the best form of tax as they are less distorting than all other taxes, especially when combined with credits for the poor.  The best form of taxation is a broad range of taxes all kept to the lowest rate possible. 
   
“The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing”
 Jean Baptiste Colbert quotes (French Economist and Minister of Finance under King Louis XIV of France. 1619-1683)
 

Please elaborate on your use of the verb 'to distort' in this context.

[Citizen Hats]

GSTs are seldom if ever 'good things'.

GSTs are the best form of tax as they are less distorting than all other taxes, especially when combined with credits for the poor.  The best form of taxation is a broad range of taxes all kept to the lowest rate possible. 
   
“The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing”
 Jean Baptiste Colbert quotes (French Economist and Minister of Finance under King Louis XIV of France. 1619-1683)
 

Please elaborate on your use of the verb 'to distort' in this context.

I'm assuming that distortion is used in the economic sense as in 'changing behavior'.

In so far as a tax is imposed and people's pre-tax decisions are changed, a tax distorts behavior.  If you put a tax on walnuts, and people eat less walnuts, then your walnut tax has distorted the walnut market. 

By preventing economic activity that might otherwise have happened, or promoting economic activity in excess of what would have other wise have happened, it is theorized that inefficiencies are created in the economy and resources are misapplied.  Now that walnuts are taxed, the optimal amount of walnuts is greater than demand, and beneficial exchanges don't happen