Before translating this article, one must remember that any high amount of money is meaningless without purchasing power, as the citizens of Lebanon have been learning way before the start of the covid-19 pandemic.
Of course, it is both nice and necessary to have a helping hand from the state… However, all this money is borrowed, and we will have to pay for it in the future (us or likely the future generations of Canadians).
Keeping this in mind, here is Mr. Dumont’s interesting article published today in the Journal de Montréal:
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/05/27/des-milliards-qui-rapportent
Now, here is a quick English translation:
“Justin Trudeau’s popularity suffered at the start of the coronavirus crisis. He has been accused of overly lax decisions in border management and the quarantine of travelers.
Things have changed. Today, Justin Trudeau’s popularity is on a solid upward trend, in almost all parts of Canada.
In Québec, the recovery was particularly spectacular. This is where the grumbling against border management was heard most harshly. The rise of Mr. Trudeau and his party is therefore particularly remarkable.
The leader
If an election were held today, one might think that Justin Trudeau would win the most seats in Québec. And he would win a majority government across Canada.
Let’s do an exercise. Let us draw in our heads the popularity curve of Mr. Trudeau for three months. And let’s draw the curve of the billions spent for the same period. Sorry, tens of billions spent.
It’s still striking to see how these two curves would go together in perfect harmony. As if at the rate of these daily press briefings during which billions in aid were announced, the Prime Minister regained the hearts of voters.
No one will deny that government support was necessary. Emergency aid was needed so that households who lost their income could pay for groceries and rent. Lifebuoys were needed to prevent restaurants, shops, and other businesses from sinking.
So easy
That said, there is a growing impression over the weeks that Mr. Trudeau gives a lot of money, and quite easily. So easily that the incentive to go to work has gone out of the window. The CERB [Canada Emergency Response Benefit] for students is also criticized by small and medium businesses, farmers, municipalities, in short by all those who would like to hire students.
Throwing 100% borrowed money wholeheartedly, to the point of demotivating people to go to work, is not a great recipe. Justin Trudeau is severely criticized in economic circles for this.
But on the political level? To distribute money to everyone with very few conditions and restrictions. Did you think it no longer works? This is not what the pollsters seem to be measuring in the field.
A deficit of two hundred billion, two hundred and fifty? This could cool voters. But it looks like a deficit, even out of proportion, becomes less horrible if you have received checks yourself. This is the beauty of this money distributions signed by Justin Trudeau: there are not many forgotten.
This week, the Liberal Prime Minister killed two birds with one stone. He announced another generous piece of good news: ten days of paid leave for all! And at the same time, it is cutting the grass under the feet of the NDP [New Democratic Party], which was promoting this idea.
How much does it cost? Who pays? Secondary questions. Because politically… it will pay off!”
