NAFTA; THE TPP AND THE GST: A Conservative legacy. Eventually; political leaders wear out their welcome; whether by accumulation or errors and missteps; bad judgments and controversies; often abetted by external factors outside their direct control. This is true for our present Prime Minister; who seems to have accumulated his shares of missteps and bad judgments –his Senate appointments and subsequent scandal is perhaps the worst of the issues hurting his stature and reputation. Yet; whatever the final outcome; he might go out with at least one victory to his name –the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. Time will tell. There is never a pure gain on any such agreements; there are winners and losers in the trade-offs that must be made; or there would be no agreements possible. This was true with Mulroney’s NAFTA as well. Staying out of the accords would leave us vulnerable in an increasing global economy; subject to a slower growing economy at best and economic balkanization at worst. Though John Chretien vowed to cancel it; he did no such thing; nor did he keep his promise to cancel the GST. Reality looks different when in office; and blatant lies to the voters is expected; even accepted; as in the case of Harper’s solid promise not to abolish Income Trusts; taking retirement funds from seniors and retirees; yours truly one of many. He is making promises again; but I am not “banking” on them a second time. The GST, the other legacy of the Mulroney Progressive Conservatives, based on the European VAT, or value added tax; was also a mostly positive change. It made it easier for manufacturers to export; and shifted the cost to the end user –the consumer. The negative part of the GST is, of course, that it is a “regressive” tax; falling disproportionally on the lower income earner –though here it exempts food basics purchased for home cooking. It is ironic, that socialistic countries like Norway have an even higher taxation rate –some 25 percent on most goods; though somewhat less on food –11% last I heard. There are compensating income tax reductions for lower income families, as well as a number of subsidies available; yet it flies in the face of socialist dogma. Another drawback; quite salient in Norway; is the hidden economy it creates –or “under-the-table” as we often term it; which is an estimated 10-15% of the total economy; depending on whom you ask. It is also quite prevalent here, especially amongst small entrepreneurs such as handymen and even larger home improvement firms. On the positive side –with the foregoing exceptions –the GST is harder to avoid than income taxes. On balance; keeping the GST below 10% is probably advisable and on balance, positive. International trade agreements are a necessary evil. It keeps us in a game we cannot afford to sit out; but no doubt; there are major downsides. The flight of production to lower income courtiers like Mexico is well documented and still underway. One could take a charitable view of it and think of it as “foreign aid”; but unfortunately; the cost of this jobs transfer is borne by native Canadian labourers and semi-skilled workers whose jobs are gone overseas. The best that one can hope for is that our governments will assist and accommodate the losers in this economic race; spreading the cost fairly among all citizens. That; however, is not, and never truly was on the Conservative agenda; nor was it ever present in the Conservative DNA