As I was going through my daily read of the news & top headlines I found some troubling stories that were a result of an interview with Harper a couple of days ago.
Globe and Mail: “Economic slowdown likely, PM says”
Edmonton Journal - “Brace for economic ‘bite,’ PM warns”
Canadians expect our Prime Minister to be honest, but not unnecessarily negative and pessimistic. Save it for the election campaign.
As a result of Harper’s poor use of language and badly misguided political message, Harper just sent a message to investors, businesses, consumers, everyone that the Prime Minister of Canada thinks the Economy is going to take a downward turn in future years. This may result in a “self fulfilling prophecy.”
Why? Because economic agents (businesses, investors, consumers, employees, etc.) adjust their economic activity based on what they think will happen in the future. What Harper did is equivalent to the CEO of Ford stating in an interview that he thinks his car sales will decrease next year due to a few defects they plan to introduce. This type of economic strategy will surely run any company into the ground.
Harper did not necessarily “do” anything yet (and he won’t do much, his “tough” environmental measures are just intensity reducing targets, which are not likely to reduce our bottom line CO2 emissions), but his words affect the attitudes and predictions of people when making decisions about investing, buying stock, expanding business, taking loans, hiring workers, consuming, participating in business, etc. (things that generate economic activity and increase our GDP). By suggesting that the Canadian economy will slowdown, Harper’s words may alone be the cause of that economic slowdown regardless of whether he was right or wrong. It could also mean that a relatively small bump in the economy will result in a larger then predicted slowdown due to the compound affect of his words because people will start to put more money into savings, rather then investments. Whats more is that he amplified a report from the economic strategist at TD Securities by giving his interview the day after it was released. This report did not necessarily suggest a terrible future, just a less then predicted growth (which is not nearly as bad as what Harper suggested).
By trying to blame external forces to reduce people’s expectations for his own political gain, Harper may have just committed the country to a much greater economic slowdown then would have happened if he stayed positive and worked to solve our problems. Thats not what Canadians expect from their Prime Minister. A Prime Minister of Canada should have faith in the Canadian people to overcome challenges and keep this economy moving beyond expectations, as Canadians have done many times before.
Wow, one might even think that our PM was some sort of shrewd cynic or something. Seriously, I don’t understand how 40% of the population can mistake mass manipulation for leadership.