Oh Boy!!!

I think Mankiw just opened himself a can of worm on his blog:

"The reason I am a Republican is that, compared to Democrats, the Republicans tend to favor smaller government, lower taxes, and greater reliance on free markets. On many social issues, I find myself agreeing with the Democrats more than the Republicans, and I know that the Republicans are far from perfect on the economic issues."

Now, the question is if the Republicans have been trimming the size of the government? Apparently not with the Bush administration. Neither with the Reagan administration in the 80s. Government expenditure were up with both administrations. For the Bush administration, a huge chunk of expenditure increases is due to the war in Iraq.

Personally, I favour smaller government, lower taxes, and greater reliance on free markets, but the current administration in the States is not holding these principles.

Now, let's get back to the North of the border. I AM a Conservative, and let's hope that the Harper government will hold on to these principles. Like Mankiw, I am more with the Liberals (Democrats) on social issues. However, I strongly believe that a government cannot afford any decent social programs if the financial books are not in order (aka only spend what you can afford.)

At least I know that the current Harper government is in favour of lower taxes, from Budget 2006 (distribution of the tax cut is another topic that I don't fully agree with the Budget, but I will leave that discussion for another time.)

One of my professors once said: "Economists offend people from the left, right, and centre." I found that very true from time to time.