Kevin O'Leary vows to be a 'nightmare for politicians' on economic policy

[twizz]

I hope this guy gets the nod from The Conservatives, he'll be our Trump

Kevin O'Leary vows to be a 'nightmare for politicians' on economic policy
Possible Conservative leadership contender warns Liberals he plans to 'tear that budget to pieces'

Aaron Wherry · Parliament Hill Bureau · CBC News 7 Hours Ago

O'Leary says he'll be Morneau's 'worst nightmare'

Once again teasing a possible run at the leadership of the federal Conservative party, television star Kevin O'Leary appeared at the Manning Centre conference in Ottawa on Friday and vowed to be Finance Minister Bill Morneau's "worst nightmare."

"Our financial policy in this country... is broken," he said to applause, after claiming the Canadian engineering students he speaks to regularly are planning to leave the country on account of high taxes and a low dollar.

O'Leary, former star of CBC's Dragons' Den and current star of ABC's Shark Tank, was on stage as part of a session dedicated to potential leadership contenders at this year's edition of former Reform party leader Preston Manning's annual gathering for Canadian conservatives.

The flamboyant entrepreneur ripped the Ontario government's budget and its plans for a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

He said the Canadian energy sector had collapsed because of bad financial policy and said he had "wept" upon hearing a presentation to investors in New York by Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. In a discussion with Manning after his speech, O'Leary also described Notley as "an incompetent."
Pipeline referendum promised

On other matters of current debate, O'Leary said he'd hold a national referendum on pipelines and would have the government pursue a better, "market" deal with Bombardier, the aerospace firm that he later deemed "the worst-managed aerospace company in the world."
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O'Leary, who drew several rounds of applause, said he would dedicate himself to holding the federal and provincial governments to account.

"What I'm going to be doing with this platform and why I'm here today is I've decided that in every government policy or government spending from now on, I'm going to spend a tremendous amount of energy exposing it to the public and showing them where it's broken," he explained.

"I hope to make this a nightmare for politicians that think they can continue wastefully spending our money."

Though still non-committal about his political aspirations, O'Leary vowed he would pursue Justin Trudeau's government as it tables its budget next month.

He said he had recently met Finance Minister Bill Morneau, at a corporate social event, and warned him directly. "I said, 'Listen Bill, I don't like deficit spending. I'm going to be your worst nightmare. I'm going to tear that budget to pieces.' "

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/politics/oleary-conservatives-manning-conference-1.3466575

 

[james t kirk]

Good

A little balance is always a good thing.

But oleary is on record saying his wants to be the liberal leader. (He has stated that JT will be a failure and will end at 1 term. He might be right. )

 

[Big Sleazy]

Kevin O'Leary is a loud mouth schnook and a dimwit. Our tax money should stop promoting clowns like this. Somebody tell the CBC to find some journalists. We shouldn't have to pay for this garbage.

 

[jcpro]

O'Leary has no chance. The electorate is too economically illiterate for anything he says to matter.

 

[nottyboi]

Well he is not a very clever man, more of a slimy sales guy....

 

[JohnLarue]

While I agree with much O'Leary has to say about the waste in government & the evils of unions, he is a nasty uncompromising and non-compassionate person.
He does not stand a chance in hell of gaining popular support on a broad basis.

 

[james t kirk]

While I agree with much O'Leary has to say about the waste in government & the evils of unions, he is a nasty uncompromising and non-compassionate person.
He does not stand a chance in hell of gaining popular support on a broad basis.

:faint:

Somewhere, it's raining frogs right now.

 

[jcpro]

While I agree with much O'Leary has to say about the waste in government & the evils of unions, he is a nasty uncompromising and non-compassionate person.
He does not stand a chance in hell of gaining popular support on a broad basis.

....although his open letter to Wynn in the Sun is right on the money. Too bad most people in Ontario are not equipped to understand it.

 

[twizz]

....although his open letter to Wynn in the Sun is right on the money. Too bad most people in Ontario are not equipped to understand it.

O'Leary knows nothing about economics, and so does anyone who agrees with him.

 

[Bud Plug]

Obviously, O'Leary is not stupid (as some people on this thread are suggesting). You can't succeed as a capitalist (or even as a capitalist media icon) if you are completely stupid. I guarantee that his understanding of economics is far above average (but not likely at the "expert" level). Like Trump, he likely overstates his own business successes (and/or understates his failures). That's called promotion in the business world. Accentuate your strengths and brush off your weaknesses.

Should you trust everything he says? No. His objectives are always to better his own circumstances. Some of what he says merely reflects a point of view that would favour his interests. That doesn't mean everything he says is wrong, or even that a significant part of it is wrong, it just makes it hard to accept his positions on faith or "public mindedness" alone.

However, his real problem in entering political life is simply that he hasn't been preparing for it. Most people have done things (like posting here on TERB) that they should realize would be embarrassing in a political career. My bet is that he's done things (not necessarily TERB, but similar things) that could be used to undermine his popularity, at least among the chattering classes. Once you enter the political arena, and if you are taken seriously, someone will pay to expose this background. Further, you have to know that some of his business dealings have gone badly, and parties on the other end of these deals will be more than willing to talk if they are of a different political stripe or agenda.

In short, the way the political game is now played, and the money that campaigns have to play with, favours the "career" politician, who minds his "p"s and "q"s his entire life, knowing that the majority of the public will pick compassionate, bland and stupid over straight talking, risk-taking and smart every single time.

 

[Polaris]

O'Leary knows nothing about economics, and so does anyone who agrees with him.

Give it up.

Socialist welfare state is dying.

Look at Europe. Look at Quebec.

Look at us in Ontario.

 

[twizz]

Kevin O'Leary's fluency in 'jobs' not good enough for Quebecers: Bernier
Conservative MP Maxime Bernier attacks potential leadership rival for lack of French-speaking skills
CBC News
February 28, 2016
Bernier/O'Leary

Kevin O'Leary claims his ability to speak 'jobs' compensates for his lack of French. (Sean Kilpatrick and Jeffrey Kirk/The Canadian Press)

Kevin O'Leary may claim to speak the language of jobs, but until he learns French the businessman-cum-reality-TV star isn't likely to grasp the needs of Quebecers.

That was the salvo launched this weekend by Conservative MP Maxime Bernier at his potential rival for the Conservative Party's leadership.

Kevin O'Leary hints at possible run for Liberal Party leadership

ANALYSIS: After Stephen Harper, Conservatives confront questions of style and substance

Conservative Party leadership race: Beauce MP Maxime Bernier hints at bid

O'Leary has been hinting in recent interviews that he will seek to replace Stephen Harper.

The former Dragon's Den personality has admitted that he can't speak French. But he also believes that won't be an obstacle to becoming prime minister, because of his ability to speak another important language.

"People tell me you can't win an election if you don't speak [French]," O'Leary told CBC News.

"I think if you speak jobs and the economy you can win every election."

Kevin O'Leary: Leadership contender? 8:26

At a weekend meeting of conservative luminaries in Ottawa, Bernier pounced on O'Leary's lack of French.

Sure, Quebecers are happy to speak English to tourists, Bernier told the Manning Centre Conference on Saturday.

"But that doesn't mean you can govern Italy without speaking Italian," he said.

The Conservative MP, who represents a region just south of Quebec City, then took to Twitter to reinforce his point.

Kevin said he doesn't need to learn French to be PM. He’s a tourist in Quebec. #MCC2016 #cdnpoli
— @MaximeBernier

Bernier told the conference that he would be a better bet to replace Harper.

"I would be a candidate who brings people together," he said.

 

[twizz]

Give it up.

Socialist welfare state is dying.

Look at Europe. Look at Quebec.

Look at us in Ontario.

The IMF says trickle down economics is fiction. Also voters are becoming more liberal according to polls, it's only the "old-stock" that is lagging behind.

 

[Polaris]

The IMF says trickle down economics is fiction. Also voters are becoming more liberal according to polls, it's only the "old-stock" that is lagging behind.

That's neither refuting or supporting the idea that the Socialist Welfare State is dying.

 

[Frankfooter]

Give it up.

Socialist welfare state is dying.

Look at Europe. Look at Quebec.

Look at us in Ontario.

Compared to say, Alberta or the US?

 

[JohnLarue]

Compared to say, Alberta or the US?

it you had a clue , you would know that a debt problem is an absolute problem and not a relative one
You may owe less than your brother, however if you owe too much his debt issues are not relavant