Canada, Obamanomics and the Right

I normally like David Frum, but I can't help but take issue with this article titled "Canada well-positioned to benefit from Obamanomics":

A decade ago, incomes per capita, even in wealthy Ontario, trailed those of every U.S. state except Mississippi. Obama’s poor economic management offers the opportunity for a stunning reversal of fortunes.

And maybe that’s the issue Prime Minister Harper should be sharpening as he prepares for his ultimate contest against Michael Ignatieff. Ignatieff’s goals as prime minister are hazy and maybe non-existent. Perhaps Harper could counter with one national goal: simple, clear and confident:

Canada will avoid reckless spending, avoid accumulating debt, hold the line on taxes and reduce the burden of government regulation, all to achieve, for the first time in Canadian history, higher average incomes on the Canadian side of the border than the American.

The basic premise is that because of the Obama administration's "staggering" spending, average incomes in Canada will surpass the US for the first time. A few commentators pointed out the absurdity of this, and really, there is no economic basis for that line of thinking considering 80% of Canadian exports go to the US. However, I'd like to take issue with a different portion of the article, the continuous harping on administration spending by right wing pundits.

Frum uses the current projections from the CBO for the Obama Health Care plan to make his point that spending is out of control. Ignoring the fact that those projections are bunk and based on an imcomplete plan, what are the other options? Something needs to be done about health care, 85% percent of the country supports fundamentally changing the health care system. Just like something needed to be done to stabalize the financial system, stimulate the economy and protect our strategic and economic interests in having a strong US based auto industry. This is what happens when political leaders are visionless for 8 years. There are a lot of problems that need fixing all at once.

Let's at least give the administration a year to implement their economic policy before we condemn it. And oh yea, Canada, the example given of an economically responsible country, they have universal health care. If they've figured it out, so can we.