What Will Iggy Cut?

Iggy has given the "Read my lips... no new taxes" speech, but has said he would eliminate the deficit should he win the Fall election he's about to foist upon the Canadian people.

Which raises a new and serious question... if he won't raise taxes, what does he intend to cut?

Will he return to the old Liberal favorite pastime of gutting our military?

Will he pull a page out of the Paul Martin playbook and cut transfers to the Provinces? (yea, that one will score you a whole wack of points in Quebec)

Will he, in good old Liberal fashion, figure out a new way to write off the West?

Or will he, being the guy who came up with the idea for the "Green Shift" in the first place, come up with another electoral lead ballon with a "Green Shift II"?

Ironicly, he says he wants to topple the Conservative government because they're, "mean", in his opinion. But if he's not raising taxes, and plans to erase the deficit, how is he going to be any different that Prime Minister Harper in terms of social spending? Because he's not going to have a dime to spare for any kind of new social programs. And if he's not going to initiate any massive new social programs, then what's the point of trading Prime Minister Harper for His Royal Iggyness?

Ideas? If he won't raise taxes, what do YOU think he'll cut?

UPDATE: On an unrelated note, it's barely 24 hours since his speech, and already he's goofed... he said in his speech that it's vitally important for Canada to further "engage China", and then what does he go and do? Why, he cancels his trip next week to China, of course.

I dunno about you, but I'm thinking to myself, "Huh?" On the one hand, he says we need to focus more on China. Meanwhile, he has a pre-planned golden opportunity to do just that, but he goes and cancels it instead.

Are you left scratching your head too? Kinda makes you wonder what international blunders he has planned were he to become Prime Minister.

UPDATE II: Looks like I'm right, Iggy's planning on making what are likely SIGNIFICANT cuts to social programs, the military, AND provincial transfers... from his own speech today:

He cited the Liberals' track record while in power of balancing the deficits of previous Tory governments in the mid-1990s as proof a future Liberal government would tackle the fiscal burden.

"We inherited a $42-billion deficit from Mr. Mulroney and we had to clean it up, and we did so without raising taxes," he said. "We’ve inherited a $52-billion hole with Mr. Harper — we will clean it up without raising taxes."

Anyone recall HOW the Liberals managed to do that while Paul Martin was Finance Minister? I seem to recall Mr. Martin buying a pair of workboots right before making his budget speech... you know, the one where the MASSIVE cuts began?

So, the question again is, "What will Iggy Cut?" He won't say... all he said was, "Wait and see".

UPDATE III: Here's a little bit of the Liberal "record", from Paul Martin's Wiki page:

While Martin's record as finance minister was lauded in business and financial circles, there were undeniable costs. Some of these costs took the form of reduced government services, affecting the operations and achievement of the mandate of federal and provincial departments. This was probably most noticeable in health care, as major reductions in federal funding to the provinces meant significant cuts in service delivery. Martin's tactics, including those of using surplus funds from pension plans and Employment Insurance, created further controversy.

So Your Royal Iggyness, do you REALLY want to encourage folks to remember "the good old days" of the Liberal cuts in the 90's? I mean hey, why not, because if you're promising to make those kinds of cuts to wasteful Government programs and agencies, well who knows... I might even vote for you.

UPDATE IV: LOL... ChuckerCanuck makes a good point...

"Perhaps the funniest quote Mr. Ignatieff provided today was this:

"Remember we've been here before, we inherited a $42-billion deficit from Mr. Mulroney and we had to clean it up and we did so without raising taxes," Ignatieff said.

Actually, Mr. Ignatieff, you were not there. You were not even in the country. To quote your old nemesis, "you think its easy making priorities?" You cannot claim a legacy accomplished an ocean away from you."