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Justin Trudeau was hoping his housing budget would reverse the governments slide in popularity. Instead, things have gotten worse.

For the good of the Liberal Party he leads, the Prime Minister needs to think about his future.

The government gambled everything on this budget. Younger voters are unhappy. Economic uncertainty and high interest rates have worsened housing shortages, making ownership impossible and rent exorbitant for many. Their support has shifted emphatically from the Liberals to the Conservatives.

The budgets answer: billions of dollars to support new housing starts, housing infrastructure and apartment construction, along with measures to make it easier to secure a first mortgage.

Party strategists hoped the housing-focused budget would narrow the huge gap in support between the two parties over the next few months by winning back younger voters. So far, its not working.

A Nanos postbudget poll showed Conservative support increasing to 42 per cent, with the Liberals down to 23 per cent. Ipsos has only 17 per cent of Canadians giving the budget two thumbs up, while 40 per cent give it two thumbs down. Similarly, Leger has half of all Canadians rejecting the budget and only 20 per cent welcoming it.

A capital-gains tax increase included in the budget may be part of the problem. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland insisted only the very rich would be forced to pay. But it turns out the very rich include family doctors, other small business owners and people hoping to sell the cottage one day.

It also didnt help that everyone from former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge to Bill Morneau the previous Liberal finance minister, for crying out loud attacked the budget for increasing taxes in a time of weak productivity and little or no growth.

Mr. Trudeau is now ratcheting up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who recently consorted with some anti-Trudeau protesters once again, and who has earned the dubious distinction of being endorsed by lunatic-fringe commentator Alex Jones in the United States.

But this isnt likely to matter much to people whose mortgages are up for renewal.

The most important legislative item, outside the budget itself, is the pharmacare bill. Once it passes, the legislative record of this government will largely be complete.

The supply and confidence agreement between the Liberals and the NDP is supposed to last until October, 2025. But its more likely the government will fall over the next budget in spring of next year, if not before. Once pharmacare is law, what possible reason would New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh have to keep this tired government alive?

Mr. Trudeau has pretty much run out of opportunities to change the narrative. Interest rates have not gone down as hoped. Housing starts will be down again this year, and will remain weak over the following two years, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, whatever the budget might promise. The economy crawls forward on its stomach.

The government has reached the point where it must both raise taxes and increase debt to fund programs that most of us dont care about or dont support. People have crossed their arms. They are simply waiting for the day when they can vote Mr. Trudeau out of office.

The Prime Minister has a choice. He can step down this spring or early summer, and let the party select a new leader. Or he can stay on and meet his fate.

Mr. Trudeau may believe that he and only he can prevent the ruination of Canada as he sees it at the hands of Mr. Poilievre. But how can that be true? Given the Liberals current electoral prospects, wouldnt someone else anyone else likely fare better?

Stories have surfaced that Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc might be interested. Mark Carney, former governor of the Canadian and English central banks, is giving speeches. Others are testing the waters.

A new leader doesnt guarantee a Liberal victory in the next election far from it. But more might be saved than in an election with the current leader.

The Liberal Party was in the ditch when Justin Trudeau came to its rescue in 2013. He needs to ask himself in what state it will be if he stays.

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Opinion: For the good of the Liberal party, Trudeau needs to think about his future - The Globe and Mail

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'Hell freezing over': Liberals shocked to agree with Jeanine Pirro on dead dog take  Raw Story

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'Hell freezing over': Liberals shocked to agree with Jeanine Pirro on dead dog take - Raw Story

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Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Tuesday pushed against criticism the Liberals were siding with the insurance industry on the new disability benefit as the NDP presses for stronger assurances the new payments will not be clawed back in exchange for supporting the 2024 budget.

Freeland told reporters that talks are ongoing with the NDP on the budget but dismissed suggestions the Liberals were backtracking on earlier claims that they couldnt expressly bar insurers from clawing back the payments because it was a matter of provincial jurisdiction.

When asked by iPolitics if the Liberals were only considering changes to the benefit because of NDP pressure, she emphatically said certainly not.

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Freeland pushes back against suggestion Liberals are bending to NDP on disability benefit - iPolitics.ca

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Drea de Matteo, an actress of The Sopranos fame, says people in Hollywood are too petrified to disagree with liberals on social issues because of the current political climate with President Joe Biden in office.

As part of a discussion with Donald Trump Jr. on his Triggered podcast, the Emmy winner quipped about how she is so liberal that she is conservative in todays politics and there are so many in the industry who share her views.

The Biden administration has tried to perpetuate a bulls*** message of unity and has used social issues as pawns to further their administration, which Matteo said did nothing but divide people.

This administration has just been hammering all of these things and people in Hollywood are petrified, she continued. What, are you going to speak out against race, and sex, and all of that stuff?

Matteo added, People are afraid to have those conversations, because first of all, you never win with a liberal. Youre just never gonna win.

By contrast, Matteo suggested to Trump Jr. that his father, former President Donald Trump, shares her apathy for the very social issues being used to stoke disharmony across the United States.

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I think he cares about whats really going on, which is behind the scenes, and those are the things that need to be addressed before anybody is going to have freedom with any social issues, she said.

The actress indicated that she would not be as outspoken if her personal experience had been different.

I really did want to fight, but I didnt think I had, A, the voice, B, the balls, Matteo said, adding how she kind of got thrown to the wolves, I felt like, and once I was out there, I was like Im out here, what am I going to do? Im out of my cage.

Matteo also talked about her support network.

I do feel like Im supported, you know, by my boyfriend I know this sounds crazy, but, by God, my children. My children they believe in what we believe in, which is freedom and unity the right way.

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'Sopranos' Actress Says People In Hollywood Are Too 'Petrified' To Cross Liberals On Social Issues - The Daily Wire

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After a decade of failed policies and inaction to address housing affordability, the Liberals have reaffirmed their commitment to forcing workers to raid their superannuation to access housing and have now indicated that they will make every cent of workers retirement savings available at auction which will further inflate house prices.

This is an act of compounding bastardry.

The Liberals would once again as they have with other universal entitlements when they have had the determination to do so pull the generational ladder out from under young Australians.

Peter Duttons plan for the housing market is to make this generation of first-home aspirants choose between a dignified retirement and a house, a choice he did not have to make himself.

This will supercharge house price growth. Every first-home buyer would be forced to raid their super just to remain competitive if all of their competitors are tapping their super balances too. This policy is absolutely salivating to property developers, boomer property investors, and the banks who will get to write ever-increasing mortgages with this generation.

In an auction where everyone is bidding with their super, the only winner is the seller.

The Liberals policy robs workers of the magic of compound interest to enjoy in retirement. Workers, with their unions, fought for universal superannuation alongside an adequate age pension to ensure every worker not just the wealthy and management had a pool of retirement savings that maintained their income and standard of living into retirement.

A report by the Super Members Council this year found that forcing first-home buyers to raid their super savings could force median prices in the five biggest Australian cities to increase by $75,000. If a couple of 30-year-olds withdrew $35,000 in super for a house today, they can expect to retire with $195,000 less in todays dollars.

If the Liberals have their way, their policy would also widen the gender gap in retirement savings and disproportionately harm working women, who already retire with $136,000 less in superannuation over their working lives, according to a 2023 report by The Australia Institutes Centre for Future Work.

This thoroughly bad policy wouldnt just rob the workers who are forced to drain their super for a deposit, it would cripple the retirement returns of every worker in Australia. The preservation of superannuation for retirement is a core reason why superannuation funds have been able to get phenomenal returns for everyone and why super funds generate better rates of return than banks.

The fact that superannuation funds do not have to have cash on hand for them to use at any moment means they can invest for the long term. This means that rather than investing in something for a short-run return, they can build and generate returns from nation-building infrastructure like roads, property and airports. If superannuation funds are required to have the cash on hand to pay out their members for a house deposit, the capacity for workers to benefit from compound interest is completely diluted.

Every aspect of this generates harm and perpetuates the problems it purports to solve.

It doesnt make houses more affordable it makes them more expensive.

It doesnt help first-home buyers get a house it just makes them drain their super for houses that might have otherwise been cheaper.

It makes those who drained their super poorer in retirement by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It makes every worker in Australia poorer by smashing the ability of super funds to invest.

It is clear that this policy, promulgated by one-note anti-super ideologue Andrew Bragg, is designed to undermine the super system.

Setting the housing market on fire will do nothing to help people buy a house. It is clear we need additional supply of housing to make houses and rents more affordable. Building more housing, including social, affordable, and public housing, will make housing more affordable. This can also be facilitated by taking the handbrakes off supply, which is a meaningful step forward.

We need better rights for renters, so they arent subject to excessive rent increases and have more secure housing. And we need to ensure theres a fair level of Rent Assistance for retirees and those out of work to alleviate rental stress.

Combined with more secure jobs and higher wages, an evidence-based housing policy will mean more workers will get access to permanent housing and affordable rents.

A policy distractions like the one Dutton is tying himself to is yet another example of a policy that doesnt work for working people, but does work for landlords, property investors and the big banks.

Joseph Mitchell is assistant secretary of the ACTU, and a former organisation political director and policy officer, as well as working with the Innovation and Growth Taskforces

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Liberals' plan to destroy super will drive up house prices - The New Daily

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