Just How Stupid is Stephen Harper? Ask the Pharoahs.

Stephen Harper truly exemplifies what happens when dogma trumps reality. The clown prince is so doctrinaire that he can't help himself, even on the basics, even with a graduate degree in economics (albeit from the University of Calgary).

Prime Minister StupidStick revealed all when he slashed the GST upon coming to power. That move was not only breathtakingly stupid, it offended the very wisdom of the Pharoahs. Let me explain.

The Pharoahs built a mighty Egyptian empire replete with temples, palaces, the pyramids, and a massive, all-powerful army. All of that was based on just a few things - grain, silos and the good common sense to store a surplus of the first safely in the second. The operative word here is "surplus" which means being more than or in excess of what is needed or required.

When he became Jean Chretien's finance minister, Paul Martin understood the wisdom of the Pharoahs and put it into practice. He balanced the budget, began paying down debt and kept taxes high enough to amass a healthy surplus. There it is again, that word "surplus."

Why is having a surplus so important? When you're amassing that surplus the importance may not be obvious. It's importance becomes apparent, even to stupid people like Harper, only when something goes wrong, only when it's needed.

The Pharoahs established state-run silos to hold all that surplus grain so they had plenty on hand in the event of a crop failure or when needed to feed workers building those stone edifices or when they wanted to send an army to conquer the neighbours. It kept everybody happy and productive and, before long, Egypt had an enormous and powerful empire. Without that surplus grain securely tucked away in those silos, the Pharoah's Egypt would have probably resembled an ancient version of today's Egypt, only without all the great monuments and pyramids.

When Pharoah Steve came to the throne in Ottawa, however, he looked on the brimming silos he inherited from Martin with disdain. He declared that the state had no right to a surplus, to take more or in excess of what is needed or required, and so he cut the GST, once and once again, and began emptying the silos. Then, just as the silos approached empty, a great and powerful global meltdown swept in from the south. Steve had no grain to feed his people and so he went begging to those who had full silos and began borrowing to make good the advantages he had squandered.

If the ancient Pharoahs were to behold our poor Stephen, what would they think? I expect not much at all.