Covering Your Butt 101

I just finished telling someone that in a year's time the auditor general will file a report and we'd all find out how this stimulus money was wasted, blown away, or stolen. Apparently Jim Flaherty agrees:

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says the Canadian economy is in such dire straits he is prepared to risk making mistakes and will rush stimulus spending so it can speed economic recovery.
(...)
“There will be some mistakes made, but it's worth the risk to help the majority of Canadians during what is a serious recession,” he said after meeting with the Conservative caucus.(link)

It's amazing. Flaherty has basically admitted what Obama doesn't want to. I'll give him credit for honesty, but the bottom line is that our money is being spent out of panic, fear, and complete stupidity. I don't believe for a moment that Flaherty disagrees with that assessment. He was the one who less than 6 months ago had a budget tabled with no stimulus whatsoever.

Given that, I'm convinced that all that Flaherty is really doing here is covering his butt. Not a bad political move. Not a good sign for the rest of us though.