Comment 29405

By A Smith (anonymous) | Posted March 08, 2009 at 17:36:03

Yes, the the government built the canal and helped back the Great Western Railroad Company, which eventually ran out of money before it became operational and was reorganized in to the Great Western Railway Company.

Did the government help kick start some economic activity? Well, it appears that the canal was extremely important, however the railway investment doesn't seem to have been that effective, considering that the company went bankrupt.

Furthermore, at the time the canal and the railway were being built, the government accounted for no more than 7-8% of economic activity, if that. Moreover, during the period of time when big industry came to Hamilton (early 1900's), there was no income tax or sales tax.

So yes, the government did kick start things with setting up basic infrastructure, but most of the economic activity was in private hands. If you would like to go back to those days, where government spending accounted for no more than 10% of the economy, I would gladly accept that as a way to help turn this economy around.

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