Finally, the luxury of choice
Randall Denley, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Sunday, January 22, 2006
Canadians are typically reluctant to say who they're voting for. It's nice to have the plausible deniability when the party you actually supported self-destructs. But let's not by shy. I'm voting for Stephen Harper.
Here's why.
Unless you happen to be a loyal Conservative -- and I'm not -- a Harper vote inevitably starts with a consideration of the Liberal situation. To simply say the Liberals are corrupt overstates the problem. What they and leader Paul Martin really are is tired and out of energy. His government has been timid and unfocused, desperately grasping at tax cuts when it clearly doesn't believe in them. Martin didn't take the opportunity to put a fresh face on his government, and his regime feels like the end of an era, not the start of a new one.
But let's not undervalue the corruption, either. The Gomery inquiry gave us a dreary picture of a group of people overly entitled to their entitlements. Any government too long in power begins to believe its job is to rule the people, not represent them. The Liberals are well into this zone. If voters look at all that was revealed through Gomery, then shrug and re-elect the Liberals, we are saying our expectations of politicians are exceptionally low.
In considering Harper as an alternative, one thing really stands out for me.
The brilliant thing he and his party have done is to make the federal government relevant again to the vast mass of middle-class voters. For years it has been easy to dismiss the federal government as not meaningful to your real life. It's simply a tax collector that carries out a few functions and transfers money to the provinces, often for social programs that seem to have no meaning to the middle class.
You can see this thread of reconnection in Harper's key policies. The Liberal government and the provinces agree there should be limits on how long you have to wait for major medical procedures. Martin promised the provinces billions of dollars to fix the problem. This was a government to government solution that guaranteed nothing for actual patients. Harper refocuses this by offering a patient wait times guarantee. If you can't get timely treatment in your home province, you will be entitled to get it elsewhere in Canada or in the U.S. This is actually a right the Supreme Court has affirmed that we have. Harper is promising to make it real. It's a major change in a health care system where we don't have the right to anything except to join an endless queue.
You will see the same kind of thinking in his promise on child care. The Liberals want to pour money into institutionalized day care. It might be a great system, but the federal government doesn't have anything like enough money to make it universal. Again, it's a government to government program that guarantees you nothing. Harper's plan is much simpler. His government will give families $1,200 a year for each child under six. It's certainly not going to cover all the costs of child care, but it will be a big boost for families struggling to cover the high costs of raising children, including those who look after their children themselves.
Finally, there is Harper's plan to cut the GST. The Liberals are actually correct when they say their tax plan is better than the Conservative one. A broad-based income tax rate reduction is the ideal way to reduce the overtaxation that has produced so many federal surpluses. Unfortunately for the Liberals, people don't really understand how the income tax system works. Their plan has been frequently described by the media as a tax cut for low-income Canadians. It's actually a cut that benefits us all because every taxpayer pays part of his tax at that first rate. The Liberals haven't managed to make that point.
Politically, the GST cut is a winner because it's highly visible and will keep money in your pocket pretty much every time you buy something. It also reminds voters of a classic Liberal lie, the promise to cut the GST. Again, the broad middle class sees a direct benefit.
Two other Harper tax plans are less attractive. His tax credits for people who use public transit and families whose children participate in sports are nothing more than gimmicks that won't change anyone's behaviour.
What those tax policies do indicate is a move from ideological politics to retail politics. The many predecessors of this Conservative party developed policies based on strict adherence to its ideology. The problem is, most people aren't ideological. They want to know what government will do for them. The Conservatives have finally understood this.
The Liberals have always grasped that point, but their approach to it has degenerated into nothing more than a series of rewards for industries, regions and individuals who are otherwise failing. The middle class felt left out. Harper has invited them back in.
Finally, let's not forget that Harper deserves most of the credit for reuniting the splintered Conservative party. That's a major accomplishment. With the Conservatives split, Canada had descended into a virtual one-party state. Now we have the luxury of choice again.
I'm certainly not telling you to vote Conservative, but for the reasons above, I'll be putting an X beside the name of my local Conservative tomorrow.
Contact Randall Denley at 596-3756 or by e-mail,
rdenley@thecitizen.canwest.com
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
link (subscription required)
Randall Denley, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Sunday, January 22, 2006
Canadians are typically reluctant to say who they're voting for. It's nice to have the plausible deniability when the party you actually supported self-destructs. But let's not by shy. I'm voting for Stephen Harper.
Here's why.
Unless you happen to be a loyal Conservative -- and I'm not -- a Harper vote inevitably starts with a consideration of the Liberal situation. To simply say the Liberals are corrupt overstates the problem. What they and leader Paul Martin really are is tired and out of energy. His government has been timid and unfocused, desperately grasping at tax cuts when it clearly doesn't believe in them. Martin didn't take the opportunity to put a fresh face on his government, and his regime feels like the end of an era, not the start of a new one.
But let's not undervalue the corruption, either. The Gomery inquiry gave us a dreary picture of a group of people overly entitled to their entitlements. Any government too long in power begins to believe its job is to rule the people, not represent them. The Liberals are well into this zone. If voters look at all that was revealed through Gomery, then shrug and re-elect the Liberals, we are saying our expectations of politicians are exceptionally low.
In considering Harper as an alternative, one thing really stands out for me.
The brilliant thing he and his party have done is to make the federal government relevant again to the vast mass of middle-class voters. For years it has been easy to dismiss the federal government as not meaningful to your real life. It's simply a tax collector that carries out a few functions and transfers money to the provinces, often for social programs that seem to have no meaning to the middle class.
You can see this thread of reconnection in Harper's key policies. The Liberal government and the provinces agree there should be limits on how long you have to wait for major medical procedures. Martin promised the provinces billions of dollars to fix the problem. This was a government to government solution that guaranteed nothing for actual patients. Harper refocuses this by offering a patient wait times guarantee. If you can't get timely treatment in your home province, you will be entitled to get it elsewhere in Canada or in the U.S. This is actually a right the Supreme Court has affirmed that we have. Harper is promising to make it real. It's a major change in a health care system where we don't have the right to anything except to join an endless queue.
You will see the same kind of thinking in his promise on child care. The Liberals want to pour money into institutionalized day care. It might be a great system, but the federal government doesn't have anything like enough money to make it universal. Again, it's a government to government program that guarantees you nothing. Harper's plan is much simpler. His government will give families $1,200 a year for each child under six. It's certainly not going to cover all the costs of child care, but it will be a big boost for families struggling to cover the high costs of raising children, including those who look after their children themselves.
Finally, there is Harper's plan to cut the GST. The Liberals are actually correct when they say their tax plan is better than the Conservative one. A broad-based income tax rate reduction is the ideal way to reduce the overtaxation that has produced so many federal surpluses. Unfortunately for the Liberals, people don't really understand how the income tax system works. Their plan has been frequently described by the media as a tax cut for low-income Canadians. It's actually a cut that benefits us all because every taxpayer pays part of his tax at that first rate. The Liberals haven't managed to make that point.
Politically, the GST cut is a winner because it's highly visible and will keep money in your pocket pretty much every time you buy something. It also reminds voters of a classic Liberal lie, the promise to cut the GST. Again, the broad middle class sees a direct benefit.
Two other Harper tax plans are less attractive. His tax credits for people who use public transit and families whose children participate in sports are nothing more than gimmicks that won't change anyone's behaviour.
What those tax policies do indicate is a move from ideological politics to retail politics. The many predecessors of this Conservative party developed policies based on strict adherence to its ideology. The problem is, most people aren't ideological. They want to know what government will do for them. The Conservatives have finally understood this.
The Liberals have always grasped that point, but their approach to it has degenerated into nothing more than a series of rewards for industries, regions and individuals who are otherwise failing. The middle class felt left out. Harper has invited them back in.
Finally, let's not forget that Harper deserves most of the credit for reuniting the splintered Conservative party. That's a major accomplishment. With the Conservatives split, Canada had descended into a virtual one-party state. Now we have the luxury of choice again.
I'm certainly not telling you to vote Conservative, but for the reasons above, I'll be putting an X beside the name of my local Conservative tomorrow.
Contact Randall Denley at 596-3756 or by e-mail,
rdenley@thecitizen.canwest.com
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
link (subscription required)