Elimination of deficit is paramount

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/10/2011 (5119 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The appropriate outcome in Tuesday’s election would be a minority government.

Both the governing New Democratic Party and the opposition Conservatives have conducted shallow, pandering campaigns that bordered on contempt for the public’s intelligence and integrity. Each flooded the market with scores of micro-promises that added up to hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending, but amounted to very little in terms of vision.

Each party claimed it was committed to health care, but neither offered a solution to the rising demands and costs of the province’s health system, which consumes more than 40 per cent of the provincial budget. They claimed to support Manitoba Hydro, but no one dared talk about how it might be adapted or improved for the benefit of all Manitobans. The parties declared war on crime, but they could not explain why Winnipeg needs to be the most policed city, by far, in Canada, particularly when other needs, notably infrastructure, are suffering.

Three things divide the parties. First, their mistrust of one another. Second, different versions of when the deficit might be eliminated — the NDP would do it by 2014, the Tories by 2018, but even this disagreement was based on mistrust. Third, the Tories oppose the government’s plans for a western route for a new Hydro line.

The rest was rhetoric, spin and name-calling. The parties asked for trust, but they merely reinforced the public’s well-justified skepticism.

Neither the Tories nor the NDP have earned the right, based on this campaign, to a majority, but of course minority government is not an option on the ballot. The people must make a choice based on all the evidence and on the rational perception of which party will best represent not just their personal needs, but the broader interests of Manitobans.

After 12 years in power, New Democrats have mastered the art of practical politics, but it has come at the expense of higher purpose. The NDP has governed during a golden age of revenue growth, mostly in the form of federal transfer payments but also with strong income tax growth unchecked by indexed tax rates so that even as rates are modestly cut the total take increases. And despite all that, there are deficits for which the government was not punished, having denuded balanced budget legislation.

There has been lots of money for doctors, nurses, hospitals and new health programs. There was money to top up teacher pensions, and to give civil servants a six-per-cent pay increase and a no-cuts promise in exchange for a one-year pay freeze. Meanwhile, weekly earnings of taxpaying Manitobans are among the lowest in Canada, as is the rate of growth in the workforce and the GDP per capita.

Manitoba is still the highest taxed province west of Quebec.

It’s true that Manitoba doesn’t have oil or potash or a sunshine coast, but the NDP governments of Gary Doer and Greg Selinger have contented themselves with the province’s welfare status.

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The verdict on the last 12 years, however, includes laudable initiatives, including the development of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which the province helped to get off the ground. The new downtown arena would not have risen from the rubble of the Eaton’s building without the unwavering support of the NDP, which stood fast in the face of stiff and often bitter opposition. Without the arena, the Jets would not be back. The government also gets high marks for CentrePort, which could help Winnipeg become a major transportation and manufacturing hub. The province under the New Democrats has also supported downtown development, which must remain a policy priority.

It may seem that it’s time for a change, but change is not a virtue onto itself. There must be a real alternative to the status quo, a strong likelihood that the state of affairs will improve as a result of change. If not, change for the sake of change can easily lead to poor results.

Hugh McFadyen’s Progressive Conservatives are the only real alternatives to the NDP, but they are not ready for prime time. If the NDP has run a shallow campaign, Mr. McFadyen has done them one better. His promises exceed those of the NDP, adding up to $1 billion in new spending and tax cuts. If there was a cohesive strategy in the multitude of daily press releases, it was difficult to discern, although it might fall under the heading of A Chicken in Every Pot.

His plan — a word used loosely — to extend budget deficits until 2018 because the NDP have allegedly cooked the books was poorly conceived and articulated. It also raised the suspicion that the Conservatives would govern with even more emphasis on self-preservation than the NDP, the masters of the art until now.

The deficit must be eliminated sooner than later. Mr. Selinger has promised to balance the books in 2014. Manitobans should re-elect Mr. Selinger’s government and hold it to that most paramount of priorities.