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LETTERS: Cavity filled promises

It’s not Halloween yet, but the Great Orange Pumpkin is promising free candy for everybody.

It’s not Halloween yet, but the Great Orange Pumpkin is promising free candy for everybody.

It’s a guaranteed income supplement for seniors, money for veterans, childcare for parents and kids, more healthcare and even pharmacare for all. Actually, it’s not really an early Halloween. It sounds more like the tantalizing, but ultimately futile, trip to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory after finding a Wonka Bar with one of the five golden tickets for a lifetime supply of chocolate.

The NDP says they have a fully-costed program for it all, but what does that really mean?

It’s easy to cost something. We do it every time we go shopping. Paying for things is always the hard part. Where will the money for all the candy come from? And, let’s not forget the big carbon penalties we will be paying if the NDP has its way with their bold environmental schemes. Then there’s the extra money for small business and affordable housing, and on it goes.

They can’t get it all by taxing the big bad corporate CEOs, businesses and shrinking oil revenues. You just can’t suffocate the goose and still expect a golden egg. So how will they find the rest of the money? It’s as predictable as Halloween in October; the promises will be forgotten, watered down or postponed. If they really want to deliver on them they will be robbing Peter to pay Paul or bringing in more taxes and borrowing.

What good is a politician’s promise anyway? They promise the moon to get elected, and after they’re in “new information” or “unforeseen circumstances” always emerge so they can weasel out of their election promises.

Who can forget Jean Chretien’s classic Pinocchio act; “I will eliminate the GST.”  After election day it was, “you will pay the GST.” Some moon.

It looks like I’ll qualify for the Great Pumpkin’s candy in a few ways, but I don’t want any because it isn’t free. I’ll buy my own if want some, thanks.

Experience has taught us to look our Halloween candy over carefully before we bite. Although nicely packaged and full of promises, the NDP’s Wonka Bars are made of bitter chocolate and there are no golden tickets.  The one sure thing we know about the NDP is that they never met a tax they didn’t like. But at least we can console ourselves by singing, The Candy Man Can.

John Thompson

Kaleden