Governing by gimmick

We all know that politicians can be opportunists sometimes, not necessarily for venal reasons like personal financial gain, but to win the hearts and minds of voters.

So, for example, if the current zeitgeist is all about the escalating cost of living, the opportunist politico will miraculously find ways to look as if they’re doing something to address the problem, when what they’re really offering is a flashy gimmick.

I am referring, of course, to our very own provincial government which seems to have become very skilled in the art of governing by gimmick.

It all began with the gas tax holiday — an action touted as relief for a general public facing ever rising prices at the gas pump. In the end that “solution” cost the government more than $340 million in revenue, and for those of us without combustible engines, provided exactly zero in savings.

The same style of “tax holiday” is now being aimed at grocery stores at a potential loss of some $32 million in government revenue. A gimmick that appears to be as confusing for store owners as it is for consumers and is predicted save shoppers an underwhelming $100 a year.

Worse still, this so-called tax break seems to be aimed at ready-to-eat meals, processed foods and baked goods.

So, does our NDP government think that low-income families eat only processed foods and doughnuts? Does lifting the tax on a narrow range of groceries or gasoline significantly alleviate the squeeze on low- and middle-income families caused by out-of-control escalating prices on just about everything?

Will it reduce the massive profits being made by the big grocery chains or the oil and gas industry?

Uh, yeah. The answer to that would be a no.

So what might that soon-to-be-lost food tax revenue have been spent on?

Well, the answer to that is what really gets my ire up.

It could have been used, for example, to re-establish the 50/50 cost-sharing deal the province once had with the city to fund public transit’s operational budget

A program that was axed by the previous conservative government.

That one action would have cost the province roughly $9 million. As a result, the city could have added that same amount to its capital budget and used it to put eight more electric buses on the road to improve public transit efficiency.

A more efficient transit system also pushes more people out of their cars, which in turn reduces the carbon dioxide load produced by a seemingly endless stream of suburban commuters.

Okay, so that’s just $9 million spent. Where might the other $23 million have gone?

Well it wouldn’t have made much of a dent in the government’s multi-billion dollar deficit, so we could have spent it on much needed social programs like low cost housing or homeless shelters.

Or, and this is the real kicker, it could have been issued as $128 cheques to the approximately 179,000 Manitobans living below the poverty line — $28 more than they’re predicted to save as a result of the food tax holiday.

And that’s just $32 million in lost tax revenue. Imagine what the $340 million in lost gas tax revenue could have achieved.

And please, for those of you tempted to do so, spare me the diatribes about how we shouldn’t spend our tax dollars on social programs that help the homeless or assist low-income families.

It’s not a good look, and it makes you sound like Elon Musk.

Now, god knows, I’m no economist, and I have to admit that until Grade 12, I was pretty so-so at maths. So if even I can figure out that these tax holidays wind up costing us more than they save, why can’t our premier and finance minister?

And why, in heavens name, is the provincial government using gimmicks to address systemic problems? The main ones being our national government’s steadfast refusal to control prices or exact sufficient taxes from the top 10 per cent of Canadian income earners, who control over half the nation’s entire net worth.

All of which is to say — if you agree with me then send the premier a message. Tell him that he’s not fooling anyone with tax holiday gimmicks, and that he certainly hasn’t won your heart, let alone your critically thinking mind.

Erna Buffie is a writer and author of Out On A Limb: Saving The Urban Canopy.