CTF: 3 Policy Proposals For Harper’s Government

As the Prime Minister is preparing to start a new legislative session, The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has a suggestion for him. Stephen Harper needs to seize the policy initiative unless he wants the opposition parties to keep advancing their agendas in spite of the 2006 election results. Mr. Harper’s immediate challenge is to identify taxpayer-friendly goals that resonate with voters, CTF article suggests:

Agenda item one for the Conservatives should be to cut spending. Item two should be to dedicate savings to debt reduction. Canada’s debt currently stands at $472-billion. Since 1961, debt interest and service charges have cost taxpayers almost $1-trillion. Canadians would welcome a plan to pay off the debt. It can be achieved if Parliament passes a debt repayment law with annual payments of 5% of total revenues. Each year, Ottawa squanders $34-billion paying interest. As the debt is reduced, significant savings will be realized through lower interest payments.

The third policy item is to cut income taxes, since Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is not taxing to collect money to fund programs, but rather finding ways to spend money government collects. Two years ago the federal surplus totaled $13.2-billion. Last year it was $9.2-billion. The spending of surplus dollars is responsible for Ottawa’s 14% expansion.

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The article concludes by saying that taxpayers are unlikely to be motivated by a political party that they see as being little different than the alternative. Hopefully the Conservative government listens to CTF message and proves by its actions that there's at least one federal political party that puts taxpayers' interests first.