Vote for NDP, vote for Trudeau

DEAR EDITOR:

The NDP isn’t shy about their big spending plans for pharmacare, dental care, 500,000 housing units and big environmental ideas.

But things get fuzzy when it comes to paying for it.

Ultimately, it means more taxes; unless big spending cuts are on the table. Everything oozes more government, more spending and more dependency. Most believe they’re better at spending their money instead of letting government do it for them.

The NDP solution is to tax the rich, whoever they are. It would be good to know the NDP definition of “the rich”, because people should understand where they are in the food chain. When home equity is included in net worth, many may be surprised to find themselves elevated to the ranks of the rich; even though they don’t feel rich.

The more people are taxed, the more they’ll look for ways to protect their assets. Instead of demonizing and wanting to loot “the rich”, the NDP might consider engaging with them.

But the politics of envy prevents that.

Incentives to keep wealth circulating in our economy, instead of somebody else’s, are a worthwhile idea. Contrary to some beliefs, private enterprise, not government spending, built this country and has provided jobs for Canadians throughout our history.

We don’t hear much about NDP job creation plans, other than redeploying ex-oil workers to more environmentally-worthy jobs, like solar panel installers. That has a certain Stalinesque ring to it, which may not sit well with those selected for redeployment.

185,000 people work in the oil and gas industry; even after six years of NDP and Liberal assaults on them.

Fossil fuels continue to be our major export commodity and are a big revenue generator for us, while providing well paying jobs. What is the NDP proposing as a replacement?

Instead of a Robin Hood system of wealth redistribution, which doesn’t create any more wealth, we should be focussing on ways of encouraging free enterprise and creating more opportunities for employment and prosperity.

Tax cuts for businesses don’t require wasteful government subsidies for ideologically and politically preferred activities.

The NDP has no possibility of forming government, so they can promise the moon.

But they can continue propping up a Liberal minority in return for scraps from Trudeau’s table.

A vote for Richard Cannings is a vote for more Justin Trudeau. A vote for Helena Konanz is vote for something better.

John Thompson Kaleden