GET PAST THE YELLING
It’s time for a more nuanced and detailed discussion of the most recent provincial budget.
When it comes to crunching numbers, the devil is in the details. Currently, the government and its opponents are in a shouting match about the big picture while opportunities for adjustments that will make the austerity budget livable are going unnoticed.
“Stop the cuts” was shouted as Premier Brad Wall spoke to 1,400 party supporters at the Premier’s Dinner in Regina last week. This phrase is both the name of an organization putting together protests, and the logo written all over placards
Wall took the incident in stride, later telling reporters, “You know, we live in a free country and people are going to find creative ways to make their case, even if they are in a place without a ticket, that’s fair enough. Obviously, we’ve seen a lot of concern about the budget and want to be able to respond to it, and that was the point of my speech tonight.”
But the conversation needs to move beyond a general call to maintain current funding levels — something that is clearly not going to happen — and simplistic reactions from the government.
Of course, the discussion around the budget is full of sweeping generalities because the budget did not contain detailed plans for dealing with fallout from the cuts. At times, one can almost get a whiff of panic in the air around the decision making.
An obvious example is the end of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company being announced without incentives for private companies to quickly step in a fill the gap.
The government’s response to protests against cuts to provincial library services was also all or nothing. Despite the fact the Sask. Party presented some good points about the concentration of libraries in some places — more than 90 Saskatchewan rural communities with a library also have one in their school — there was a blanket restoration of funding due to widespread pressure. As Education Minister Don Morgan pointed out, there are five libraries between Martensville and Langham — all within 15 minutes of Saskatoon. This remains as true as it was on budget day. Government has said staff will consult with libraries, municipalities and the public to develop a long-term strategy, but dealing with obvious cases of concentration of services could be dealt with in the short term.
Outrage over the funding decisions is to be expected, but opponents should also offer specific suggestions about adjustments that will ease the pain. Yelling “stop the cuts” is not enough.