Getting things Right

On the child-care issue of the last campaign, which may be a defining one of the new government too, Harper has effectively lifted some of the most hallowed tenets of Trudeau Liberalism — individualism and choice — and claimed them as his own.

Harper sold his $1,200-a-year plan to parents as a citizen-empowering measure: Moms and dads would be free to choose whether they wanted to use the money to send their children to daycare or stay at home to raise them. Liberals, meanwhile, got pushed toward defending the institutional model of daycare, far off on the left, government-knows-best side of the spectrum.
susan delacourt, the star via Greg Staples

The defining minute, the minute where the air went out of the Liberals tires was when they tried to push back with the “beer and popcorn” line. There are a lot of stay at home parents in Canada and they were not impressed with the nanny state approach to their children.

If the Tories follow through with more programs to give individuals choice rather than governmentally determined decisions, the CPC will be unstoppable next time out. Which some of the more politically astute Liberals recognized and acted upon by sitting out the leadership campaign.

Written by jay on February 5th, 2006 with 5 comments.
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Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com Alan
#1. February 5th, 2006, at 6:49 PM.

The thing that would be hilarious if it were not so sad is that the “choice” will be the choice to be without day care unless you are very well off. It was interesting to crunch the numbers to see that the actual change will merely be the removal of 2/3s of the Federal funding of child costs and the guarantee that the remaining funds will provide no one with much more than Friday night beer and pop corn money and a DVD rental for the kids as day care spots will not be added - many will be shut.

But those who have enough already to keep their kids as they deem fit will be treated to another 100 bucks a month so at least their votes are safe, the main goal of the program.

Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com jay
#2. February 6th, 2006, at 2:41 AM.

The Liberals program would have provided - with luck - one daycare space for every eight eligible kids. The Tories are giving every parent of an eligible child $100.00.

Now, I can make a dandy argument that there should be no money at all spent on this program until we have redued the national debt significantly; but if money is going to be spent I am far more inclined to support a universal program than one which excludes 7/8 kids.

Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com Alan
#3. February 6th, 2006, at 6:44 AM.

It is a universal program for nothing. It is like giving people 20 cents and telling them to buy bread. Nutso unless you invest in beer and popcorn stocks. But besides that, it is going to piss off Quebecers to the point it is going to stall the mo.

Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com jay
#4. February 6th, 2006, at 12:41 PM.

As opposed to giving every eighth person a loaf of bread and telling the other seven to eat dirt.

I can’t imagine why it will piss off Quebecers - well any more than any other federal program - they’ll get their $100.00 a month so beer and popcorn will become part of Quebec parents birthright.

Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com Alan
#5. February 6th, 2006, at 7:36 PM.

No, just telling them to eat the food that they have already made for themselves. If it was a help the poor program all that would have been done is boost the child tax credit. This is nothing but a thank you to part of the faithful.

What really pisses me off personally is that I with my two elementary school kids are paying for people who have already decided to stay at home and arranged their budgets accordingly. It is as pure a vote grabber as a pint of rum in Nova Scotia’s South Shore except the Grits and Tories who pass out the booze have the decency to pay for it out of their own pockets.

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