page 2 Over the Edge Nov 22, 1995 The NDP in BC by Jason Morris So the provincial New Democrats are making it tougher to get welfare. If you’ve just rode a Greyhound here from Ontario, better hang tight for three months. If you’re young and childless, expect a smaller check and set your alarm for a mandatory job training program. If drugs and alcohol get you through the day, better sober up and expect a welfare cut and more treatment programs. But wait a minute, isn’t this the NDP we’re talking about? Aren’t they supposed to care about the poor and the victims of society? If the party has its roots in the socialism espoused by their forerunner the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, then why does it seem the NDP is making a right turn toward the neoconservative beliefs of the Reform Party? One explanation is pure and simple. The government is financially out of gas. There is no money for social programs. Even the most ignorant government today realizes that raising taxes is political suicide. Revenue must come from other places. That’s - why Mayor Harcourt once said gambling was a “tax on the poor,” while now Premier Harcourt wishes he had some casinos. As well, with too much money spent in past years, governments today are finding it necessary to live within their means. Thus even Harcourt says B.C. will have a balanced budget (if health care expenses are not included), and no deficit by 1996. All this means there may be more welfare cuts to come. Still, the NDP has always been about helping the downtrodden at every opportunity (unless we’re talking bingo money). No matter what, New Democrats maintain, people deserve a minimum standard of living because poverty isn’t their fault. So, there must be another reason why the B.C. NDP is making a sharp right turn. Maybe, Harcourt and friends have learned about governance. It’s all too easy for a political party fo promise a better life for all when they are not in power. Indeed, the NDP has made promising nirvana an art form: we will end exploitation of one person by another; we believe in a society where each person will have the chance to develop his or her talents to the full; our goal is a society in which the dignity of every human being is recognized and respected. Buttry to put these lofty and admirable goals into legislation in a democratic country. Impossible. Thus the NDP in B.C. has realized that they must be practical. Sometimes they may have to make the odd right turn away from their social democratic roots. Another reason why the NDP is making a right turn may be simply due to the desire to be re- elected. The goal of all political parties is to attain and keep power and welfare changes by the NDP may be a calculated move to do this. This in itself isn’t a bad thing. If what the public wants is social program reform of a certain kind, it would be anti- democratic for the government to look the other way. Of course though, what’s so strange in the NDP’s case is how much they have had to change. The public mood has taken a sharp right turn, most recently by permanently pit- stopping Ontario’s Bob Rae in favor-of Newt Gingrich’s golf instructor, Mike Harris. Being practical now and checking all blind spots, the NDP has found itself putting on the right blinker to abruptly change lanes. Cutting welfare is a case in point. Yet this abrupt gearshift is likely to backfire on the NDP. The public may want a real neoconservative party—and one with a clean track record—not an NDP government stealing from Preston Manning from beneath a statue of Tommy Douglas. Well, regardless of why the NDP is currently afraid to make any left turns, why must they focus their changes on the poor by toughening up on welfare? If there isn’t any money for the down-and-out, maybe the NDP should make the rich pay more. As well, maybe those evil and polluting giant - No Left Turns Allowed corporations should pay their fair share of taxes. Remember though, that the B.C. NDP has learned about being in office and like any other party they like their power. If they increase taxes for the rich (which means the middle- class today) they may face a sequel to the Boston Tea Party. If they crack down on corporations, business will pass on new taxes to the consumer in the form of higher prices or just leave the country and create more unemployment. Besides, it’s a myth that social programs are only a small part of public spending. Social welfare programs are the largest source of government spending: ever heard of health care? Education? Governments are thus. finding they have to cut spending everywhere and the poor are not scapegoats. It just still seems strange that it’s the B.C. 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