Budget 2009 - My "wish-list"

With the federal budget due to be released next Tuesday I thought this would be a good time to outline a few items that I hope will be incorporated. There has been ample speculation, leaks, and rumours, which leads me to believe some of my requests are unlikely, but I'm going to write about them anyway.

1. Investment in the development of knowledge and human capital - This could come in many forms, from research tax credits, to skills training programs, to post-secondary infrastructure improvements. Any of these would be fine, as I believe the best type of stimulus is an investment that will improve productivity, expand our capacity in high-tech industries, and leave Canada poised to come out of this recession on the leading edge of knowledge and research.

2. Infrastructure spending increases - This item makes my list, but I'm not as enthuasiastic about its inclusion as the Government appears to be. The Prime Minister has taken great strides towards reducing Canada's infrastructure deficit and should not increase spending beyond what has already been promised unless they can ensure the money will be spent in the next twelve months. Any project that takes longer than this would contribute unnecessarily to a budget deficit that is going to be uncomfortably high. In this area restraint will be key.

3. Tax cuts to encourage home improvements, home buyers, and purchase of new automobiles. - the only way to get out of the recession is to restore demand for products produced by Canada's core industries. An ideal first step would be to deliver on the election promise to provide assistance to first-time homebuyers. Encouraging energy retrofits and enhancing the governments credits for the purchase of energy efficient vehicles would work toward this goal while encouraging Canadians to go green as well.

4. Public service wage freezes - I recognize this is unlikely, but feel it is a move that would show the Government is serious about preventing the deficet from becoming structural. Further, as thousands of Canadians lose their jobs, a wage freeze for the public service, which is already compensated at a rate higher than the private sector, would be an appropriate measure. That said, doing so in a way that would not enrage the unions who represent the public service may be impossible, as we have seen with the RCMP.

5. Restraint - I'm not looking forward to seeing the size of the deficit next week. This obsession with deficit spending that originated on the pages of the Globe and Mail and in the talking points of the NDP has infected public opinion across the country. I, like many Canadians, hope our Conservative government does not bend too far in order to appease these pressures. Measured spending will help push our economy out of this economic valley, but every dollar that is spent will reduce our nation's ability to pursue priorities in the future and will download today's problems onto the next generation.