More like a nest turd than a nest egg

Work in Progress by Ivan Morgan

Allow me a rough analogy.

You have a family. The teenaged kids are losing interest in you. Your spouse is showing signs the bloom may be coming off the rose. You don’t make enough to cover the bills. Your family is used to their lifestyle, but slowly you are sinking into debt trying to maintain it. If you bring up economizing at dinner, no one wants to hear it. You are desperate to maintain whatever favour you have left but cannot for the life of you think of a way to improve your situation.

Wait a minute! How about the old stand-by? How about giving the kids lots of cash and promising to save for a wicked vacation next year! That will at least buy you some time.

Sound familiar?

In the last few weeks the Furey government has decided to give us all $500 and start a “Future Fund” to save money for. . . the future.

To me these recent announcements make it clear that government is fresh out of ideas. These announcements are not new, nor bold, innovative, prudent or any of the other self-congratulatory words government likes to salt its press releases with. They are tired, unimaginative, and short-term actions that do nothing to further this place along.

We are hideously in debt, so rather than pay down that debt with the little extra money we earned this year (admittedly a drop in a huge bucket) the leaders of the Liberal Party decided to give us each $500.

They also introduced a future fund to make it look like they are saving for the future. Anyone who takes a few minutes to read the legislation (and government correctly guesses no one will) can see that this fund is silly. Administered by government employees, overseen by an appointed person, its just a place to park cash controlled by the government of the day.

The Opposition howls in outrage (and government correctly guesses few will listen) because that’s what they are supposed to do. Again, no meaty solutions, no meaningful responses, no well thought out alternative ideas. Just chuck stuff at government and see if it sticks. They are supposed to be the government-in-waiting. In this case opposition parties (reminder: I worked for one) have limited their criticisms to tired old responses which were dog-eared when I worked there. They have to do better than “Yaa Boo, You suck!”

Norway has a future fund. They call it the wealth fund. Oil is a non-renewable resource so, rather than blow the lot as it comes in, the idea is to share some of the country’s oil and gas revenues with future generations. It’s valued at $1.2 trillion USD. That is quite the nest egg.

Newfoundland is not Norway, and the comparison is not necessarily a fair one, but neither is pretending we are Norway. Even with our oil revenue we are mired in debt. Our future generations will inherit this and have to pay it off. It’s more a nest turd than a nest egg.

Halfway through their term, seemingly bankrupt of any ideas, government has decided to bribe us with our own money, and pretend they are fiscally responsible by touting a savings account they call a future fund.

Perhaps these were created so when they are criticized for selling off provincial assets they can point to these as positive things they have done. “Sure we are privatizing health care, but we gave you cash!”

The reason they are giving us all cash is because it works. It’s worked in the past. It will probably work this time. Who cares about the debt, a crippled healthcare system, overcrowded schools, crumbling infrastructure and all the other things in this province that need funding? Give them all $500. That’ll shut them up.

Am I going to be high-minded and refuse my $500 when they send it?

Hell no!

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com