sell your vote for $35

Looks like there's another huge budget surplus in Ottawa, so The Conservatives are pledging a tax break. And what would this windfall giveback amount to? About $35 per person. Whoopee.

I can think of a few dozen things to do with $14 billion that would benefit the people of Canada a whole lot more than $35 will. When poverty and homeless have been eradicated, when everyone in Canada can afford dental care, when the government is doing everything possible to protect the environment, when infrastructure is solidly maintained, when every public school is flush with funding and teachers are well paid, maybe then we can talk about tax refunds.

To be fair, the Tories said they'd dole out only $725 million of the $13.8 billion projected surplus to "hard-working Canadians". But I'd like to think Canadian voters are too smart to sell their vote for the price of a tank of gas.

After the 2000 US election selection, most taxpayers received a cheque for $300; we raked in $600 between us. I led my own little campaign (as did many others) urging people to donate their windfall to groups that would work to counteract the effect of a Bush government: pro-choice, environment, fair elections, and so forth. We gave it all away... then when we decided to move to Canada, I wished I had it back for the dreaded Proof of Funds. But hey, we got here without it.

And we'll all get where we're going without Stephen Harper's $35.