I voted early

I voted yesterday. We had a viewing of our condo so we had to get out for a bit, so we figured we’d just get it done. In my case, I knew who I was voting for, and, in any case, it’s not likely to make a large difference under the current electoral system. I voted for the NDP candidate in my riding of Papineau. The likely winner will be Justin Trudeau, running for the Liberal party. He was actually at the polling station when we were there. That’s cool, but this time, you did not have my vote Justin.

Some people feel that your voting preferences are private and should remain so. I’m not sure if that is out of some misguided sense of propriety (or maybe asking the question leads to family feuding!), or if it is out of concern for protecting the democratic process: secret ballot and all that. Either way, I don’t have a problem if people know who I vote for. Of course, going public with your choice is kind of a backhanded way of asking people who they voted for, because if they get all riled up, you know they do not agree with your choice, but if they don’t have much to say, it might be because they voted for that person/party, too.

In any case, I hope no one is too mortified that I voted for the NDP. I know some people think Jack and Olivia are creepy, but let’s be honest: that mustache is just like my dad’s, so don’t you go dissing it! Seriously though, I thought that I could make a contribution to the electoral discussion by explaining why I did vote the way I did. There is at least one good reason not to vote NDP, especially in my riding, which is that they won’t win, so my vote probably won’t “count” anyway. I could go on a rant about the way the system works, but I’ll leave that for another time. This is probably true: Trudeau is a big favourite. I will not mind if he is my MP. That said, with at least one poll over the weekend showing that the NDP could form the official opposition with 100 seats (38 more than the Liberals were projected for), and with that a chance to form a coalition government with what would be a Liberal party both embarrassed and chastened by the voters. This is pretty shocking news, and it’s not clear that it will last. But still, the possibility that the NDP could be a player, for real, is another good reason to vote for them if, like many, you agree with their stance, but don’t traditionally mark the box for them because they are not in the running.

The question to ask at election time is what is government’s purpose, in Canada? I would summarize the role of the federal government in one word: service. First though, I’d like to dispell a myth: it’s not the economy, stupid. While there may be a connection between government policy and the performance of the Canadian economy, there are other factors that weigh far more heavily, and over which citizens have varying degrees of control. The first example is the American economy. In many cases, we are linked, and what’s good for the elephant is good for the mouse. In some cases, our government’s policies have protected us from American influence. The best example of that is the banking industry, which, since it is much more regulated here, prevented the housing crash we saw in the US. Of course, all the political parties in Canada are on the same page on that issue, so it doesn’t really matter who you vote for: our banks will stay regulated. Interest rates and the like are determined by public servants, not elected members. Yes, tax rates influence spending which influences the economy, however whether people spend or save their extra money depends on more than how much extra they have. How “the market” responds to government policy is equally complicated. There is no direct relationship between a government decision and market trends. The market is influenced in combination with other factors that both determine and are determined by government policy.

All this is not to say that the economy is not important. What it is to say is that the economy, like most other issues, is complex and government’s influence on it is not the be all and end all, nor is it the government’s primary purpose. So we should, when voting, downplay the importance of the economy in our selection. You might say, well, this is a clear example of an NDP voter who is oblivious about the economy. If anyone could control the economy, or even just knew how the economy worked, they would be filthy rich. Some are. They probably don’t vote: they buy campaigns or live on a tropical island. Most Canadians are not. Check out “Fooled by Randomness” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. All that you think you know, you don’t.

The Canadian government is a multi-billion dollar organization. There is no disputing that. They are playing with our money, so they should do it right. That’s true. But there is a difference between the government claiming fiscal responsibility for the economy as a whole, and claiming to have managed the treasury well. As far as I’m concerned, managing taxpayer dollars well means spending it on services for the tax payers. That’s it. I don’t mind a deficit budget because what that deficit is buying me is better services, in theory. In any case, the NDP budget projects a surplus, but there have been questions about that recently. I admit I’m looking at the budget and I’m wondering about a few costs, but what I like about it is that it is focused on real people and services for them.

It’s true that the Liberals and Conservatives both have nice things to say as well. The reality is that election promises rarely survive the harsh glare of the light of power. They often burn like a fly under a magnifying glass. But at least the NDP is starting from the right perspective. The Conservatives have done some pretty bad things to the Criminal Code with respect to sentencing. They’ve done some other things, too (the list is long), that, for a party that considers itself to be small-government focused, and with a strong moral compass, seem just incomprehensible. I know there are people out there focused on some moral issues that feel like the Conservatives carry their flag. I guess the question you want to ask is are the Conservatives really helping people? I think the answer is no. As for the Liberals, yeah, they are ok. They will do what they always do. Life will go on. We will lack doctors and nurses in Canada, we will continue to have health care but service will be poor. Right now seperatists seem to be waning. The Liberals will probably antagonize them. How do these things help the country? They don’t. They just perpetuate the same old same old. They will probably try to rob the treasury again.

What it comes down to is that I don’t trust the other parties. I don’t trust that they are not career politicians. Sure, Jack is a career politician, too. But his career has been spent fighting for the little guy. What does he have to gain, once in power? What is the NDP’s dark secret that they will spring on us once elected? There isn’t one. He is not beholden to corporate interests. This is important because corporate interests are not interested in regular people. Some say the NDP is a union front. Perhaps. But what are the unions after? Protecting working class jobs. I guess it’s just a value judgement on my part, but working class jobs seem more important to me and more in need of protection than corporate board room jobs. Of course the two are connected. But as a person, as a human being, who do I identify with? Who do I trust with my (at this point meager) tax dollars? Who would I want to have a drink with? Who do I think will do a better job of running the country? Jack Layton and the NDP.

The best thing about this election is that everyone gets a vote: just like opinions and assholes! Feel free to disagree or shit on my blog post. I thought of this as I waited in the polling station that had no armed guards, and welcomed men and women of all religions, races and cultures. Canada: it's all right.

ps when this gets posted to Facebook, you'll have to click back to http://www.delightinallthings.blogspot.com/ to see the links (to the poll, the book, the NDP platform, Shit Harper did and the Sponsorship Scandal).