28 Jul Waiting for NDP policy – feedback

Contrarian reader Justin Ling thinks we’re too impatient:

Come on now. The legislature isn’t even sitting, and you’re taking thinly-veiled jabs at the government-to-be for not doing anything?

They’re getting orientated and doing a little PR before they start firing off the heavy stuff. And to assert that they don’t have a platform is a poorly thought-out idea. Rather, as do most parties, they refrained from releasing their entire policy book. Because of the cautious nature of their campaign, the New Democrats made a point to hold their cards tightly to their chest, not out of any real fear of the public knowing about their diabolic plans, but rather so as not to overload the campaign. The seven planks is the foundation for their policy, the furniture will be coming in later.

And your potshots against their health care and home heating plans are getting a little tired. While some Greens have come out to call for targeted ER closures, I think their reasoning is inherently flawed. The callous way they talk about locking the doors to the emergency rooms is kind of worrying. Sure, they may not be busy at 2am, but they sure are useful for victims of car crashes, house fires, etc who can’t reschedule their emergency for another time. Just this past week, my friend had the tip of her finger chopped clean off. Had she not arrived to an open ER, I dare say that her finger may not have been able to be reattached. I would say one fingertip is worth the money we’re shelling out. At one point both the New Waterford and Glace Bay ERs were closed, which is utterly unacceptable.

Your campaign against the GST cut (the so-called coal subsidization) hinges on the implication that removing the GST will increase demand. While theoretically correct for most products, it is untrue of an inelastic demand such as home heating electricity. Removing the GST will not cause rich folks to leave the lights on more and will certainly not cause impoverished Nova Scotians to be any less frugal. I think that to allow Canadian citizens to freeze in their own homes is barbaric. To punish them because our antiquated power producer was previously unwilling to change their method of energy production is ludicrous. Furthermore, this GST cut will likely cause a rate hike from NS Power (though, one would hope, much less than the GST cut itself). If Dexter is as clever as I believe he is, he will ensure that this money goes into Green technology.

Keep the blog going strong, but give Dexter a break at least until the legislature resumes sitting,