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Monday, June 21, 2010

Kill the Vote Subsidy?

There is much debate on the issue of whether we should destroy the vote subsidy or not. In Canada, a party receives about two dollars annually per vote it received in the previous election. I am for reforming the system in its entirety. Public money would only be used for election funding. There would be different amounts of public money given to parties depending on how much money they raised privately in the previous twelve months. The party can then choose to accept the public money and use zero dollars of fund-raised money or take no public money and use only fund-raised money. Between elections, there would be no subsidies given. This way it's fair. No party is left behind greatly in funding and those who have an enormous supply of people ready to give money will be able to use their weaponry with all their force. With my solution, the $1100 limit would be abolished.
The Conservatives are ready to re-visit the issue of subsidies for political parties, a welcome assertion of the importance of individuals in the political system, and a necessary move given the subsidy's failure to make politics cleaner or more inclusive.
The subsidy gives political parties that got at least 2 per cent of the vote in the last general election $1.95 per year for every vote they received. Dimitri Soudas, Stephen Harper's director of communications, told La Presse recently that the elimination of the subsidy would be “written in black and white” in the Conserative Party's next electoral platform.
Read more at the Globe and Mail.

3 comments:

  1. I am for ending the subsidy and raising the personal limits on donations.

    The Bloc would be knee capped overnight.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Raising the limits SLIGHTLY if we eliminated the subsidies, that I could live with... $2000 perhaps. But I DON'T want to open the door for "Big Money" to return through the back door by allowing personal donations from a rich business owner, their spouse, and each of their of aged children, which is exactly what will happen again if we raise the limits too high.

    Don't forget, this kneecaps US in the CPC as well, since we have LOTS of guys in the West who would LOVE to give us more.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Absolutely,eliminate the subsidy but maintain the caps on donations to force parties to be broad based and to appeal to a significant number of Canadians. No big money individual, corporate or union donors. Canadians one at a time selection the party they choose to support with their own money.

    ReplyDelete

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