The election campaign period may have only just begun and we have already heard promises from both major parties.
But will these promises get in the way of balancing the budget? Running in the black versus the red should matter to voters come election day, according to one expert.
University of Regina economics professor Jason Childs said it is possible to balance the budget year over year, but it comes with a political cost.
“As soon as you run a surplus, there are really exciting and interesting politically palatable things to do with that money,” Childs said. “(The government saying) ‘we’re going to stick it away, we’re going to pay down debt as we did with the surprise surplus we had not that long ago.’ There was a lot of hue and cry about other things we could’ve done with that money.”
“We know how destructive debt can be and debt just comes from consistently running deficits,” Childs went on to say.
Saskatchewan voters will hear a lot from party leaders and candidates about how they plan to make life better in the province – all of it coming at a cost.
The Saskatchewan Party has their focused their campaign on a “strong economy and a bright future.”
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Leader Scott Moe was quick to jump on the provincial NDP’s spending and how it won’t help the economy.
“This is their record, whether it be in campaign time or whether it be when they’re in government, that leads to decline, loss and closure,” Moe said.
Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck says the party has a plan…adding that voters should look at how the Sask. Party handled the province’s expenses.
“The problem in this province is not revenue, the problem is mismanagement,” Beck said. “The problem is a government that refuses to invest in the things that people are consistently telling them are most important to them.”
Both parties have begun announcing their measures when it comes to affordability.
On Thursday, Moe pledged to double the Active Families Benefit to $300 per child per year. The benefit for children with disabilities would also double to $400 a year.
It would apply to sports, arts, cultural and recreational activities.
The program is currently provided through a tax credit to families who make a household income of $60,000 or less.
Moe says he would expand that threshold, allowing families with a household income of up to $120,000 per year to receive the credit.
“We all know how beneficial it is to get our kids involved in sports or artistic activities, like music and dance lessons,” Moe said in a statement Thursday.
“We also know the cost of those activities has gone up just like the cost of most other things.”
The Saskatchewan Party has also promised more tuition relief for students who stay in Saskatchewan after they graduate.
On Tuesday, the first day of the campaign, Moe promised broad-based tax relief on personal income tax rates, which the party says could save a family of four $3,400 over four years.
If the NDP forms government, they have promised to suspend the gas tax and remove the provincial sales tax from children’s clothes and some grocery items.
NDP candidate Trent Wotherspoon said Moe hiked 31 taxes and fees while premier in a single year, making life more unaffordable for Saskatchewan residents.
Wotherspoon also said Beck would provide better management of the province’s books to pay for the party’s campaign promises.
“We want to lay out a program that’s fiscally responsible and that we know we can deliver,” Wotherspoon said. “And we know with what we’ve put together here, with a fully-costed platform, we can deliver this and we can keep our word.”
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