In a post-election recap column in the May 7 Leader-Post financial editor Bruce Johnson had this to say about the stated intention of the Harper government to eliminate the public subsidy that goes to political parties based on the number of votes they received in the last election:
The current party financing system, which provides about $2 per vote in public subsidies to political parties, is another policy on Harper’s hit list. Destroying the subsidies will widen the disparity between political parties, tilt the playing field in favour of the ruling party and increase the power of special interests and well-heeled lobby groups.
That’s pretty much the way it works in the United States now, with politicians and parties in perpetual fundraising mode, and all sorts of avenues for people and organizations with the capacity to donate large sums of money (and receive a tax break in the process) to influence public policy.
Here’s a link to the article.
