Letter To The Editor Of The Day

From The Montreal Gazette. My comments in red.

"Unlike Dennis Bobyn, I see merit in the concept of a subsidy for political parties based on the number of votes they get. When individuals donate to political parties they get a tax credit, which amounts to a cost to each of us.

Yes, but it's done out of free will. The bottom line is that citizens should be free to contribute to the party of their choosing.

The present system helps political parties with small anonymous contributions. There is therefore not the slightest possibility of expecting any favour in return.

This keeps democracy alive, and allows even small parties like the Greens to run for office. And surely it benefits democracy when we encourage people to run for office, not only fat cats.

S.W.

I don't see how propping parties up superficially "helps" democracy. Some democracy! Again, as I've pointed out ad nauseam, the concept of individual liberty in Canada is alien.

Let the policies of parties compete in the halls of ideas and see how the people decide. That's the best way to do it. By offering subsidies in any form to any industry, we never get to see the cream rise to the top. We just wallow in abject mediocrity.

People keep democracy alive. Not government through subsidies. But a democracy without liberty is worthless.