Saskatchewan's 2007 provincial budget has a little something for almost everyone - unless you happen to be a middle-class working family.

If you're a senior citizen over the age of 65, the government will pay for most of your prescription drugs. If you're a recent graduate of a post-secondary program, you'll enjoy a $5,500 tax break over the next five years.

It's very trendy these days for governments to offer "boutique-style" tax savings and entitlements. These tax changes are tailor-made, not for broad appeal, but to curry favour with specific demographic groups in the hope they'll thank big brother come election time. While such blatant political bribery offends the sensibilities of most Canadians, too many are happy to be bought on budget day. That is, until the bill comes due.

Take Saskatchewan's shiny new prescription drug entitlement that caps prescription costs at $15 per month for all seniors over the age of 65. It will, no doubt, be quite popular with most seniors but the cost for everyone else could soon be astronomical. First off, there is no "means testing." That means you can be a 65 year old millionaire and still qualify for taxpayer-funded drugs.

The government says the program will cost $100 million in its first year but acknowledges that drug costs are rising by "double digits" every year. Once this horse is out of the barn, it will be impossible to get it back in.

The kicker is that the province already has a prescription drug plan for low income seniors - one that is sensibly means-tested and justifiable in principle.

If you belong to the right demographic (ie. students and seniors) you come out ahead in the budget. Everyone else is left holding the tab for government spending that is out of control and unsustainable.

In order to pay for its rainbow of spending promises, the province plans to spend $700 million more than it takes in revenues this year - that's $787 for every man woman and child in this province.

Remember that controversial "rainy day" bank account called the Fiscal Stabilization Fund It had around $877 million in it a few months ago. The government now plans to spend most of it this year just to pay the bills. In fact, government debt is scheduled to rise by $300 million in 2007-08.

When questioned about whether the rainy day fund should be used when government revenues are higher than they ever have been, Finance Minister Andrew Thomson commented to the media that the fund was a "shock absorber" designed to help pay for last year's business tax cuts.

Never to let the facts get in the way of some good spin, Thomson ignores the fact that government revenues have increased well beyond inflation and effectively cancelled out the impact of the business tax relief. The only "shock" the rainy day fund is absorbing is the one caused by outrageous government spending.

Much like the Harper government in Ottawa, the Saskatchewan NDP is on an historic vote-buying spree in advance of an election. Unfortunately, middle-of-the-road working families won't see much from this budget. At least, not until the bill comes due in a few years.