What do you get when you combine an exodus of people with a desperate government You get government using your tax dollars to bribe university and college grads to stay in Manitoba. That was one of the major policy announcements that came out of the latest Throne Speech offered up by the NDP government. The tuition rebate program - with no price tag attached - will have taxpayers refunding post secondary graduates 60 percent of their already heavily subsidized tuition costs, for six years. But they must stay in the province.

There are hundreds of graduates leaving Manitoba each year because of the lack of job opportunities. Instead of addressing the heavy tax burden - including the ill-fated payroll tax that businesses have to deal with - the NDP government has chosen to bribe students with taxpayers' money in order for them to stay. Many post secondary grads may not be directly thinking about their future tax burden, yet it is one of the biggest deterrents in creating opportunities for them at home.

With no new tax relief for all Manitobans and over $9 billion in new spending initiatives (including the development of Conawapa Dam) the Throne Speech makes clear that the spending taps are open in the lead-up to a spring election.

Other ridiculous policy announcements come in the form of a $2,000 rebate for the purchase of a hybrid vehicle. Sadly, the NDP government cannot really take credit for this one, you can thank the Opposition Tories for this gem which they announced at their convention a few weeks ago. It was a bad idea coming from the PCs, and it is still a bad idea now that it has been stolen by the NDP.

The speech wasn't all bad news, however. The province did commit some much needed funding for additional police officers, tools to fight gang violence and our crumbling infrastructure. And one significant departure from their usual mantra that our healthcare system is perfect, is an announced review of regional health authorities. The speech reiterated tax measures that had been previously announced including a drop in the middle income tax rate to 13 percent and corporate tax rate to 14 percent. These measures were praised by the CTF when they were announced in the 2006 budget. But again, no long term commitment to keep Manitoba competitive especially on the heels of our neighboring province cutting their PST by two points.

Following in the footsteps of the federal government's recent announcement to allow seniors to split their pension income, the NDP government will permit the same provincially. This is a good policy, but Ottawa and Manitoba should allow all taxpayers to split incomes.

Overall, this year's speech lacked a clear vision for the economic future of Manitoba. As the NDP government continues to pat itself on the back for a job not done, Manitoba will continue to lag behind other western provinces who are attracting many of our best and brightest. For those that remain, the tax burden will get too heavy to pay for this government's obsession with social engineering.