Last Friday Charles Adler had Winnipeg Free Press columnist Dan Lett on CJOB to discuss the new $600 million rapid transit plan.

After hearing the discussion I joked on Twitter that Dan’s assertion that we can’t have lower taxes and good roads gave me a heart attack.

Yes, it’s a deep frustration of mine – the willingness in this province to embrace mediocrity.

We all know the government wastes all kinds of money, so why go out and raise taxes? In my opinion, that’s taking the easy way out.

Big thanks to Charles Adler for had me on this morning to provide an alternative view to Dan Lett’s position! Charles and I discussed the big picture situation without getting into too many examples so I thought I would post a few here:

1) LEAD BY EXAMPLE –When Gary Doer became Premier of Manitoba he had a cabinet of just 15 people while Greg Selinger’s cabinet is currently 19. Why does this matter? Well, the bigger the cabinet the more it costs the taxpayer.

After all, every MLA that is promoted to cabinet receives a pay top up, they are provided with a ‘free’ car to use, they get extra assistants and other perks. So why is Greg Selinger raising the sales tax without first leading by example and cutting his cabinet? If Doer could get by with a smaller cabinet why can’t Selinger?

Had he reduced the size of his cabinet and cut a couple other perks around the legislature he could have easily saved $1 million per year – click here to see how.

2) HOLD THE NDP TO ITS OWN NUMBERS – You might not think the NDP’s solution partially lies with itself, but it does. From 2000-01 to 2011-12 the NDP spent more than they budgeted 11 times in 12 years. Just imagine if your workplace blew through its budget every year? Wouldn’t heads roll?

Had the government met half those budget targets they easily could have avoided raising the PST. Click here to see some of the numbers behind this stat (Note: I haven’t looked at the 2012-13 numbers yet)

3) BIG BLOATED GOVERNMENT – The Frontier Centre for Public Policy has calculated that if Manitoba could reduce its huge bureaucracy just down to the national average – again, not lean and mean, just the average – we could save $1.2 billion per year.

That figure is based on savings not just at the provincial level, but at the municipal level as well. Given that provincial documents show 39.9% of provincial bureaucrats will be ready for retirement within the next ten years, downsizing should be easy - just don't rehire unnecessary positions!

4) END RETIREMENT BONUSES – Not only do civil servants working for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority enjoy great pay, great job security and a pension plan that is far generous than most, they receive golden parachutes when they eventually retire. Tom Brodbeck has regularly exposed the payouts ($4.6 million last year alone) and has rightfully called for ending the overly generous scheme. To see Tom’s research – click here.

5) UNSUSTAINABLE PENSIONS – Manitoba is like most provinces and government bodies – it has promised employees more for their pension payouts than what it can afford. As a result, even though taxpayers have already contributed generously to government employee pension plans, we’re going to have to contribute billions more to help bail them out.

Doesn’t really seem fair to the guy or gal who saw their RRSPs plummet during the recent economic slowdown does it?

To remedy the problem, at the very least, the Selinger government should borrow a page from Saskatchewan’s NDP during the late 1970s. Under former Premier Blakeney, the Sask NDP government started putting new employees in less costly and less risky (zero risk of needing bailouts) pension plans. Manitoba should do the same – the savings could be millions each year! Click here and here to watch short YouTube clips that explains what's going on.

6) GOOD RIDDANCE TO GIVEAWAY ITEMS – CTF research from a few years ago found the government – although it doesn’t compete with anyone – gave away over $1 million each year worth of promotional goods with government logos on them.

Things like golf balls, t-shirts and even strange things like make-up kits and barbeque sets. They’re not necessary, time to cut the fat. Click here to see the details.

7) SICK LEAVE – Days lost to sick leave is far higher in government than outside of government. Why? Probably because governments tend to offer more sick leave than in the private sector and if it’s there, some will take advantage of the system.

In other words, cut back on sick leave available and save the taxpayer some serious dough. Click here to see the details.

8) UNHEALTHY CAFETERIAS – One wouldn’t expect a cafeteria in a hospital to be a huge money-maker for governments…but couldn’t they at least break even when they sell sandwiches and chocolate bars to visitors and staff?

Unfortunately, they don’t. CTF research showed that in 2010-11 and 2011-12, hospital cafeterias run by government in Manitoba lost about $4.5 million.

Interestingly enough, one that ran a big loss in 2011-12 (over $180k) ended up earning the hospital money after it was replaced by a private business. Click here to see the details.

9) CONTRACTING OUT - Plain and simple, governments can save a fortune by hiring private businesses to do certain city jobs. You're not going to see the city of Winnipeg hire a private security company replace its police force, but it has saved money by contracting out services like garbage collection and building maintenance.

Next door in Saskatchewan, the government's health regions are expected to save over $93 million over the next decade by partnering with a private company to handle cleaning linens in hospitals. Why couldn't Manitoba look at more partnerships like this? The potential for savings in this area is enormous!

Click here to read about the Saskatchewan example and here to read about a great example from Indianapolis, Indiana.

10) FOR TONS MORE EXAMPLES  - click here!

"Time to get to work!"

Photo from: Winnipeg Sun

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