How skeptical should we be of the political promises we are voting for?

Election promises

By Laura Bohnert

With another election on the way, we are once again up to our elbows in the overly optimistic political promises of the leaders who are trying to woo us with their enticing election campaigns; but, when all is (eloquently and persuasively) said and the last vote is cast, how likely are these promises to pan out?

Election promises are an important stratagem in the political campaign world. They are a means not only of gaining the favour of the all-important voters, but they also indicate which voting demographic the political leaders are in support of (corporate executives, middle class workers, and the lower class). But, how much of this is pure strategy and how much actually reveals the aims our politicians truly believe in? After all, if the majority of voters fall within a specific demographic, wouldn’t it make sense to offer promises based on the needs and concerns that demographics bring forward?

How many of these promises are actually realistic within the parameters of our country’s resources?

It certainly feels as though, each election, we are swayed by a series of promises that are never actually fulfilled. As a point of example, Harper is still trying to work some of his 2011 campaign promises into the 2015 budget whether or not some of those promises will actually prove to be beneficial to the majority.

And, therein lays the problem (perhaps ‘lies’ would be more apt here): the budget. One of the biggest challenges for our presiding finance minister has been balancing a government budget that has been in stark deficit for almost a decade. Balancing the budget is listed as a priority amongst the election promises of each campaign leader, and with proper cause: a balanced budget can ensure lower taxes as well as the sustainability of the programs and services we all depend upon.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the rest of our societal problems, balancing the budget is a bit of a double-edged sword.

After all, where does that extra money we need to knock off that chunk of deficit come from? It will be from raising taxes and cutting funding on those programs and services like Veterans Affairs and healthcare.

So, out of all the promises our political leaders are making during this round of elections, which promises will actually fit into the budget and the political gambit well enough to be employed? Or, are we voting for another empty campaign?