Don't rip up the invitation to the tea party

Tim Hudak comes from so far out in right field, the left tends to write him off as soon as he lobs his ideas into the political circle.  This may be detrimental to their cause, as George Smitherman found out in the Toronto mayoral race.  Within the Tea Party agenda, that Hudak puts forward are some good ideas that may resonate with voters.  
The PC Paths to Prosperity are not likely to gather a majority of Ontarians on their cobblestones, but it is important to review the document and consider  some of the points.  

The New Deal for Public Sector is primarily a blue print for slashing it to the bone with no plan for service, other than reliance on the private sector to step up to the plate.  But among all the gifts to the corporate world is one germ of an idea that makes sense.

Path 10
Aggressively expand the amount of government data made available to the public online, both to promote transparency and accountability, and to engage citizens in rigorously evaluating value-for-money and finding efficiencies.


While it may be debatable on whether the public or private sectors are better suited to providing any specific service, it is a common desire to achieve value for taxpayer dollars.  In today's world of "gotcha politics" it has become the standard to obfuscate any communication to reduce the chances of being held accountable to it later.  There is also a tendency to rely on the Freedom of Information act in order to thwart those who would like to investigate for themselves the wisdom of any particular political decision.  The media also takes a hit because of the need to break any argument down into "bite sized" portions suitable for consumption within the 18 minutes or so of daily news.

These factors make it very difficult to assess any operation to see what value is being provided to the taxpayer.  One could argue that expanding the role of the Auditor General would achieve accountability but given the size of government, that option could be cost prohibitive.  It makes much more sense to make the information available and allow anyone to prepare a case for or against a particular service based on accurate, timely available information. 

The first step to achieving value for money is assessing the current situation which in today's political world is almost impossible.  Adopting this path would be  widely accepted by the majority of voters and should be a plank in any party's platform.