see, the thing is that the liberal & ndp platforms are almost the same.

ontario has a strange loophole: we have dental & drug benefits for people on disability (and welfare...), but not for people making minimum wage. so, it puts people in the difficult decision of having to lose their benefits in order to take a job. free market type economists have been pointing this out as inefficient for years, which is no doubt the actual reason the liberals are moving on this.

americans may be interested to know that the actual reason we have a single-payer health care is to attract investment. single payer is more efficient, and therefore cheaper for employers. it's a job creation strategy.

we're lucky to have a smart liberal party that is very, very good at economics - and willing to take on specific industries for the benefit of the larger economy.

likewise, these loans are toxic. the state needs to get rid of them before they start taking things down. cancelling the loans is not a loss of revenue, so much as it's a savings in administration. and, this is something the liberals have targeted, based on class - which is arguably even better.

so, from a distance it seems like this is populist, welfare state type stuff, but it's actually just the smart version of liberalism that is missing in action through much of the world. and, it follows that both wynne and horwath can take these policies to the banks and convince them that it's in their interests to move on them.

i don't think that the ndp can reverse the hydro one sale, nor do i think it would get to the crux of anything meaningful. the hydro problem is complicated; i've posted about it here before. but, the only meaningful things we can do, at this point, are actually to encourage an increase in total use [the basic problem is that the grid was built for electric vehicles, and they're not here - that is the reason costs are high], and try to nationalize some of these private wind farms, that are taking advantage of very good deals as a consequence of lower than expected demand.

when the situation is as it is, and the platforms are nearly identical, i'm tempted to stick with what exists. horwath is more likely to collaborate with notley on oil. and, i remain apprehensive about a so-called socialist party that has no union support; will they force cuts to balance the budget, as the ndp so often do?

but, horwath is certainly a better option than ford.

and, we may have to accept that.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-ndp-universal-health-care-1.4581129