Hypothesis: On reason for the ambitious, long-term spending plans of the Conservatives (fighter jets, militarizing the Arctic, prisons) is that they want these things. Another reason is that, once begun, these projects get locked in and cannot be scrapped without significant penalties for the government, which must either continue to spend to get them finished (and thus bankroll projects they don't actually want) or be seen to throw money away. Further, the spending commitments eat in to the budget, meaning that there is much less room for a possible future NDP government to enact its expensive social democratic reform agenda without raising taxes. If they don't move on their agenda, they lose party stalwarts - if they raise taxes, they lose everyone else.
Harper, you diabolical...
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