Dear Editor:
The January 4 editorial suggests that rolling back government wages, as recently suggested by Premier Brad Wall, would somehow be detrimental to the economy. I completely disagree.
Despite the fiscal challenges facing our province and the challenges facing some sectors of our economy due to low resource prices, Saskatchewan people have every reason to be optimistic. Our economy is more diversified than ever before, and that means we are in a stronger position to meet these challenges than in the past. Our population continues to grow and last month, Saskatchewan had the second-strongest rate of job growth in the country.
At the same time, your Saskatchewan Party government believes that, at a time like this, fiscal responsibility and controlling government spending is a key part of keeping our economy strong.
Government employees’ salaries and benefits are one of the largest expenditures the government makes, so any meaningful effort to reduce government spending must include strong consideration of rolling back those taxpayer-funded salaries including those of MLAs, Cabinet Ministers and Staff.
Controlling government spending and the careful management of taxpayers’ dollars does not harm the economy. In fact, we see it as an important step in keeping Saskatchewan’s economy strong.
Sincerely,
Greg Ottenbreit, MLA
Yorkton Constituency
