On false economies

CanWest reports on another tidbit buried in last week's fiscal update, as the procurement reform started by the Libs and much touted by the Cons has far less potential for savings than originally projected:

The Harper government said it expects to save significantly less at least $1 billion less than forecasted by overhauling the way it buys goods and services.

Jean-Luc Benoit, spokesman for Public Works Minister Michael Fortier, confirmed the government can't meet the savings target 2.5 billion over five years set by the Liberals. instead it expects to save approximately $1.1 billion.

This marks the latest blow to the Public Works' project to revamp its procurement system. The project, which has been embroiled in controversy, caused a near revolt among suppliers...

Bureaucrats are worried the government will dig even deeper into their budgets to find savings on top of the $2 billion Treasury Board President John Baird vowed to cut from government operations more than two years.

Now, a reasonable government would respond to this reality by recognizing that the same problem is likely to apply to the rest of its arbitrary cuts as well. While there's always some value to looking for genuine efficiencies, a government can't reasonably assume that it can hack away at its own expenses without a serious sacrifice in effectiveness.

But then, if the Cons have proven anything, it's that they're always on the lookout for excuses to let ideology trump reason. Which makes it all too likely that the Cons will try to make up for the poor projections by cutting even more from other services instead...while once again both overestimating the benefits and underestimating the costs of those actions.