On deposits

I posted yesterday about the Sask Party's opening offering in this fall's election campaign. But it's worth pointing out the NDP's first policy event as well, as Dwain Lingenfelter unveiled more details about the party's proposal for a Bright Futures Fund. And what's perhaps most notable is that the NDP is committing to build up the fund beyond the obvious immediate source of money.

After all, any talk of a public resource fund has mostly been driven by the unprecedented resource prices of the past few years. And so the obvious purpose for a public wealth fund is to serve as a destination for unbudgeted windfalls (particularly when the alternative is tax slashing which creates future structural deficits).

But the NDP is proposing to go further, building annual contributions of at least $100 million per year into its plan in addition to possible funding from windfall revenues. Which looks to signal a determination to build public wealth in the long-term rather than budgeting strictly to buy votes in the short term - raising an obvious question as to whether the Sask Party has any interest in following suit.