Better, Not More

My Personal Campaign Slogan:  Better, Not More

As an Engineer I know that there always an optimum solution for any problem - specifically, as shown above, the better answer does not come from more but rather the right amount of input. In the graph above you see your performance improving until you are the optimal amount of training and then your performance declines, not in spite of your extra effort but because of it.

I believe that many of our problems in Government are like that. We throw more more money at problems assuming that things will improve and sadly find out that while sometimes that does work other times it does not. 

Secondly, given that we always have limited resources - time, people, money, etc. it seems sensible make the tough decisions about these limited resources so that we can optimize our efforts to get the maximum result for the people of Ontario.

In other words, always creating more and more helpful government programs may not be the answer because of the graph above and by spreading government efforts too thin in trying to be all things to all people we end up doing nothing too helpful for anybody. You can already see this attitude in play in this election: the Liberals and NDP think that spending more will make things better while the PCs think tax cuts will achieve the same result. What if they are both wrong?

What if instead of more spending or more tax cuts we figure out the optimal spending of our very limited resources by bravely admitting that while the Government does serve an vital role in all things within the public domain that there are private issues that have to be dealt with privately? This perspective will force us to ask tough questions like this; if we want free medication for all the people of Ontario what other program that the government is doing needs to be cut? While I personally think this program could be a great idea I also know that with the Green philosophy of sustainability that Ontario's huge debt will come back to haunt us in a very bad way and that putting that burden onto my children is ethically wrong and financial suicide.

So, let's not get trapped in left or right wing ideological traps, rather, let's use the brains and talent of the many smart people around us to find ways to allow ALL people have the opportunity they deserve to live a life of joy, but doing so with smart and optimal solutions that are within our limits to deliver over the long haul.