The CTF found its way into two prominent B.C. columnists’ pieces today, and both issues deserve mentioning here.

In the Globe and Mail, Justine Hunter ponders the credibility of the B.C. Government when, in one breath, they talk restraint, but, in the next, they spend more dough on wacky stuff. Her conclusion:

Jordan Bateman, the B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, would love to believe that, but he is skeptical. His organization has a standing call for the B.C. government to balance the budget. It’s a target that the BC Liberals have missed every year in this current term of office.

“Their restraint message is so far disconnected from their actions, I picture myself in next year’s budget lockup and they come up with a balanced budget, what the heck am I supposed to say? This is the question that eroding credibility brings up: Can we believe them?”

The Liberals plan to run on economic credibility in the next election. Which explains, perhaps, the urgent and critical need for more spin doctors in the Premier’s office.

Meanwhile, in the Province, Jon Ferry ponders the higher rate of sick days taken by government employees:

However, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation agreed with me Thursday that, if workers in the private sector took off as much time as those in government, the country would go broke.

"In the private sector, you're never really off duty," noted local federation spokesman Jordan Bateman, a former Langley township councillor. "The phone rings at 7:00 o'clock, it's your boss, you pick it up."

Not that working for government is a piece of cake. It clearly requires form-filling abilities way beyond anything I possess.

Besides, I'm old-fashioned enough to believe that sick days aren't things that should be treated as extra vacation days or banked for later use. They should be there for when you are actually sick.