What should political parties promise to curb inflation?
"Nothing."
Concordia economics professor Moshe Lander knows if he ran for office on a platform of sound fiscal policy, he probably wouldn't have a prayer of winning, because that would be his answer.
"Politics is not about good economics," he said. "Politics is about being re-elected or maintaining power."
Every major party in the Quebec election campaign is promising to help citizens beat inflation.
The CAQ is pledging another round of stimulus cheques, from $400 to $600, as well as cutting taxes on the two lowest income tax brackets.
The Quebec Liberals are promising lower taxes for the middle class and pledging to remove sales tax on products like toothbrushes and over-the-counter medicine, saying their plan would leave families with up to $5,000 more in their pockets.
Quebec solidaire says it will remove the sales tax on many essential items, while the Conservatives say they would reduce taxes $2,000 a year for most Quebecers.
The Part Quebecois is proposing inflation-fighting stimulus cheques ranging from $750 to $1,200.
But Lander says the promises are fruitless.
He said the inflation we're currently seeing was caused by supply-chain issues, the war in Ukraine, as well as generous financial aid programs such as the CERB, which poured billions into the economy.
Lander believes there's little a government can do to control inflation and that injecting more money into the economy only incites people to spend more, which can drive inflation even higher.
"The way that you avoid contributing to inflation is you avoid handing people cheques," he said. "You don't hand them money when you're having a hard time on the supply side of things. You don't unleash more demand when there's no supply that can rise to meet it."
