It turns out your vote is worth $1.75/year. That, according to yesterday's Toronto Star, is the amount a political party receives in annual public funding per vote cast for them in a federal election. The point of the article was that if the Liberals get blown out on Monday they will be in serious financial trouble, since they have borrowed some $34 million in the last year or so and will be significantly limited in pursuing corporate donations, their traditional route to funding, due to caps on personal and corporate contributions put in place a few years ago by former PM Jean Chretien - a Liberal. But for me the interesting part of the article was that $1.75. While it makes it seem like your vote has little value, it actually reinforces the notion that no vote is ever truly wasted. If you want to vote Green but are hesitant since there is no chance of your candidate winning his or her riding, you can take solace in the fact that that vote puts $1.75 into Green Party coffers for every year that the newly-elected government can hold power. Over the usual lifespan of a government, that's seven bucks. Seven bucks that may help the Green Party become a force politically, if one takes the long view on this. I'm not being sarcastic. I genuinely believe in voting for the party whose platform you believe in, and you should be prepared to accept short-term defeat in exchange for long-term growth and, inevitably, change. Without that attitude, we are doomed to the likes of Paul Martin, a great finance minister with no clue how to be an even competent Prime Minister. Count my $1.75 a year for change.

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My wife is putting serious pressure on me to tell her who I voted for. She has grave doubts about Harper, and is considering voting NDP due to their reputation as a friend of the worker. She wants to know what I did and why so that she can consider that when deciding how to cast her vote. I am concerned about her voting the same way as me for no reason other than her avoiding making a decision. On the other hand, there is that $1.75 to consider.

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I am helping an acquaintance move this weekend - voluntarily, I might add. I happen to get great enjoyment out of the process of packing and unpacking a truck. I have a special sense when it comes to knowing how to pack things so as to get maximum value out of the space available. It's a gift, really, and it's a shame that there is no real economic value to it. I also enjoy the physical workout part of it, since my exercise regime is woefully inadequate. As long as I don't have to pack and unpack boxes, I love moving day.

The problem is that I don't know this woman very well, and thus have no way to assess her knowledge of basic moving day etiquette. There is, after all, a simple rule when it comes to volunteer movers - they must be paid in beer and pizza, and, if moving very heavy objects or a large volume of material, chicken must also be included. I have followed this rule my last two moves, with no unsatisfied labourers. I pray she has read the manual.