In a democracy it is illegal to offer cash to someone to buy their vote. That is probably also true in the pseudo democracy called the United States of America.

Of course, the law doesn’t always apply when it it the government offering the bribe. Canadians are used to new government programs, including some with cash money to voters, getting rolled out in anticipation of an election.

Those programs, in theory, are costed out. The government has a plan to pay for them, on paper anyway.

In contrast, Donald Trump’s latest scheme, a $5,000 cheque to every American voter should the Republican Party win the midterm elections in November, seems to have less fiscal foundation than most of his ideas. He has no idea how he will find the $1.5 trillion it is estimated to cost the Treasury.

Not that it matters. This isn’t the first time he has offered cash to America’s voters. the previous times no money was forthcoming, and there is no reason to believe this time would be any different.

Anyone thinking of changing their votes to get the cash should pay attention to that. Trying to collect a bribe after voting day will be hard. Once you have lost your leverage at the ballot box, the President has no need to follow through.

Canada’s bribes to voters are usually a bit more subtle than a promise of a cheque in the mail, though we have seen those in recent years. There as a Goods and Services Tax (GST) holiday just before Christmas a couple of years ago. Consumer’s loved it, but it didn’t make Justin Trudeau more popular.

Pharmacare was a popular idea until it was rolled out and people discovered how limited it was. Not everyone uses birth control or has diabetes.

Free dental care has been much more popular. It isn’t universal, but everyone has teeth, and many people unable to afford a dentist have been treated.

Paying for it, and Pharmacare and the GST holiday was something the government didn’t figure out. So our national debt grows and our grandchildren can figure out how to foot the bill. Or maybe AI will kill us all first, which would solve that fiscal problem.

Trump’s move smells a little desperate. An unpopular party led by an unpopular president trying to bribe the voters with their own money. After all, that is where governments get money – tehy tax the citizens.

You would think that most voters would see through this sham. Then again, these are the people who elected this guy in the first place.