Isn’t that the kind of fiscal prudence we would expect of a government led by the New Democrats?

Saturday on CKNW News, they featured a story entitled “Premier says Tuesday's budget will demonstrate prudence -- Don't expect tax increases or big spending announcements.  Here is the story in full (my italicize and bold):

With the province determined to balance its budget by next year, British Columbians shouldn't expect any big spending announcements in Tuesday's budget.

Premier Christy Clark says the government wants to demonstrate it can manage its spending.

"I'm just not interested in dumping piles of debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren," she says.

She also says it's wrong to go to the public to ask for raises for public sector unions.

"You know, I think that's pretty sensible. I think that most British Columbians, in these very tough fiscal times, understand it's important to be prudent, and I'm going to make a virtue of being prudent."

The finance minister has already said British Columbians should not expect any tax increases.

That all sound fine and well, but what has the BC Liberal government been doing for the past 10+ years?  While they initially had spending under control, for the past five or six years, they have been running bigger and bigger deficits – and steadily increasing the debt.

Here’s just a quick look back at a few of the instances this has been pointed out by the media, and financial watchdogs:

The Tyee (August 2004)

Nobody seems to want to mention the fast growing $38 billion elephant in our living room. Each of us owes $9,003, sharply up under the Liberals.

Canadian Taxpayers (February 2010)

B.C.’s Liberal government was elected on a platform of fiscal responsibility and started off well. Between 2001 and 2004, government spending hovered around $30 billion per year.

The government commendably reduced the debt from almost $38 billion in 2003 to $33.4 billion in 2006. However in 2005, spending restraint started to fly out the window – a result of that dreaded second-term spending disease that seems to infect governments at re-election time.

Canadian Taxpayers Federation:

Spending rose steadily to $40 billion in 2009 and is expected to hit $42 billion in 2011. This could send the debt to almost $60 billion by 2013, practically double its 2006 level.

CBC (July 2011)

The total provincial debt increased by $3.3 billion to $45.2 billion

Central 1 (from table in their BC Budget 2011 summary)

Total Debt 2011 / 2012 … $53,427 billion

Estimated Debt 2012 / 2013 … $57,572 Billion

Estimated Debt 2013 / 2014 … $60,355 billion

Given just this small snapshot of examples, of fiscal prudence by Liberal governments, what will Finance Minister Kevin Falcon be able to do when he announces the new provincial budget tomorrow?

This government has backed themselves into a corner by running deficits for the past 5 years.  And as for her saying she isn't, "… interested in dumping piles of debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren", what would she call the over 57+ billion in debt we'll have by next year?

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, we currently pay $6 million a day just to service that debt – that is the cost of interest payments alone. 

I have to ask, “Isn’t that the kind of fiscal prudence we would expect of a government led by the New Democrats?”

Who does she think will be paying for that debt, which has steadily increased on the watch of the BC Liberals? 

It will indeed be our children, and our grandchildren!

On October 3^rd of last year, in response to the Throne Speech, BC Conservative Party Leader John Cummins said,

“There is no promise to tackle the debt and only a vague indication of some sort of a review of crown corporations operations – no plan to get their borrowing under control … the most underwhelming aspect of this speech from the throne is the lack of vision.

BC has a weakening economy and the world is on a brink of another recession. Where is the plan from this supposedly “free-enterprise” government to weather the storm? Where is the vision to be the strongest economy in Canada – not have the worst unemployment west of Quebec?”

It has been over four and a half months since the last Throne Speech, and we would be right in asking, “What have the Christy Clark BC Liberals been doing in that time?”

It has also been one year now since the last budget by the BC Liberals, a budget in which they said, “Budget 2011 stays the course, keeping the focus of protecting health care, education and social services as British Columbia moves towards balanced budgets beginning again in 2013.”

Well there’s no doubt they have stayed the course – but it has been in raking up an even bigger budget deficit than expected … and in debt that continues to rise. 

That’s debt that will indeed end up on the ‘backs of our children and grandchildren.’

Christy Clark has said she wants to, “… make a virtue of being prudent." I for one wish she’d make a virtue of giving us the truth as well.

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts of one conservative.