Looking back at the year – Conservative Thoughts from 2011

I began this blog in late November of 2010 – so Conservative Thoughts has been online line for nearly 14^th months.  In that time I have written and posted just under three hundred and fifty (347) stories and opinion pieces.  My hope is during that time there have been many, or even just a few, that have made you stop and think about where our political process has been … where it is now … and where it can and should be in the future.

I consider myself to be a small ‘c’ conservative, and as I have always be clear about, I am a member of the BC Conservative Party.  What I write and think comes from that background, but the thoughts, ideas, and questions I post are my own.

So, back to those 347 opinion pieces I have written and posted … I wondered which ones struck the biggest note with those who read them. 

Today I will post the most read ones from 11 to 20 … and then tomorrow will be the ones counting down from ten to #1.  Following each of the headings, which have links to the full story, I will include a brief paragraph or two on what the story was about.

Let’s begin …

A tale of two billion five hundred and fifty five million misspent dollars

For the past few days now I have been trying to find out what the average cost would be to staff, provide equipment, and maintain, etc the average hospital operating room in British Columbia.   I haven't been able to get an answer, but I have spent a few hours on Google Search trying.

So why, you ask, was I trying to find this out??  Well I happen to be one of those people in BC who is concerned with the debt being racked up by successive Liberal governments in our province.  Most people, I believe, have no idea what our debt is, but that information is actually quite easy to find. 

For example, there is the BC governments Fiscal Plan (2011/12 to 2013/14), which was presented to the legislature on May 3^rd, 2011.  At that time, here is what Christy Clark and our BC Liberal government estimated the provincial debt will be this year ... and over the next 2 budget years.

                                                    Budget Estimates

Provincial debt:                        2011/12                  2012/13            2012/14

Direct operating debt …………         8,763                      9,267                  8,599

Taxpayer-supported debt …        36,816                    39,162                 40,500

Self-supported debt ……………      16,271                    18,060                 19,505

Total debt (in billions)          $53,437 (billion)    57,572                 60,355

Nearly 53 and a half billion in debt this year ... 57 and a half billion next year ... and an estimated total debt of 60 billion two years from now.  That's a lot of money, and trying to get a concept of what billions of dollars are, is not that easy.  We can make it easier to comprehend however, by looking at what it costs to service those billions of dollars of debt.  That is, the cost of the interest payment being made on those BILLIONS of dollars. 

Does anyone know the mind of Christy Clark --- even Christy herself??

Since the BC Liberals leadership campaign, right up to recent weeks, Christy Clark has appeared to second guess, or re-assess, almost every decision and statement she has made.

The biggest ongoing assessment and decision she had to make was whether or not to call an early Fall election despite legation she helped craft and pass on having a fixed election date in BC.  Well that speculation is now over, and so perhaps the BC Liberals can get on with the business of governing.

Meantime here are just a few snippets from an email Christy Clark sent to BC Liberal members and supporters yesterday:

·         Clark indicated that they needed to … “keep our eye on the ball with the provincial economy, especially in these globally uncertain times”

Is Christy Clark preparing to add a second carbon tax?

While those of us who live in the interior of BC face a far greater tax bite with the Carbon Tax --- there are benefits to NOT living in Greater Vancouver -- such as a transit tax that sits around 15 cents / liter.

Now however Christy Clark and the BC Liberals are considering a second carbon tax (AKA "tax grab" -- OR -- 'fleecing' of the taxpayers). 

Oddly enough this is a policy even further to the left of the NDP -- and additional fuel to an op-ed written by former Canadian Taxpayers Federation Director Maureen Bader.

Bits and Bites

It’s a busy week so just a few bits and bites for the moment --- hopefully I will have a full blog story tomorrow.

Minister of Transportation Blair Lekstrom will vote with his government today in support of the Yale First Nation Treaty, the Vancouver Sun has learned.

Government has a SPENDING PROBLEM ... not a revenue problem!

"Government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem!" ... so said Maureen Bader (former director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation) to a large group of BC Conservative Party members in Surrey this morning.

Ms. Bader indicated that while some people believe that government is the answer to all problems, a large portion of the population is fed up, and will elect a political party running on a platform of small government.  What is needed however, is to have a clear platform that will allow voters to give a mandate for change.

"Hello" from Surrey

It's 9:08am and I am now in Surrey --- bright eyed (yah right) and bushy tailed.  This morning came WAY too early (4:55am) but after several cups of coffee and some tunes on the radio I am here for the BC Conservative Party Special General meeting.

This morning will see us approving the party Principles, and the Contract with British Columbia.  After much hard work the parties policy document (20 pages) has been put together and we will be looking at, and discussing that as well.

Just before lunch we will have the opportunity to have a guest speaker; Maureen Bader (former Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation).  Then ...lunch --- thank goodness as I have not had lunch yet.

After lunch we'll hear from Hamish Marshal on the state of the election readiness ... and we'll be electing John Cummins as our party leader!

Well Wayne McMath has started the meeting so time to focus, and I'll be back with more later.

In Surrey (not Kamloops), I'm Alan Forseth.