Coming up on back-to-back days, which is in itself quite unusual, are the federal then the provincial budgets for 2011, where we'll learn how each approaches the economy of their given jurisdiction.
Coming up on back-to-back days, which is in itself quite unusual, are the federal then the provincial budgets for 2011, where we'll learn how each approaches the economy of their given jurisdiction.
Firstly, with the federal budget due out on Tuesday, Mar. 22, we have been promised a fiscally-responsible budget by Finance minister Jim Flaherty, as Canada's economy as a whole has been recovering some, but is still experiencing some high unemployment numbers in some areas of the country, while other areas (like ours, for example) are having quite a good and strong economy rolling along.
As a reminder of the federal government's need to rein in the spending and be fiscally frugal was a visit by the Federal Debt Clock, being taken across the country by the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation. The amount of our debt (based on federal government numbers) is increasing at the alarming rate of $1,400 per second; when you stand there and watch this clock adding this number per second, it gives pause to think what could mean fiscally for our future.
What is truly frustrating is that we had just come out of a number of good years where we were actually making the debt clock go down. According to the tax federation rep I talked to, we are quickly approaching the milestone where the debt we were able to pay off between 1997 and 2007 will basically be wiped out, and thereafter we will be building on that amount (namely the debt we were under in 1997).
Offsetting the federal picture is the provincial one, where we are happily enjoying excellent revenues from our active oil industry, along with our potash, uranium and other resources. With this in mind, combined with the fact we are in an election year, I have the feeling we are going to see quite a different budget on Wednesday handed down in Regina.
There have been hints of loosened purse strings already, with fiscal announcements in the last few weeks, including (but not limited to) the promise of full funding of revenue-sharing to municipalities, and a reduction in education property tax. At least with some of the announcements coming out of Regina, the money is going to areas where the funding is needed, such as for capital projects in health care (where the funding ratio was improved to 80-20) and education.
I think the difference here is that the provincial government can afford to do some of this spending, where the federal government has a much larger responsibility, including one to not build up our debt, but to begin the work of reversing that debt clock.
