To hear the BC politicians tell it , describe it , they are real debt slayers . In this so called buoyant economy , increased revenues based to a large extent on the real estate taxes , not industry , this Province brags a lot.
But their own figures from the budget in February to the update today tells a far more modest story .
The Government does a three year budget : 2016/17, 2017/18 and 20018/19.
In February the net debt on page 31 of the fiscal plan was for the three years:
$67,690 ,000,000 billion , $69, 886 , 000,000 billion and $71, 891 ,000,000 billion .
Today this great debt slayer provides the new numbers :
$66,518,000,000, $68,946,000,000 and $ 71,861,000,000.
If this is what the Government can do with the best economy in Canada , with $2.5 billion more revenue than predicted in February , what will the debt look like when times are not so good?
peckford42 
Brian, when I suggested to a prominent Green Bay Businessman that in NL&LAB’s case where accumulated debt is about $19 Billion and annual Interest is about $1.1 Billion that it was time to tell the banks to Foxtrot Oscar, his reply was, ” Dawson, you have to start thinking like the businessman you are. You can’t do that. That’s their profit. That’s what they pay their employees with.” Brian, the planet is wallowing in Debt. The West is wallowing in Debt with an aging and declining population to pay it. Canada, the IMF’s shining example of fiscal responsibility owes about $1.5 Trillion and pays about $35 Billion a year in Interest. Here in the Motherland, we spend more on Interest than we do on either Education or Health Care. We’re not as bad as Japan yet who spend 41 cents of every tax dollar on Interest but we are up to 17 cents and rising fast with the borrowing for Muskrat Falls. Even after the Spring’s $883 Million combo of cuts and taxes, we project to take in $7.5 Billion of which $5 Billion is already committed to Salaries and Wages and Interest. Only $2.5 Billion leftover to “fill all the potholes”. So off we go and borrow another $2 Billion. Brian, you were at the helm here in NL for a long time. Do they not see where all this borrowing is leading us? Or does it not matter to them as long as a select few prosper? Do they not see that this Debt and Interest spiral is what leads to the pain and suffering of the fiascos in Cyprus, Ireland, Iceland, Greece, Japan, etc.? Soon also to be Italy, Spain and Portugal. What am I missing here Brian? Does it not matter that it is mathematically impossible for the Americans to pay their Debt? Do we just keep cutting and keep taxing to pay the banks til the people have no programs and services and then go bankrupt? With your insight and experience, please share your take on this with me. Thanks! Dawson
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I must say you have reviewed it well. There has to be an end at some point to al this borrowing one would think . A good website to review is David Stockman ‘s Contra Corner in which he and others post articles similar to what we are saying but with more data. It is scary. China is now borrowing like there is no tomorrow. I suspect we will have collapse in the west where some major adjustment will take place . But whether we will learn from it is doubtful. Look at the 2007-9 collapse and it looks like most are back to their old bad habits again.
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