Why is nobody talking about paying down debt?
All the talk lately from politicians of all stripes, about B.C.’s “surplus”, is a continuing example of the misinformation given to voters regarding our true financial situation. We may indeed have taken in more than we spent last year, but the accumulated debt from years of spending more than what came in has resulted in a massive debt burden for the province.
No one has mentioned using even a part of our so-called surplus to reduce this massive debt.
This debt has burgeoned under the “fiscally responsible” Liberals, from $33 billion in 2001, to $ 67 billion in 2017, and instead of using at least some of the surplus this year towards reducing the debt, all the parties can talk about is where to spend it.
When will the reality set in that this massive burden needs to be reduced?
I guess the reality will set in when interest rates get high enough to cause carrying charges on the debt to become onerous. We already waste millions each year in finance charges to carry this debt. What will it be like if interest rates go up a few per cent?
By then it will be too late because typically that happens with a slowdown in the economy and we then face massive austerity cuts so we can carry the debt.
We’ve been here before folks and our children and grandchildren will get to bear the looming burden.
Michael T. Smith
Ladysmith