A10
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012
VIEWPOINT
Address: The Surrey Now, #201 7889 132nd St., Surrey, B.C. V3W 4N2
THE
NEWSPAPER.COM
Publisher: Marlyn Graziano
B.C. politics
Economy spin hard to swallow InTheHouse Keith Baldrey
T
he B.C. Liberals keep using your money to tell you what a great job they’re doing managing the economy and creating jobs, but evidence keeps mounting that their claim to being financial wizards is questionable at best. First the B.C. government admitted its annual budget would have a much greater deficit than originally forecast. Then the latest job figures from Stats Canada showed the province actually lost more than 4,000 jobs last month. And then last week came the news that a leading financial firm thinks the province’s finances are starting to teeter on the brink of undesirable territory. That bad news, of course, came in the form of two financial downgrades by Moody’s Investor Services. While the financial firm kept intact the triple A credit rating for both the provincial government and BC Hydro, it dropped its outlook rating for both
from “stable” to “negative.” Both downgrades came because of concerns about the rising debt for both the province and the Crown corporation, combined with a sluggish economic performance that results partly from slumping revenues. Under the B.C. Liberals’ watch, the provincial debt has grown from $34 billion to a forecast of nearly $63 billion next year. B.C. Hydro’s debt has climbed from just more than $6 billion to more than $15 billion. Much of this debt accumulation is the result of an aggressive and ambitious capital spending program. Everything from new schools and hospitals to such big ticket items as the Sea-to-Sky Highway, the Port Mann Bridge, the Canada Line and the Vancouver Convention Centre have all helped balloon our provincial debt. BC Hydro has had to spend billions of dollars upgrading and maintaining its vast network of dams, transmission lines and generating stations. Few would quibble with much of this capital spending. Everyone wants a new or upgraded school
for their kids, new hospital expansions are greeted enthusiastically by local communities, and a reliable power supply needs ongoing maintenance. People may grumble about spending a lot of money on bridges and roads, until they begin using them. But also adding to our debt has been the cost of accumulated annual budget deficits, as the B.C. Liberals have chocked up a half dozen of them. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, of course. When the B.C. Liberals were in Opposition and the NDP was in power, they passed themselves off as economic-masters-inwaiting, while casting the New Democrats in the role of incompetent money managers. The truth is neither party has much to boast about when it comes to balancing the budget. Both parties
routinely racked up annual deficits while in office, and each struggled when the economy took any kind of nosedive (my own view is that governments get too much credit when times are good, and receive too much blame when things go bad). So Moody’s has now called out the B.C. Liberals on two fronts. Combined with that spotty track record when it comes to balancing the budget, it’s hard to see how that party can turn the next election campaign into being about which party is more competent at managing the economy. Still, there’s no doubt the B.C. Liberals will continue to beat their favourite drum about the so-called “dismal decade” of the NDP-ruled 1990s. But various economic statistics do not support the notion that one party is so much better than the other. It was amusing to see the
government trying to spin its way out of the bloody nose it got from Moody’s. There were lots of focus on the credit rating remaining intact, and virtually no mention of that downgrade of what the firm think the future holds for B.C.... And the future does not look particularly promising. The economy will slowly grow, the provincial debt will continue to climb, the government will likely run budget deficits for at least a couple more years (despite what it will claim in next year’s budget), and natural
resource revenues are unlikely to spring back to the levels they were at a few years ago. It’s hard to see Moody’s upgrading its outlook for B.C. back to stable anytime soon. But in the meantime, that taxpayer-funded ad campaign will continue to pat the government on the back about its economic wizardry. I have to wonder whether the voters will buy into any of that magic. Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC
What do you think? Email your thoughts on this issue to edit@thenownewspaper.com or snail-mail a letter to Suite 201-7889 132nd Street, Surrey, B.C., V3W 4N2. Include full name, address and phone number for verification purposes.
Our Commitment to You
We want to hear from you
The Surrey Now Newspaper, a division of LMP Publication Limited Partnership, respects your privacy. We collect, use and disclose your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Statement which is available at thenownewspaper.com or by calling 604-589-9182.
The NOW newspaper is a division of LMP Publication Limited Partnership. You can reach us by phone at 604-572-0064, by email at edit@thenownewspaper.com or by mail at Suite 201-7889 132 Street, Surrey, B.C. V3W 4N2 Marlyn Graziano Publisher
Beau Simpson Editor
Ellyn Schriber Manager, Integrated Advertising Sales
Second Class Mail Registration 7434. Delivered free every Tuesday and Thursday to 115,000 homes and businesses. Distribution: 604-534-6493 Circulation: delivery@thenownewspaper.com
Publisher: Marlyn Graziano Editor: Beau Simpson Manager, Intergrated Advertising Sales: Ellyn Schriber Sports Editor: Michael Booth Entertainment Editor: Tom Zillich Reporters/photographers: Tom Zytaruk, Carolyn Cooke, Amy Reid, Christopher Poon Office Manager: Jeanette Black Special Sections Marketing Consultants: Vivian Gillard, Sue Prasad, Winnie D’Souza, Margot Gauley, Angela Wood Manager of Sponsorship Development: Laura Cunningham Marketing Consultants: Bonnie Steeves, Laurene Falkenberg, Dal Hothi, Dawne Edwards Automotive Manager: Rob Carlyle Marketing Consultants: Patrick Nixon, Mari Jacobsen, John Birgeneau Production Manager: Darryl Schick Production: Colin Hartridge, Lizzy Kararusow, Adhil Naidu, Angela O’Neill, Jean Dalgleish Classified Sales: Linda Bampton, Virginia McGinnis Ad Control: Sarah Sigurdson Reception: Christine Steele