Proving yet again that the Fraser Institute has zero credibility and even less understanding of the real financial picture of the BC government. Did they miss Minister of Finance Mike De Jong telling the taxpayers of BC that the BC Liberal government is predicting they will bring in a deficit of $1.5 billion?
Emma Crawford, Dec 6, 2012, Business in Vancouver
Premier Christy Clark has a better-than-average fiscal policy
when compared with those of Canada’s other premiers, according to the
results of a Fraser Institute study released this morning.
Measuring the Fiscal Performance of Canada’s Premiers 2012 ranks
10 premiers – eight current and two former – on three components of
fiscal policy: government spending, taxes and debt and deficits.
Clark’s ratings were above average in all categories.
“Our
report shows which premiers have put their provinces on track for
economic growth and which have not,” said Charles Lammam, associate
director of the Fraser Institute Centre for Tax and Budget Policy and
co-author of the report.
Premier Clark had a rating of 60.8 out of 100 for fiscal management policies overall, compared with an average of 45.9.
The premiers who had the highest rankings overall were:
- Kathy Dunderdale (Newfoundland and Labrador): 71.4;
- David Alward (New Brunswick): 70.4; and
- Brad Wall (Saskatchewan): 61.6.
The lowest ranked premier overall was Manitoba’s Greg Selinger, with a score of 19.2 out of 100.
The B.C. premier’s rankings in each of the three individual categories are:
- government spending: Clark – 54.5; average – 35.73;
- taxes: Clark – 62.8; average – 50.48; and
- debts and deficits: Clark – 65.0; average – 51.42.
“Sound
fiscal policy means premiers have to manage government spending
prudently, balance budgets and avoid imposing a tax burden so heavy that
it becomes a disincentive for people to work hard, save, invest and be
entrepreneurial,” said Lammam.
The complete study can be found at the
Fraser Institute’s website.
ecrawford@biv.com
@EmmaCrawfordBIV
***************************
By Les Leyne, Columnist
December 4, 2012, Vancouver Courier.
The Finance ministry has pages of financial data on how diligently it
is eliminating waste and slashing unnecessary spending en route to
balancing next February’s budget.
But the whole theme is negated
when people turn on their TVs and endure another round of the saturation
ad blitz about the B.C. Liberals’ jobs plan, all paid for with tax
dollars.
Finance Minister Mike de Jong spoke at length last week
about the razor-thin margins he’s working with when it comes to making
the current deficit vanish by next year. The message from his briefing
was that they are squeezing every nickel. It doesn’t square with the
evidence in all the media — endless feel-good ads about the Liberals’
economic strategy, some of them putting Premier Christy Clark front and
centre.
They’re budgeted at $15 million and there’s no doubt the
government will spend every nickel in that allowance. The rationale
offered was that it’s an aggressive information campaign to grow
confidence and attract investment.
Even de Jong appears to be having trouble with the glaring
discrepancy in the messages. He gave an insipid defence of the ads, but
acknowledged that people would question the outlay and that he has heard
the concerns.
They look even more absurd now in light of de
Jong’s outline showing the deficit for the current fiscal year is
getting bigger, not smaller. It’s mostly because the timing of a
Vancouver social-housing land deal has been changed, so more than $200
million in revenue will arrive next year rather than this year.
Combined
with other revenue drops, that means the deficit, originally estimated
at $968 million last February, then adjusted to $1.1 billion three
months ago, is now pegged at $1.5 billion.
“There is virtually no room for any timed pre-election spending extravaganza,” de Jong told reporters.
Except for the sustained, political pre-election advertising drive that’s apparently on the protected list as well.
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