Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Last weekend, Prime Minister Mark Carney prepositioned that federal revenues have fallen since last year’s economic and fiscal update, and the annual deficit will be bigger when his government tables its own budget next month. It prompts the question: What’s a good rule-of-thumb for revenues considering Canada’s deteriorating economy? Different methods will, of course, produce different results, but one common approach suggests that revenues could fall as much as $12.4 billion this year alone ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

As mortal beings with a finite arc of existence it makes sense to plan for a retirement stage of life.  This generally involves ensuring we have something put aside and that we are not carrying any significant debt.  It’s natural for us to presume that our governments operate on similar rules and will one day have to pay off the debt they incur.  I often hear “ we can’t leave national debt for our children and grandchildren to pay off ”.   In fact, our children (and grandchildren) will never pay off our debt and neither with their descendants.  That’s not how government debt works. Countries are different in that, unlike you and I, they have no set expiration date.  Canada is looking pretty fit and trim for a 152-year-old and thankfully, shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.  Throughout the last century and a half Canada has carried various amounts of debt and has never paid it off.   According to the Canadian We star...