Thoughts on BC Politics and More

The Canadian economy’s historic slowdown is contributing to an extended decline in many people’s living standards. From 2013 to 2022, inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) grew at its slowest pace since the 1930s (Cross, 2023). Since the middle of 2019, real GDP per person has been falling in what has become one of the longest declines of the last 40 years (Munro, Clemens, and Palacios, 2024). Yet despite this, the federal government continues to pursue fiscal policies that aggravate the problem (Fuss and Clemens, 2024). Looking at these facts, it is imperative that the government adopt a new fiscal policy approach that fosters economic growth and helps improve living standards for Canadians ... CLICK HERE for the summary CLICK HERE for the full study

  For many years, from 2000 and 2016, the British Columbia government prioritized spending restraint and debt reduction.    But after the 2017 election, the government reversed course. Since then, B.C.’s NDP government has increased spending quickly and is now on track to accumulate substantial new debt in the years ahead.   Students of Canadian fiscal policy history know that changes in government don’t always produce major changes in fiscal policy ... o ther times, however, changes in government lead to major changes in policy. Which brings us back to B.C. where after a long run of spending restraint and debt avoidance, the 2017 election represented a major policy pivot ... CLICK HERE for the full story

On Thursday, the United Conservative Party led by Premier Jason Kenney delivered its first budget. On the campaign trail, UCP members regularly stressed the need to tackle Alberta’s deficit, which is projected to total $8.7 billion in 2019/20. The government’s first budget shows it’s willing to meet those words with action. Alberta’s era of fiscal complacency has ended. First, let’s look at the grim reality of Alberta’s finances.  The province has run budget deficits every year except one since 2008/09. Largely as a result, provincial net debt has soared to nearly $37 billion. And yet, despite the severity of these challenges, fiscal policy in Alberta has in recent years been characterized by unrelenting complacency. For example, instead of confronting the deficit challenge, the NDP government of Rachel Notley allowed it to fester. Alberta kept increasing nominal government program spending year after year. Predictably, large deficits remained and...

John O'Fee ** writers note to me, which I am passing on to you ... given that I teach real estate transactions in Thompson Rivers University (TRU) law school, I feel qualified to comment   When the sub-prime mortgage crisis hit the United States in 2008 it triggered a global recession.   By almost all accounts, Canada emerged from this crisis remarkably unscathed.   The reason for this is that Canada has stricter rules to qualify for mortgages and stricter rules about paying them off. You might think this would result in lower rates of home ownership in Canada when compared to countries with laxer rules like the United States.   In fact, home ownership rates are nearly identical despite the fact that Americans can generally deduct the cost of mortgage interest from their income in the United States. Mortgage terminology can be confusing but a couple of simple concepts should be understood.   Every mortgage has an interest rate, a term (how long ...