Thursday, November 23, 2006

Flaherty's Fuzzy Figures

Big news! The Tories plan to eliminate the federal debt in 15 years! Great news, right? Well it would be if it were possible. Flaherty has said that all budget surpluses will be used to pay down the debt. So let's see what will those surpluses look like for the next five years? Hmm... looks like they only add up to $14.4 billion or 3% of the $480 billion debt. So we pay off three percent over five years and 97% over the remaining ten. Great plan Jim.

Fifteen year economic projections are suspect in the first place. But come on, you could at least choose a feasible date. How about 2050? That seems to be a favourite date for this government and plus at least that I would have kind of, almost, believed. More hot air from the Tories. It's disgusting. We need to get rid of these guys and quick.

1 comment:

Aaron Ginsberg said...

Listen, I support debt reduction. I just think Mr. Flaherty should be honest with the Canadian people about when we can pay it off. And no, with an aging population putting increased demands on social programs like health care and the CPP, I really don't think its time to be cutting taxes. The only way we avoid a tax increase is through debt reduction. That's why I support debt reduction. I can't build a hospital or arm our troops with a few extra cents in my pockets. I'd far prefer the government to invest in the future of this country.

P.S. My employment status is not an issue here. I pay taxes, income and sales. The fact that I spend the majority of my time preparing to compete in a knowledge economy when I'm 20 years old shouldn't be held against me.

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