madjak30 wrote:I don't know how you will vote, but the NDP had BC swimming in debt...I don't know if the "Liberals" have made a dent or not, but someone needs to clean up the spending problems in our governments...Alberta too! Canada & North America for that matter...
I don't envy the task all governemts have at this time...they're in "crumb" no matter which way they go...if they cut spending, they will hear from lobbyist groups...if they raise taxes, we will all be complaining (I think we pay enough)...and the latest trend is to steal from the future by pushing payments into longer terms...none are THE right answer, someone will have to step up and show the cards for what they are...
I think politics in this country needs a shake up party...my leaning is toward the Conservatives (I know, big surprise being Albertan and all) but only fiscally, I'm socially more Liberal...but the Conservative party is leaning toward the spending habbits of the Liberal party, the Liberals are getting ever closer to the social side of things, and the NDP...well they're still the NDP which is way to social program oriented for me to even consider...there needs to be a party that is progressive enough to be tolerant of the current societal acceptance (race, sexual orientation, religion) and yet be able to control the spending without having to add a toll to any service...I just don't see it hapening anytime soon...
As things stand right now, I don't see much difference in whoever is the PM...other than the colour of the banners...they are all in there for personal gain, don't let them fool you.
Maybe I'll pay more attention to politics some day, but until I see a party worth listening to...it just doesn't seem to make a difference who wins...
Later.
Actually, the notion that the NDP had the Province swimming in debt and that their 10 years at the helm of the Province was the so-called Lost Decade is pretty much a fallacy and to put it bluntly, utter right wing neo-con bullshite.
Fact of the matter is, that when they were ousted from power 12 years ago, they turned over a sizable surplus to the DUI Gordo and his band of (not really) Liberals. Gordo took that surplus and squandered it, and after he got the boot due to the HST debacle, Chrispy Clark doubled it in two years. They basically have racked up the biggest debt load BC'ers have ever seen with nothing to show for it. Half a billion dollars spend of putting a new roof on BC Place, a roof that only sort of works, true they put in wider seats and big assed TV screens as well. BC Place is run by The Pavilion Corporation, a quasi-independent firm and it is a large tax sucking sink hole, as is the Convention Centre and Cruise Ship Terminal.
In 2001, Gordo created an independent entity called the BC Progress Board which was made up of very pro-BC Liberal (read as Harper neo-cons in Liberal clothing) senior businessmen who were tasked to monitor and track BC's economic performance under the Fiberals. And monitor and track they did, along with releasing reports, which to their horror and that of the Gordo Fiberals, showed that by every metric going, BC was in decline and that in fact, the people and business's did better under the so-called "Lost Decade" of the BC NDP tenure. Personal incomes, job creation, wealth generation, new business start ups, exports, productivity, profits, GDP/GNP growth, employment rates, you named it, they had better growth under the NDP. Under the Gordo Liberals, the party that like to proclaim itself as the Party of Free Enterprise, there was a steady decline in all the metrics. When Gordo was basically ousted by his party due to the HST debacle, Chrispy Clarke his former Deputy Premier took over and one of her very first acts was to shut down the BC Progress Board, it was too embarrassing to be allow to continue.
As for debt, well when the Fiberals took over, BC had a robust economy, a balanced budget, labour peace, and a surplus in the bank. Within ten years, climbed to almost 42 Billion and in the two years of Chrispy tenure, it is estimated to have climbed to 65 Billion. What is truly scary is that Crown Corporations such as BC Ferries and PavCo are now quasi-independent and therefore their debt does not appear on the Provincial Ledgers, however the tax payers of the Province are still liable for covering it. And those Crown Corporations that made a profit have either such as ICBC or the Liquor Board have seen their siphoned off and left cash starved. And BC Hydro was forced into contracts with privately owned Run of the River power generation companies to buy their juice at 3 times the market value. BC Gas, which supplied natural gas to the people of BC at fair rate and exported the surplus was sold off to a Houston TX outfit. BC Rail was not sold, however a 999 year lease was given to CN and there is a big stink over that one. They also tried to sell of the BC Liquor Board Distribution centres to a friend of Clarke, but due to the election, that has fallen through. One of the more worrying thing they did was to award the management and collection of BC Health Plan to a US firm which has questionable ethics and security. Our health data is now in the hands of a foreign company in a foreign land.
Now lets talk taxes, Conservative it seems have yet to meet a tax they don't like. GST, a Conservative Tax. HST a Conservative and BC Liberal tax that was killed by a Provincial referendum. And while the BC Libs did lower the Provincial income tax by a point, they more then made up for it by creating the only Green Tax in North America, only in BC to you have to pay a Green Tax on every litre of fuel you buy, something like 6 cents a litre or more. They also raised the BC Health premium so that it had doubled. Hydro is more expensive, in part due the sweet heart deals they cut for their Run of the River friends and in part to the Green Tax. Ferry fares to the Island are so high that it most people only go there if they have to or for a special treat. There is a toll on the new Port Mann Bridge over the Fraser and one of the Gold Ears Bridge as well. Go to a Provincial Park and get hit with a lot of user fees. All in all, the Libs have been direct and indirect tax happy these past 12 years, all the while cutting service and refusing to help the actual people who need help.
There is a saying that says "Tory times are hard times" and you Albertan's are just finding out how true that is. Your Province is in worse financial shape then my BC, even with all your petrol dollars. You are in such bad shape that your Conservative Government has actually considered installing Provincial Sales Tax on you. They seem to have backed off on that idea so far, but don't too surprised when it and other taxes are levied against you in order to balance the books.
