Today’s sheep are spared, so that tomorrow’s may be more lavishly fleeced.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci’s budget released this past Thursday showed a $10.3 billion deficit for the coming year and that Alberta’s debt would rise to $71.1 billion by 2020! Remember it was only 12 years ago, in 2005 in fact, that Alberta was debt free!
The province’s deficit for the coming year is $200 million higher than the government had forecast at last year’s budget announcement. Similarly, the fiscal plan shows next year’s budget deficit will be $9.7 billion, compared with the previous estimate of $8.4 billion.
Premier Rachel Notley said she knows Albertans are worried about the growing size of the debt, but said it is “absolutely manageable.”
Ceci’s ministry budget also shows the province’s debt-to-GDP ratio roughly doubling from current levels of 10.6 per cent to 19.5 per cent in 2020.
On Friday at an Edmonton Chamber of Commerce luncheon Ceci was quoted as saying, “With regard to financials, I can tell you we have the best balance sheet of any province, we have amongst the lowest debt to GDP and as we go forward we will address our debt servicing and the debt we will accumulate.”
So in essence at street level, what I’m hearing from our leaders is;
- Little Suzy wants a pony and riding lessons? She’s entitled to it, she deserves it, take on debt to make it happen, its absolutely manageable, the math shows it, your income is guaranteed to be going up over the next 4 years.
- That fishing cabin you’ve always dreamed of on the Snake River outside of Jackson Hole Wyoming? You’ve worked hard, you’re entitled to it, you deserve it, borrow to make it happen, its absolutely manageable, the math shows it, your income is guaranteed to be going up over the next 4 years…and while you’re at it you may as well get that $2000.00 handmade custom bamboo fly rod you’ve always dreamed of… it’s only a few more bucks in the grand scheme of things.
All this is ok Chris because even with all the debt you’re taking on with the pony, Suzy’s riding lessons, a cabin and custom made bamboo fly rod your personal debt service ratio (PDSR) will still be lower than everyone else’s in the neighborhood. You can just address the debt servicing as it accumulates over time.
Are you kidding me?
Unsophisticated, credulous, naive and gullible.
But then again from where we sit as a collection agency operating in Edmonton and Calgary what do we know about the long term negative consequences that debt has on people?