BC is returning to its big spending ways of the 1990s

[Gone_Fishin]

BC is returning to its big spending ways of the 1990s


During the 1990s, British Columbia’s economy generally suffered from lacklustre growth and poor fiscal performance. To bring the extent of BC’s fiscal and economic weakness into focus, consider that the 1990s have been referred to as the province’s “lost decade”. In every year of the 1990s, BC ran budget deficits—at a time when many other provinces were implementing successful fiscal consolidations and producing balanced budgets. Following the fiscal consolidations of the early 1990s, nearly every other province saw its net financial position (government liabilities minus financial assets) relative to GDP either essentially hold steady or improve over the second half of the 1990s. BC, on the other hand, saw continued growth in its debt-to-GDP ratio through the second half of that decade.

Back in 2001, my colleagues Jason Clemens and Joel Emes noted that undisciplined government spending was one of the root problems of BC’s fiscal and economic woes during the 1990s (the other being uncompetitive tax rates). Specifically, in a detailed analysis of BC’s fiscal and economic situation, they wrote:

“The root of the economic problems in British Columbia is poor public policy founded on a belief in the efficacy of a more activist and interventionist government. Over the last decade, real per capita government expenditures in British Columbia have increased 7.5 percent, compared to declining expenditures of 0.6 percent in Ontario and 19.7 percent in Alberta. Government spending as a percent of GDP increased by 13.3 percent in British Columbia over the 1990s while it decreased 2.8 percent and 27.0 percent in Ontario and Alberta, respectively.”

snip

In a recent examination of program spending (all spending excluding debt service payments), my colleagues and I found that BC exercised greater spending restraint than any other province in the decade and a half after 2001. The chart below illustrates this by comparing the growth in real (inflation-adjusted) program spending per person in all 10 provinces between 2002/03 and 2016/17. It shows that real per capita program spending in BC increased at an average annual rate of 0.9 percent over the period—the lowest rate of any province. Newfoundland had the highest rate of spending growth at 2.8 percent while Ontario’s rate was 1.8 percent and Alberta’s was 1.3 percent. These differences in the annual spending growth rate between provinces may appear relatively small at first glance. However, compounded over time they have a substantial impact on a province’s overall spending level.



Things have changed again in BC with a new NDP government assuming power in July 2017. Based on BC’s latest budget, we’re seeing early signs of a reversion back to the big spending ways of the 1990s. As evidence, the following chart displays program spending in BC from 2016/17 to 2019/20 under both the previous Liberals plan from the 2017 budget and the current NDP plan from the 2018 budget. Cumulatively, the NDP plan is to spend $9.9 billion more over the course of three years than the Liberals. Moreover, from 2017/18 to 2019/20, the NDP plans to increase program spending at an average annual rate of 5.2 percent, which is double the 2.6 percent planned under the Liberals.



After just one full year in power, it seems British Columbians may be seeing history repeat itself with a return to the big spending NDP government of the 1990s.


https://www.fraserinstitute.org/blogs/b ... -the-1990s

[The Green Barbarian]

the NDP just plain sucks. Just disgusting.

[blueliner]

Just wait its only the tip of the Ice Berg with these clowns in charge

[Catsumi]

Golly, looks like they are emulating the Federal Libs, spend, spend, spend. There is NO tomorrow!

[Leifer]

Anyone who voted NDP last election must have known this was coming.
Tax the hell out of everyone....swell the ranks of the public sector....kickback to the Unions....and spend other peoples money like its going out of style.

With the best of "progressive" intentions.....they will drive us back into last place.

[Smurf]

Do or have their best of progressive intentions ever done anymore than destroy the economy and province of BC for the betterment of themselves and their contributors. They are heading down the exact same road as last time and expecting different results, LOL. Some people will never learn and this crowd is a perfect example of that.

[hobbyguy]

Don't confuse progressives with the far left NDP and LEAP lunatics. There is a balance, and neither extreme gets it. The NDP certainly don't.

[burnedatstake]

this is funny. the right wing mentality that if you spend up front - its too much. how many years did we see the liberals bake numbers up front and say they were saving money? and then when the fiscal fantasy started showing cracks - they would spend half a billion on certain projects just to get it done? in the end if the ndp is better at math out of the gate that is great. and if there is modest over runs - cest la vie. at the end of the day liberal supporters have no leg to stand on in regards to numbers or fiscal responsibility. especially when "surpluses" were ball face lies that nearly crippled crown corps into oblivion. so take your fraser institute garbage and stick it where the sun dont shine. its all lies and so is any innuendo that the ndp mismanages money. i care as much about the 70's or 90's as liberal supporters care about the 2000's. if and when it is proven beyond a shadow of doubt by independent sources that the ndp mismanaged - ill take a look. till then - its all bollocks.

[Urbane]

^^ The NDP ran eight consecutive deficit budgets and caused the province's credit rating to be downgraded. The party suffered an ignominious defeat in 2001, winning only two seats in the 79-seat legislature. Even many traditional NDP supporters were disgusted by the mismanagement and scandals so they chose to vote Liberal or stayed home on election day.

[burnedatstake]

^^ The NDP ran eight consecutive deficit budgets and caused the province's credit rating to be downgraded. The party suffered an ignominious defeat in 2001, winning only two seats in the 79-seat legislature. Even many traditional NDP supporters were disgusted by the mismanagement and scandals so they chose to vote Liberal or stayed home on election day.

ancient history. wake me up when its relevant from today.

[LordEd]

ancient history. wake me up when its relevant from today.

New favorite quote.

[mikest2]

this is funny. the right wing mentality that if you spend up front - its too much. how many years did we see the liberals bake numbers up front and say they were saving money? and then when the fiscal fantasy started showing cracks - they would spend half a billion on certain projects just to get it done? in the end if the ndp is better at math out of the gate that is great. and if there is modest over runs - cest la vie. at the end of the day liberal supporters have no leg to stand on in regards to numbers or fiscal responsibility. especially when "surpluses" were ball face lies that nearly crippled crown corps into oblivion. so take your fraser institute garbage and stick it where the sun dont shine. its all lies and so is any innuendo that the ndp mismanages money. i care as much about the 70's or 90's as liberal supporters care about the 2000's. if and when it is proven beyond a shadow of doubt by independent sources that the ndp mismanaged - ill take a look. till then - its all bollocks.

You lost me, could you rephrase in a language that I'm fluent in ? Thanks

[Gone_Fishin]

if and when it is proven beyond a shadow of doubt by independent sources that the ndp mismanaged - ill take a look. till then - its all bollocks.

You want an article from the CCPA or the Broadbent Institute, I assume?

[burnedatstake]

why exactly is spending such a terrible thing? when the liberals had their alleged surpluses what exactly do right wingers think they did with them? put it in a sovereign wealth fund like norway? no - they used it to lather on the costs they knew would creep up with their bad estimates. all at the expense of crown corps.
i find it crazy that there is a double standard in regards to the ndp. if the liberals were in power right now spending on the things they deemed worthy - there would be no problem with the right wing cohorts. now the ndp is in power and the liberals and their supporters have suddenly found a conscience in regards to finances. its actually comical.

[alanjh595]

The comment above ^^^^^^^^ takes way too much time and effort to interpret, that it has lost all meaning and relevance, due to the potential for the number of wild guesses required.