The Liberal government’s election year budget is deliberately designed to hide a deficit of close to $800 million in the current year, say the BC New Democrats.

“The numbers in the Liberals’ pre-election budget are an illusion and simply cannot be trusted,” said New Democrat finance critic Bruce Ralston. “Their claim of a balanced budget is quite simply false, and their fiscal recklessness will saddle BC’s next government with significant financial challenges to manage.”

New Democrats released a more prudent and realistic estimate of the real Liberal deficit Thursday. By removing the short-sighted sale of public assets from the budget and restating expenditure growth for vital public services to more realistic levels, Ralston estimates the true deficit to be $790 million in 2013/14, $847 million in 2014/15 and $452 million in 2015/16.

“The Liberal budget projects only 0.8 per cent growth in expenditures for the coming year,” said Ralston. “But average growth over the Liberals’ term in office has been 3.2 per cent.  Either the Liberals have understated expenditures dramatically, or they are planning a massive wave of secret post-election cuts to critical services for British Columbians.

“Our revised growth projections of two per cent in the first year, 2.15 per cent in the second year, and 2.3 per cent in the third year are still very modest and will require disciplined financial management over the next three years,” said Ralston.

The Liberals have booked $475 million this year and a further $150 million next year as part of their fire sale of public assets, even though not a single sale has been confirmed.

“They’re counting on the sale of more assets in one year than the government has sold in the last ten years combined, and they’re booking the money before the sales have been made,” said Ralston. “It’s not realistic, and it’s not prudent fiscal planning.”

from the New Democratic Party

***

For the Record – The NDP a Stranger to Balanced Budgets

The NDP plan to run deficit budgets, with no end date in sight.

In contrast, the BC Liberals have a balanced budget that has been confirmed by the credit-rating agencies.

But it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone the NDP plan to run deficits and grow the size of government. The party’s record is one of poor economic managers and not being able to balance the budget.

Some of the NDP’s ‘economic highlights’ include:

• The NDP was elected in 1991 on a promise that “We will not spend more than British Columbians can afford.” They turned around and delivered eight consecutive deficits.

• The NDP left a $3.8-billion structural deficit behind for the next government to clean up.

• The NDP had five debt management plans in eight years and did not meet a single one.

• The NDP received six consecutive credit-rating downgrades

• Between 1992 and 2000, BC’s per-capita economic growth fell to dead last in Canada.

• Between 1992 and 2000, BC had less private-sector investment growth than any other Canadian province.

• Under the NDP, BC had the highest top marginal personal income tax rate in Canada (52.7% in 1999) and one of the highest in North America.

• Despite the global financial uncertainty, 2012’s annual unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent, lower than every year under the NDP.

• In 1991, B.C.’s taxpayer-supported debt-to-GDP ratio was 12.4%, by 2001 it had ballooned to 20.3%.

• In the 1992 and 1994 budgets, the NDP imposed $2 billion worth of new taxes on everything from personal to corporate income. (Source: The Vancouver Sun, 30 Aug 2000)

• Budget 1997 included $170 million in revenue through a program of “disposing of certain assets that are no longer required.”

 

From the Liberal Party

On provincial affairs ODN will try to show its balance with comments from both sides to each issue identified. ODN will not publish news releases of a political nature on every subject.