[Community_Media] Budget Editorial from the BC Federation of Labour

[Bev Pausche]

Hi everyone,

Please feel free to use the following op/ed article in your publications. If
you have any questions or would like a photo to use with the article, please
let me know.


Bev Pausche
Communications Assistant
BC Federation of Labour
http://www.bcfed.com


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BC budget: Liberals careening full speed ahead with their eyes closed

by Jim Sinclair
President, B.C. Federation of Labour

The recent BC Liberal budget is another testimony to the old saying that if
you keep building on your mistakes, your mistakes just get bigger.  We can't
afford these mistakes anymore.

Victoria's latest plan shows that the Liberals are more committed than ever
to continue on a reckless track to balance the budget on the backs of those
least able to afford it.  For the third year running - despite more than $1
billion in first-time federal transfers - we see no improvement in overall
economic performance and continued cuts to critical public services.  The
Liberals have left us with the biggest deficit in BC's history, but the
business community is cheering. 

The road to ruin started with a basic premise: That the Liberals had
inherited an unsustainable structural deficit from the NDP government and
were forced to make changes to position themselves for an economic recovery.
They repeated this refrain so often that almost everyone believed their plan
to cut personal and corporate taxes would produce an economic miracle.
We're still waiting.

The fact is, the Liberals inherited two balanced budgets and a surplus.
Since then, they've delivered massive deficits, reduced services, and pushed
the unemployment rate up from 6.7 percent in May, 2001 to 8.5 percent by the
end of 2002.  Even by their supporters' own measures, the tax cut strategy
is a failure.

In the words of Will McMartin, a right-wing political pundit, BC is
suffering from, "the most incompetent government we have ever seen in the
history of BC.  To say the fiscal house is in order is a mockery of the
English language.  Business Council economist Jock Finlayson had similar
reservations about their strategy when he said, "Legitimate questions arise
as to how the government intends to finance its tax plan."  Even more
incredibly, Finance Minister Gary Collins admitted that he did "not yet know
the impact on provincial finances."

What's missing in this latest budget is this basic truth: The tax cuts are a
failure.  They didn't stimulate the economy, they didn't pay for themselves
and now those least able to pay for them are footing the bill with job
losses and cuts to critical public services.

What's more disturbing is that the tax cuts did not come from surplus
budgets, so the next generation will pay nearly $500 million annually in
interest payments.  User fees, gas and sales tax increases have clawed back
all of the tax cut for virtually anyone earning less than $30,000 a year -
about half of BC taxpayers.  More of the same lies ahead, and the pain for
achieving a balanced budget hasn't been shared equally. 

The labour movement agrees that we need to balance the budget, but now
everyone knows we wouldn't be in this position if the Liberals hadn't been
such stubborn ideologues about their tax cut strategy.  Now, that the
predictable crisis of record deficit budgets has arrived, we are appalled
that the government is making choices that force working people to clean up
the mess.

It's time to put this province back on track with a plan that benefits all
of BC's citizens.  On the road to recovery, British Columbians want a more
compassionate government, and according to a poll conducted by the BC
Government and Service Employees' Union last Fall, nearly 80 percent of us
would gladly give up our tax cut if it went to maintaining public services. 

What we all wanted to see in this budget was compassion, accountability and
leadership.  We want a decent province where we take care of each other.  We
want to provide support for our seniors and opportunities for our young.
It's time for the Liberals to stop sleeping at the wheel.

(624  words)


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