The Ten-Dollar Solution

The Conservatives breathed a sigh of relief today when they realized the budget seemed to be received with a passing grade by many of the commentators. They had hoped to squeak through on this one, knowing that next year is crunch time and they’ll have to pay the piper. Between now and then, though, they are hoping for an election and that elusive majority.As a result of this, Jim Flaherty gave a “stay the course” budget, but in such turbulent times no one is really sure what that course is. And also, who is steering it? This is the captain who said there was no recession on the horizon and then constantly had to readjust his figures on an almost monthly basis in an attempt to catch up to reality.  If Paul Wells is correct in his column today, the Finance Minister has been off on his projections by some 76 billion dollars.  Whoa, that’s worrying.Every group will have something to say about this budget, its pros and cons, its winners and losers.  The awful truth though is that while there well be some winners, all of us will be losers with this budget.  Why? Because it never took four oncoming tsunamis seriously.The first is the inevitable tidal wave of retirements on the horizon as the baby boomers pass into their senior years. We’re having trouble right now dealing with pensions; how are we supposed to deal with the millions who will be placing pressure on senior incomes, hospital coverage, health insurance, wait times, etc.? Demographers and prophetic economists have been telling us this for years. This budget was the time to acknowledge it – it didn’t.Recent controversy aside, the environmental cataclysm looming over us is frightening. Somehow, the vast majority of us know this but this budget never lifts its head long enough to see what’s coming. Where is the investment in alternative energies, or the carbon tax? How will we deal with steadily rising fuel prices that will also drive up the cost of the products we acquire? Don’t look for hope in this budget; it’s not there.Slightly over 300,000 jobs have been lost in this recession, but the government says that over 100,000 have been reclaimed. Many debate these numbers, but what we need to know is what are the jobs of tomorrow and how do we invest in them? The budget is silent, with only empty symbols thrown in.The final tsunami, and clearly the most imminent, is the economic wreck coming in our direction.  Consider these figures. Right now, public debt is approximately $500 billion, but private debt is almost triple that.  Slightly over $100 billion dollars has been added to our cumulative debt in the last two years alone. That’s $3000 for every Canadian!  The deficit accumulated in the last year is almost $60 billion – another $2000 per Canadian. That means our individual portion of the current debt/deficit is $5000 per person, not including our private debt.  This budget never tackled that problem.  The independent Parliamentary Budget Officer and more economists than we can count are saying we are now in a “structural” deficit.  In other words, it’s here to stay until we treat this problem seriously.There were good things in this budget to be sure, but in failing to deal with these four oncoming forces in any serious way, we are all the more vulnerable to their growing effect.Let me throw out one more figure - $10. That’s the cost to each person for an election. It’s a bargain compared to what’s coming, but citizens say repeatedly that they don’t want one. It’s only a matter of time until the miscalculations of today impinge on us all, and at that time, $10 might be all we can afford.  Better spend is wisely.