Its all the NDP’s fault I tell ya.

Of course, Seamut, everything bad that happens to this province is the NDP’s fault and it matters not a lick that they haven’t been in power for a decade – still their fault.

Interesting how the article cites a freeze on management salaries for public service but makes no mention on how the workers have been frozen out for the past three years, likely a far greater source of savings.

Why don’t we ever see a figure for the ‘Assets’, and whether or not they’ve grown over the fiscal period at a greater or lesser rate than the ‘Liabilities’? Might be very revealing to those who are always keen to equate government finances to the finances of private enterprises, and wail endlessly when the government’s budget isn’t balanced.

There wouldnt be any deficit at all if they quit wasting money on roads, and bridges. In my opinion that is one of the biggest wastes of money in the Province.

Where is the balanced budget?? They are running our kids future into the ground like this and they still have $$$$millions to spend on TV ads?? Unbelievable .

I really do not think that they ever should have built the New York Throughway. Total waste of money.

Think they are starting to charge going over the Port Man bridge replacement. Will need to clog up soe different routes to get out of Vancouver to Beyond Hope.

I really think Washington State should start charging BC licensed vehicles a user fee for the I5 since their milk laden vehicles are destroying the roads. Besides, they are hogging the left lanes and slowing down traffic. ;-)

Start using gas and coal instead of burning all that wood!!!

No money for natural gas sales.

No money for coal sales.

No money for lumber sales.

No money for manufacturing (we have virtually none.

No money for tourism.

No income, but people still want, want, want in their BC homes while making all that money in Alberta and spending much of it there.

Leakage!!!!

“waste of money on tv ads, waste of money on trips, no more photo ops” blah blah blah

“hey where is John Rustad, does he do anything? You never see him, you never hear from him?” blah blah blah

;)

This topic is not generating many comments. If it was the NDP the server this site is on would have likely crashed by now.

Leakage to Alberta and the USA is mostly due to the onerous taxes we have to pay on goods and services here in BC. Not to mention the stupid Gordon what’s his name carbon tax. And they wonder why this province struggles? Tax holidays are good for attracting new businesses….so why not for attracting people?

Christy said the other day that the budget would be balanced by next year. Only a $billion more to find.

Seamutt, I gotta agree with yuh, we’re still digg’in outa the mess the NDP left us in years ago.
Anyone who can’t understand that every government of any political stripe would be in the same mess, well, git edumucated, pulleeaase.
Socreds, NDP, Liberals are all in the same boat, collect taxes, build infrastructure, get crapped on by the electorate, our way of life LOL.

The figure is a $328 million dollar increase from the first quarter due to a change in the completion date in the sale of the Little Mountain Property.
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No mention of the HST. Is it just a slush fund for the up coming election? the entire budget process is just all bull and a smoke screens.
Cheers

I would like to know how many people have gone into the provincial budget and undertand where the money comes from and where it goes! There are sacred cows that no government will touch because it is unpopular! If you deal with these you will have a 2 billion dollar surplus!

I think its about time we started taxing these silly religious cash cows, there’s money to be made.

We keep demanding more of government and government (in all forms) in an effort to get re-elected keeps giving us what we demand! So, why should we be surprized that taxes go up, especially when government revenues go down??

Take a drive through downtown Prince George. It’s building after building after building of government employees supposedly providing the services that “we” have demanded. I am constantly and sadly amazed at just how large a segment of the population is employed by “government”.

“We” need to demand less of government instead of always demanding more! Only then might we actually find it possible for governments to actually run a balanced budget. Unfortunately there is far too much truth in the belief that we get the government that we deserve!

Care to elaborate on those ‘sacred cows’ a bit, cougs78? Not sure I follow just what you’re getting at.

My house Assessment went up over $100,000 in one year. No change in the footprint over the past 15 years. Only updating worn out stuff like roof, bathrooms etc. So, my taxes went up $1,000. But that’s not all, now that my home is worth so much more, the insurance company wanted to do their own replacement appraisal. Guess what? Another $1,000 in insurance cost. This is in one year. Same old house we bought 15 years ago that was built in 1952.

But this year, BC Assessment decides it’s time to find a brand new home. So, they do who knows how much in renovations and move to their new digs. All during a time when we should be holding back and spending less.

Government is out of control. They have no idea how to reduce the size of government. Nobody in government wants to do that. So, it continues to grow.

Servant, I hope you are tongue in cheek on your assesment increase.

For those that think Alberta is such a great place, with all that oil and gas they are 3 billion in the hole. Must be the NDP and unions fault.

People forget the NDP had two balanced budgets in a row before 2001….these guys run deficit after deficit. They are mortgaging the future of BC by doing this.

Things are rosy in Alberta. CBC is reporting a possible conflict of interest involving Premier Redford and her ex-husbands law firm.

Ya my tax assessment went up as well even though I can’t sell my house for whats owing on it… we’ve had five foreclosures on my street in the last couple of years due to the fact we don’t have city sewer and some housing are already on their 3’rd septic field with nowhere to go for a new one… so assessments go up naturally and so do the taxes. Insurance told me as well that they now make their own assessment on the value of the house, so their computer says my house is worth double its resale price and insurance will go up double… no claim ever, but they say its based on what they would have to pay to replace it.

Honestly it is just not worth it to own a house anymore. Renting is the only way to go.

So a 1200 square foot house built in the mid 70’s in the Hart is assessed at over a half million by RBC Insurance computer assessor. They won’t sell the insurance for any less than their assessed value. Its just another form of home hostage rip off.

would never get insurance through a lending institution. Integris insurance is just as over priced. Try the insurance outfit in the hart mall.

School time kiddies.

Home insurance is for replacement in todays dollars…nothing else.

Tax assesment is for market value of your property to buy, but is usually six months or more in the rear view mirror. That number is only good for property taxes nothing else. I a professional says otherwise, shoot them.

But neither means a damn thing for financing a house/property. They are both numbers from the past.

When it comes to your mortgage you are kidding yourselves if you are looking at the dollar figure…look at the interest rate they offer you. A quarter of a point will kill you more than the face value of the mortgage…Also the pay down options are more important, which I suspect no one even knows about.

” “We” need to demand less of government instead of always demanding more! Only then might we actually find it possible for governments to actually run a balanced budget.”
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Governments go into debt not primarily because of what “we” demand of them, but because if they didn’t continue to periodically transfer an increasing portion of the otherwise unrepayable floating debts of the private sector into the permanently unrepayable fixed debts of the public one, the current financial system couldn’t be kept going.

It is not a sensible system. But “we”, by and large, do not want to even try to understand it, let alone consider necessary changes to the accounting it uses. To “us”, most of us anyways, the supposed necessity of a “balanced Budget” is something set in stone. Governed by some unchangeable Law of Nature, like gravity, for instance. Even though it is definitely NOT. But until “we” finally do realise that, we will indeed get exactly the kind of government we deserve. And a “balanced Budget” in government, under the current financial set-up, will only be achieved at the greater expense of un-balanced budgets of all those it governs.

Looks like the credit card is maxed out!

One of the biggest booms in history, granted it was followed by on of the biggest busts, and yet the present government couldn’t dig out from the “mess” the NDP left? C’mon, they had 12 years. How’s the provincial debt now? I think when you look at almost any set of numbers regarding the provinces finances, the Liberals deserve a large FAIL.
Can we please put to bed, the myth that right wing, or conservatives are good with money? Not saying the left is, but we seem to have to dig out after the right wingers come in rack up debts. Provincially, federally, and the same can be said for our neighbors to the south.
Can we please get a government in the centre, maybe even a little right of centre. I think that was the idea with BC Liberals, but it sure didn’t pan out that way. Corporate handouts, cronyism, and corruption seem to be the BC Liberals management style. I think they’ve reached their due date.

Socredible! Entitlement programs! Could easy save 2 billion if they were used the way they were intended! They have become a life style for far too many people!

I agree. There seems to be a lot spent and little achieved that’s anything more than ‘make work’ positions for the promoters of various supposedly worthy causes.

govsux, all senior governments, whether they’re left, right, or in the centre HAVE TO rack up debts the way the current financial system has evolved. If they didn’t, the totality of business loans already written would have such a high default rate that the banks would stop lending, and the economy would collapse.

Businesses have to repay their borrowings, because the collateral security for those borrowings continually dissipates and depreciates.

Governments don’t, because the collateral security is not hypothecated to any tangible asset, but is instead the government’s continued ability to tax to pay the interest. Something, up until recently, governments have been able to always do. Problem is, governments are now running out of things to tax that they can be certain they’ll be able to continue to collect them on. And can’t raise them further without inducing adverse effects that only end up costing them more than what they hope to take in.

Runner thats good advice.

My complaint is that an insurance company should not be able to arbitrarily give an assessment on the replacement cost of a house with no appraisal and entirely on a cookie cutter data program that is based on who knows what for inputs.

It allows the insurance companies to inflate their revenue to meet their targets with arbitrary decisions that make a person over insure. If they want to raise their rates thats one thing, but to force someone to buy replacement insurance at twice the replacement cost doesn’t sit well.

Its like they are in with government in still trying to pump the ponzi of the housing market to make inflationary realities for their benefit.

IMO the most an insurance company should be allowed to force one to insure for should be the amount of the mortgage. If the home owner is under insured that that is their own risk.