Conservatives run deficit budgets too

NDP governments actually have a very good track record at balancing budgets.

Dateline: Friday, October 10, 2008

By Elaine Gibson

Conservatives have the reputation of being the good financial managers, while people believe that NDP governments cannot manage the economy. Yet a Finance Department analysis of federal and provincial governments over a 22-year period reveals a very different picture: New Democrat Governments have balanced their books 46 percent of the time while Conservative governments have only had 35 percent balanced budgets and Liberal governments 21 percent . Why does the belief persist that New Democrats do not have credibility on the economy?

First, there is the impression that expenditures that help ordinary people are frivolous — unemployment insurance benefits, housing, child care, education and other social programs. Liberal and Conservative Governments have cut all of these. Since the NDP is strong on social programs, it is suggested that the NDP "spends too much", but they have had strong supportive programs while still balancing the budget — as demonstrated for the last 11 years in Manitoba. The Conservatives frequently repeat that the NDP will raise taxes, but the NDP promise is really they will not carry through with proposed Conservative Corporate tax cuts for 2009 to 2013.

Second, people don't take into account that lowering government revenue is the same as spending. The $40 billion in tax cuts over the last two years show up on the debit side of the ledger along with expenditures, not counting the proposed $50 billion corporate tax cuts. Late NDP leader David Lewis coined the term "Corporate Welfare Bums", which still applies today. Small businesses and people with low to medium incomes spend most of their money in the Canadian economy; money in the hands of big corporations may be invested outside Canada, including jobs. Conservatives count on a trickle-down effect for jobs but there are no guarantees.

Conservatives constantly refer to the Bob Rae Government, even though there are Conservative examples of worse deficits (e.g. Brian Mulroney, Grant Devine in Saskatchewan). Steven Harper now muses that a deficit might be necessary (because he will not give up on this tax cuts), while Jack Layton would rather give up some kitchen-table priorities.

It is Conservative-style economics that have driven the United States into its hole — tax cuts for the wealthy, a resistance to regulating their big business/banker friends and excessive expenditures, particularly military spending. Harper has greatly reduced the Federal Budget revenue/surplus for any future government. Believing as he does in his conservative ideology, how can we trust him with an economy moving towards recession? He might continue to help out big corporations, but there will be a shrinking safety net for the rest of us?

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