Going slower, but still heading downhill

By Ivan Morgan
November 10, 2023 Edition

All cozy with your tea, biscuits, and Shoreline? Get ready to be doused with a large bucket of ice water.

For those who don’t know, government’s Fall Fiscal Update is not really about finances, it’s about political theatre. Government got elected because to get your vote they assured you they knew what they were doing. These updates are designed to show you they still know what they are doing. They said they had a plan, and this update is to convince you the plan is working.

Having seen last week’s production, I feel compelled to provide a reality check. We are, after all, the people who are paying for all this, and we deserve something resembling the truth. Not that anything government presented last week was false, but it was a cherry-picked, selective, rose-coloured version of how we are doing.

Problem is I don’t know where to begin.

Years ago, we had an auditor general who felt compelled to let people know what he thought about how the province’s finances were doing. I used to attend his lectures, along with a who’s who of the province’s business, academic and political crowd. Attendees ran the gamut from John Crosbie down to little old me. It’s always been my goal to be the stupidest person in the room (meaning I strive to surround myself with smart folk) and I was never disappointed at these meetings.

We all sat there while he warned us we were in trouble. His 2017 warnings now seem quaint.  He was very worried about our $13 billion dollar debt. Six years later we are looking at more than $17 billion.

Debt servicing is our third highest expense, after health care and education. Granted government has reduced the yearly deficit, but they are taking credit for a lot of things they can’t and don’t control – like the price of oil.

On top of our enormous provincial debt is the money we owe for Muskrat Falls, a hydro project that will put our power bills through the roof and doesn’t work properly. After a lot of smoke and mirrors, government and their “federal cousins” don’t seem willing to offer anything concrete about the only thing that matters to you and me: the price we will pay per kilowatt.

Speaking about things that matter, the Fall Fiscal Update didn’t seem to touch on that. There were lots of facts and figures, indicators, and trends. We were told how well the province is doing. Really? Go to the grocery store. Are you doing well? Go to the gas pumps. Doing great?  Pay your heat bill, your electricity bill. Feeling better about things? God forbid you get sick or injured and end up in hospital or at your doctor – if you can find one. All going well there? Try to find a place to live.

Not a peep in the Fall Fiscal Update about anything that matters to you or me, except no new taxes. Raise taxes? Even they don’t have the gall to try that.

Last year government gave us all $500 to help us with the soaring cost of living. That was a real help to many. This year? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Bupkis. Bribing us with our own money proved they were out of ideas. Now I see it was also a politically stupid idea, as wherever I go these days people gripe that they are not getting “their $500” this year. 

And while we are talking stupid, government is still paying into a “Future Fund” to the tune of $130 million this year, money they borrowed to do that. How does that make sense? It appears to exist only so government can talk about “fiscal discipline.”

Fiscal discipline? Do not get me started.

Government has hordes of highly paid people who, if they wish to remain highly paid, interpret our financial situation in the best possible light for the politicians they work for. Go to the government website and read reams of boldly worded optimistic press releases. Watch the minister in front of the cameras putting the best spin on our situation. Was there no one to meekly suggest perhaps things aren’t that rosy?

If you cut through the jargon and the bumph, what government is saying is we are going downhill much slower than we were, thanks to their “fiscal discipline.” Oh, and as we have been told for generations, thanks to them prosperity is just around the corner.

What I wouldn’t give for some official, elected or otherwise, to just be straight with us.

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com