Budget Time

Well no a very exciting budget. Not that I expected much.

I wonder if the provinces will actually shut up now about the "fiscal imbalance" somehow I doubt it. Maybe they'll come up with a different term for the exact same thing. that's what they usually do. It seems to me that everytime the federal government decentralizes or gives the provinces money no strings attached (just the way they like it) they just cut taxes.

I think the real fiscal imbalance is between provinces and cities. Unlike provinces cities do not have access to very many tax options and the taxes they do have mostly the property tax is inelastic and regressive. Cities need the help way more than the provinces do.

The real problem I have with it though is that the provinces just want money without having to raise it themselves. It's irresponsible and it lacks transparency. If you want to spend the money, raise the money. When the Conservatives formed a government, one of the strategies that I though was most likely to end this debate, was to actually lower federal taxes, so as to stop generating surpluses. Then challenge the provinces to take up that room, it would've been interesting to see if that had worked. I have a feeling the conservatives were too timid to actually try it, but if they ever form a majority we'll have to see if that strategy comes back.

Although I think the so called fiscal imbalance is non-existent, I think that if the provinces at least transferred that money to the cities it wouldn't be too bad. The cities are especially hard hit in Ontario (I know that people don't like to hear that), because Mike Harris downloaded tons of services to cities without any money to fund them.

Overall I think my feelings about this budget is the same as feeling about the government, they are accomplishing little, no big ideas but they are not pushing us in a negative direction either. I'm hoping that maybe if they continue to govern for a bit they might become more ambitious. Then again Conservatives don't tend to like government (or so they say) so my hopes aren't that high.