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January 27th Budget

jks said:
of the 7 billion, only 4 billion is for transportation infrastructure (ie roads, transit), while the rest shows itself as 2 billion for universities and colleges, and one billion for a green infrastructure fund (whatever that is?!?!)

edit:forgot to mention...the provincial government promised to match whatever the feds give Ontario dollar-to-dollar.
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Thanks for posting the edit... I have been wondering if Dalton and co would put forth some sort of stimulus as well, but hadnt heard anything as of yet.
 
Tewder said:
Just desserts for what? What has been so egregious for you?
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They've been governing like a bunch of frat boys--it seems to be nothing but a game and they don't seem to have respect for anything beyond their continued hold on power. They are reaping what they sowed when they implemented numerous outright bad policies.
 
lordmandeep said:
The deficit is 34 billion but remember 15 billion is the shortfall they have without spending an extra dollar from last year.
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No, it's a $100-million surplus - that's what the government was saying at the beginning of December, the last time they provided any information.

Even the worst government in the history of the planet can't go from a $100-million surplus in December to a $15-billion deficit in January with no changes in spending - they'd be laughed out of office!
 
And they might not have gotten so far if the other parties were not in such extreme disarray for so long.

That being said, we'd be even worse off with the Dion Green plan. Instead, the Conservative will now bring on their own green (bucks) plan.
 
nfitz said:
No, it's a $100-million surplus - that's what the government was saying at the beginning of December, the last time they provided any information.

Even the worst government in the history of the planet can't go from a $100-million surplus in December to a $15-billion deficit in January with no changes in spending - they'd be laughed out of office!
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Budget dates mix people up...the small surplus was/is for the current year (ie. the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009)...the budget being presented today and exepected to show a $30+billion defecit is for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010...a fiscal year that, for some time now, we have expected to be in defecit.
 
TOareaFan said:
Budget dates mix people up...the small surplus was/is for the current year (ie. the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009)...the budget being presented today and exepected to show a $30+billion defecit is for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010...a fiscal year that, for some time now, we have expected to be in defecit.
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The last time the Conservatives addressed this in the House of Commons was in the fiscal update of November 27th, 2008. The day it came out, the CBC reported that "The federal government is projecting balanced budgets and small surpluses through 2012-13 ...". I'm having problems finding the exact numbers, the supporting documents appear to have been removed from the government's website.

The government, continued to support this position into December, when they closed Parliament. However, my statement stands. The last time the government spoke on the issue, they were forecasting a small surplus for 2009-2010. It is inconceivable that there would now, only a few weeks later, be billions of dollars of deficit before any new infrastructure or other programs. I don't think Canadians are going to buy that.
 
nfitz said:
No, it's a $100-million surplus - that's what the government was saying at the beginning of December, the last time they provided any information.

Even the worst government in the history of the planet can't go from a $100-million surplus in December to a $15-billion deficit in January with no changes in spending - they'd be laughed out of office!
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The Federal budget is about $250 Billion. $15 Billion is only a fluctuation of about 6%. This could easily happen due to changing circumstances, without any changes in spending plans.
 
The budget has apparently been increased. The infrastructure section is now 12 billion.

Federal budget forecasts massive $85B deficit

Updated: Tue Jan. 27 2009 4:45:44 PM

CTV.ca News

After months of speculation, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Tuesday tabled a federal budget that is big on income tax cuts and even bigger on deficits.

Flaherty's spending plan includes $40 billion in economic stimulus over the next two years in the form of infrastructure spending and tax cuts.

The budget comes at a massive cost -- $85 billion in deficit over the next five years. The deficit in the 2009-2010 fiscal year will be a shade under $34 billion.

The budget is remarkably different than any other one proposed by the Conservatives under Prime Minister Stephen Harper -- with massive government spending on everything from roads, social housing to the arts.

"We must do what it takes to keep our economy moving, and to protect Canadians in this extraordinary time," Flaherty said. "Making new investments is more challenging in such a time; but it is also more necessary than ever."

If all goes according to Flaherty's plan, the government estimates about 190,000 jobs will be created or saved, and the economy will grow by 1.0 per cent over the next two years.

The deficits proposed will virtually wipe out a decade of debt repayments - nearly 85 per cent paid back to 1998.

The surprise move of the day was the roughly $2 billion per year in income tax cuts. Those cuts will extend to $20 billion over the next six years.

The tax changes will include a slight increase in the basic personal exemption and raising the upper limit on the two lowest personal income-tax brackets.

Business tax cuts were also included in the budget, $2 billion over six years.

Government spending will jump dramatically in the budget -- up 11 per cent in the 2009-2010 and three per cent in the year following.

EI benefits will also be extended five weeks for the next two years.

Other measures in the budget include:

* $12 billion for infrastructure spending towards roads, sewers and universities, $1 billion for "green" infrastructure, and $1 billion for clean-energy research.
* $1.5 billion for job training
* $7.8 billion for social housing and home renovation, including a one-year only Home Renovation Tax Credit of up to $1,350 per household.
* $2.7 billion in short-term loans to the auto industry.
* More than $1.4 billion for aboriginal schools, health, water, housing, community services and training.

In an interview with CTV on Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged his Parliamentary colleagues to "stop the political games and get on with the business of passing some of these economic measures."

If his budget is defeated, Harper said "we'll have to go to an election and the people will have to decide this."

Federal budget highlights at a glance:

* $85-billion deficit over five years, including $34 billion in 2009-2010 and $30 billion the next year.
* Cut personal taxes by $20 billion over six years, including increasing the basic personal amount that can be earned tax-free, and raising the upper limit of the two lowest personal income-tax brackets.
* Cut business taxes by $2 billion over six years.
* Improve access to financing for consumers and businesses with support of up to $200 billion, including $50 billion extra for the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program, and a $12-billion secured credit facility to improve access to financing to buy and lease new vehicles.
* $12 billion ($7 billion in new cash) for infrastructure spending on things like roads, sewers and universities, including $1 billion for "green" infrastructure, and $1 billion for clean-energy research.
* $7.8 billion for social housing and private home renovation, including a one-year Home Renovation Tax Credit of up to $1,350 per household.
* $8.3 billion for skills and training, including $1.5 billion in new cash to retrain workers.
* Extend Employment Insurance benefits by five weeks for two years.
* $2.7 billion in short-term loans to the auto industry.
* A two-year, $1-billion Community Adjustment Fund to help communities adjust to economic hardship.
* Over $1.4 billion for aboriginal schools, health, water, housing, community services and training.
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Ok ok... If I get this right, we are spending 40b in various kinds of 'stimulus' with the optimistic projection of creating 190,000 jobs over two years. Lets just assume that that isn't a political over projection, how does it make sense to spend roughly 210k dollars per job? Am I not getting something here? How the hell is it 'stimulating' anything to spend 210k in taxes for jobs that would be lucky to earn 50k?
 
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The home reno tax credit sounds good - I was hoping to get new windows this year. Too bad I had to replace the furnace and get central air last year though.
 
One would hope that there are other social goods coming out of it, besides paying people who are unemployed. Infrastructure, for instance, supports growth in potential GDP.
 
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