north shore news VIEWPOINT Sunday, September 28, 1997 — North Shore News - 7 BThis is no time to forget country’s debt ernment. Wild stuff indeed. In Oregon, they give sur- pluses back to the taxpayers. The current economic good fortune in Canada needs to be turned into real meaningful currency for everyone across the land. Hog-ted on the Hill. That would do the coun- try a world of good. spending would be extrava- Bance, waste and general alderal? Try 50% again. At least. How better to spend that surplus, you ask? The Reform party propos- es such revolutionary approaches as tax cuts, reduc- ing the size of government and a legislated balanced budget tor the federal gov- friends. And votes. A surplus in their minds is something to start spending. Even though its money that none of us really has. Their plan is to invest 50% of any surplus in increased federal government spending. The balance, they say, would go to tax cuts and debt reduction. Unfortunately, no specifics of those cuts or debt reduction levels of government. In 1961, that so-called tax free- dom day was May 3; it is now June 25. During that same time, the average income in Canada increased by 823% while the average tax bill increased by a staggering, 1,168%. Put the cork back in the champagne. A budget surplus, then, is ments to the provinces have helped reduce the annual deficit far more than any pro- fessed cuts to the size of the federal bureaucracy or the size of the federal govern- ment itself. The Liberal deserve full marks for helping drive the federal deficit down from $42 billion in 1993 to what could be $3 billion this year, but they have done us precious HI your wallets to few financial favors. mayour bodies, taxpayers, mehe hogs.on Parliament fill have got wind of home extra cash. f. That spells trouble from ta to shining sea. am. News has it that there has mpcen a budgct surplus sighted in Ottawa oe, Hey, three months in a = OW, ,, no less, the country has ; corded a budget surplus - feat not achieved since 8969-70, when we were 3139 million to the good. >And ‘predictions are that he country could be close to balanced or surplus budget for the coming year. reak out the champagne ull. out the credit cards. Debcits sprec is in order. ficit freedom approach- Well, not quite. «There remains the small er of the country’s debt. Liberals are not the type bbos taxpayers want iB around with extra i ure, they’ deserve some edit for roping in the coun- runaway deficit, but they :srotoriously savings- ged mob. ‘ax money burns 2 hole in oil & filer change : $23.95 Penne 10 : yarranty approved targets were, as they say, available to press time. Roughly translated that means the bigger the surplus the more lavish will be federal government spending. Memories are all too short when it comes to debts, and this country’s is still gargan- tuan by any measure. The last time I looked it was $600 billion. A $600-billion monster that eats up 34 cents of every dollar collected by Orrawa, A $600-billion monster whose, debt-servicing, consumes about one-third of gross fed- eral revenues. That works out to a pros: imately $ $20,000 owed every living man, woman and child across Canada. It’s a big part of why my pay cheque and your pay cheque is half gone before it’s even cashed. The Liberals will be whooping up the recent sur- plus as evidence of prudent economic management on their part. But that would be morc blarney than reality. The current surpluses are more evidence of good fiscal Juck than anything else. Low interest rates, a robust economy, tax increases and a 25% cut in transfer pay- oe 1362 Marine Drive 980-9115 Expires October 20/97 Dj 7 daya 4 week Mon-Sat 30am-6:30pm, Sun. 9:00am-5:00pm Don’t forget that they have added an estimated $100 billion to the federal debt, increased our tax load and cut a paltry $5 billion from Ottawa's overall gov- ernment operations. Canadians still work until late June to pay the total tax bill imposed on them by all dangerous stuff for Liberals to be handling. According to numbers included in the Reform party’s Beyond a Balanced Budget document, Liberal spending i increases, based on ¢ party’s 50% of surpluses figure, could total $15.8 bil- lion over the next four years. What percentage of that INJURED IN A: CAR ACCIDENT? | Call DEREK A. 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