Accumulated Debt.

Canada has balanced her budget and has paid $50 billion down in the last 10 years. In 1999 the US projected surpluses over the next 15 years and planned to pay down all the debt. It will be hard for them to get back on track.

The Bennett Governments of British Columbia held balanced budgets. W.A.C. Bennett who was popularized for his tight fisted finance held 20 of them. Debt in 1972 was only two billion. Debt grew one billion a year under Bill Bennett during a period of intense economic growth. In 1982 the recession hit B.C. hard and debt increased two billion that year. In 1988 and in 1989 this social credit government applied the surplus' in those years against the debt, mostly a result of government cutbacks in 1983. Also one of the two credit rating agencies considered raising BC's credit to what it was before the 1982 recession AAA++ or about the best you can get. In 1991 the N.D.P. became government and debt grew 2.5 billion every year, eliminating fancy accounting. See Barbarians in the Garden City: The BC Ndp in Power $11 Amazon.com. April 21 2005, Carol James, leader of the N.D.P., admitted the N.D.P had not been balanced. (They had not balanced the budget?) In 1999 B.C. was last among the ten provinces in economic growth. W.A.C. boasted he took B.C. from being the No.1 have not province to being the No.1 have province. What determines have and have not is whether the province contributes to equalization transfer payments to the poorer provinces. In 2000 Alberta contributed 6 billion, Ontario 5 billion and B.C. just 450 million. The only reason the NDP almost balanced the budget in their last year was because of the windfall from the Columbia River Treaty that W.A.C. Bennett had wisely made with the U.S. In 2001 BC the federal government determined BC was entitled to receive $30 million in transfer payments. The first time in more than 40 years. In 2002 BC was entitled to $600 million. In 2002 the credit rating for BC was stable, up from BB unstable to AA negative providing the provincial government keeps on course to balance the budget forecasted for 2004. The provincial Liberals promised a balanced budget in 2004 and the surplus of several hundred million for 2004 was better than expected. December 23, 2004, Dominion raised BC's credit rating to AA positive. The highest possible is AAA. Today, October 5, 2006 BC was given the highest AAA rating. The Federal Conservatives are paying down the debt even faster than their predecessors the Liberals. March 2, 2006 MLA Rick Thorpe says the ratio of tax-supported debt to gross domestic product ratio, used to measure debt affordability, is expected to decline over the next three years. This year the ratio is 15.8 per cent and by 2008 to 2009, it is expected to drop to 15.4 per cent. He adds that under the New Democrats in the 1990s, the ratio reached 20.5 per cent. Have governments learned fiscal responsibility is not old fashioned? That running the public's finances and the province's economy into the ground, going bankrupt, is not acceptable.

From an interview in 1976: "You still believe in balanced budgets at any cost?" "At any cost. But the other cost you have to pay next year, you have to pay the balanced budget plus the interest charges on the old one."
What is the condition of the province of British Columbia today?
"Very, very difficult. I have to be careful I don't get into the position of being too critical of the short Barrett years.
I am glad the government is a realistic government.
I am sorry they had to put on the tough medicine.
I cried they had to put on the tough medicine.
To pay the extra ferry, car insurance.
They had to face it."
"Will the N.D.P. be back?" "The NDP will not be back for a long long time, because the people of B.C. have been inoculated against it" may be true again after the NDP defeat to the Liberals May 16, 2001. We can only hope. The provincial Liberals took 77 seats to the NDP's 2.

The cost cutting in B.C. can only get deeper as the government seeks to balance the budget. Selling off crown assets is not idealogical it is survival. If B.C. loses its credit and cannot borrow, that is becomes bankrupt, the situation will be desperate. So, if you are complaining about the government, think again, and be thankful we have a Liberal government in B.C. And whatever you do, don't vote for certain bankruptcy.
The BC Liberals won a majority May 17 2005, thank goodness. See BC Election 2005.

Because of Osama Bin Laden the world is being terrorized. George Bush was forced to give tax cuts to boost the U.S. economy. The GDP following the attack was .2%. Thus the increasing debt and decreasing dollar and increasing price of Gold relative to the US dollar. We have to start saving again. We have to look to the future and support the war on terror. We have to save for the future. Saving is not old fashioned. Don't be influenced to buy on credit because of the blitz of commercialism.
Download a java application that will compute the U.S. government debt in 1992 and debt per citizen: BigNum.class . At the dos prompt (in the same directory) type java BigNum . Some $6,000,000,000,000