Cut spending? No thanks, says public: Taxpayers have lots of ideas about how to increase government spending
Times Colonist (Victoria)
16 Nov 2006
By: Les Leyne

EXCERPT

Eight thousand individual submissions from B.C. taxpayers about what the next provincial budget should look like boil down to this: Keep riding the boom, cut debt and spend more on everything.

It's clear from the report issued yesterday that Finance Minister Carole Taylor's public challenge to list areas where government should spend less fell on deaf ears...

But the summary of the public's view shows that just didn't happen.

The final report said the committee is "hesitant" to make recommendations on spending less "because we did not receive a sufficient level of responses to this question to adequately assess where the public believes budget reductions could be made."

There were very few witnesses willing to state specifically where government should spend less. ...

So who's going to worry about where to cut when there's so much extra money in the pot?

Taylor was also keen to learn how the public prioritized a dozen different spending options, but the committee wasn't much help on that front, either. It pronounced itself "disinclined" to list the priorities. "The clear message we heard is that the government should maintain the current allocation of resources amongst the priority areas, but that government should address specific programs and services within these broad areas."

That sentence is entirely devoid of anything in the way of definitive statements. ..

When it came time to deliver some conclusions, the politicians grouped them around three themes.

- The overall fiscal plan is considered sound as long as debt reduction, competitive taxes and promotion of B.C. as a destination are emphasized.

- People want to see more help for those in immediate need. The homeless, those looking for affordable housing, people with assorted health needs and kids who could benefit from early assessments are all listed as areas where the February budget should concentrate.

- There is a growing demand for more support for community infrastructure and enhanced environmental protection...

Just So You Know: The New Democrat MLAs on the committee took a pass this year on endorsing the report.

The committee is supposed to reflect the public's views, not come up with its own. So the report tries to touch all the bases that the taxpayers did in making their presentations.

New Democrats participated in several closed-door sessions where the report was written, but then voted at the end of the process not to endorse it. Not enough mention of child-care needs and tuition-fee pressures were given as reasons.

But it's probably strategically better for the Opposition to distance itself from a report that is fairly supportive of the government.