It depends on your perspective.

That's how East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett and Columbia River- Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald reacted to the news last week that the British Columbia government has a far bigger surplus than anticipated.

Last week Finance Minister Carol Taylor announced the province has a $4.1 billion surplus despite an earlier prediction the surplus would only be $600 million.

Macdonald said there's something wrong with the way the government is estimating its revenues. "First they tell us it's $600 million. Then it's $4 billion. If they can't give a range better than that something is wrong."

The NDP MLA said it's good that B.C. has a surplus, but the province should also have a plan for how it's going to use the money. "It's time they identified the needs on which this money should be spent.'

Macdonald said government services such as health care, education, seniors care, ambulance services and child care could all use more money. The province is also in need of numerous infrastructure improvements, he said…

However, Macdonald pointed to a recent report by the BC Progress Board, which showed the province falling behind the rest of the country on several "social condition indicators."

The province ranks 10th in Canada in people forced to spend more than 65 per cent of their income on the necessities of life and ninth overall on all the social condition indicator scale.

Considering that the Board was appointed by Premier Gordon Campbell himself, it doesn't speak well for conditions in B.C. despite the big budget surplus, Macdonald said.