William Scarth – Fiscal Policy After The Pandemic
From: William Scarth To: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Date: October 27, 2020 Re: Fiscal Policy After the Pandemic Canadians have appreciated the federal government acting as a shock absorber in times of crisis, both during the Depression of the 1930s and at the present time. Luckily, the debt-to-GDP ratio had been reduced from its historical high (110 percent in […] William B.P. Robson – Ottawa’s Spending Won’t Stay Cheap
From: William B.P. Robson To: Enthusiasts for, and skeptics about, federal government spending Date: October 26, 2020 Re: Ottawa’s spending won’t stay cheap Looked at one way, the federal government’s recent musings about spending tens – even hundreds – of billions more dollars on a raft of new programs seem weird. Nobody thought we could afford such a […] William Robson: Government Spending Looks Cheap Today — But That Won’t Last – Financial Post Op-ed
Looked at one way, the federal government’s recent musings about spending tens — even hundreds — of billions more dollars on a raft of new programs seem weird. Nobody thought we could afford such a binge before COVID hammered our economy. How is it a great idea afterward?
Look at it another way, however, and the magical thinking in Ottawa is easier to understand. The crisis pushed the federal government’s revenues down and its spending up. Directionally, that is fine. But a mind-boggling two-thirds hike in program expenses this year has driven the apparent tax cost of a dollar of program spending through the floor. Federal largesse has never looked cheaper.
How cheap? July’s fiscal snapshot suggested Ottawa’s revenue,…
Canada’s Foggy Economic and Fiscal Future
Canada in ‘Economic and Fiscal Fog,’ Needs Real Debate on Future Path Canada needs a national debate over its economic and fiscal future, according to Don Drummond, former chief economist for TD Bank. Drummond lays out four scenarios for Canada’s fiscal future, each targeting a deficit and debt track into the 2030s, and calls for […] La bidenomie et nous – La Presse Opinion
Bidenomie, n. f. Mot-valise formé par la contraction des mots Biden et économie.
Il est opportun d’introduire ce néologisme pour explorer ce que le candidat démocrate à la présidence des États-Unis compte faire de l’économie de notre puissant voisin. La Bidenomics est d’ailleurs le dernier terme à la mode dans les médias de langue anglaise pour désigner son programme économique.
Deux mises en garde s’imposent avant de plonger dans le sujet. Premièrement, le président propose, mais le Congrès dispose en matières législative et budgétaire, prescrit la Constitution américaine. Si le Sénat ne tombe pas aux mains des démocrates, on peut parier que plusieurs ambitions de la Bidenomie s’échoueront sur les récifs…
Jenkins, Kronick – Health And The Economy – With Numbers
From: Paul Jenkins and Jeremy M. Kronick To: Canadian policymakers Date: October 5, 2020 Re: Health and the Economy – With Numbers When the pandemic nature of the COVID-19 virus was finally recognized, Canada acted boldly to contain and control its spread. We didn’t know as much as we know now, and as such we were forced into unmeasurable […] Bill Robson on BNN – Canadians are now ‘desensitized’ despite ‘very serious’ deficit numbers
Bill Robson, CEO at C.D. Howe Institute, joins BNN Bloomberg with his take on the nearly $27 billion cost of Ottawa’s COVID-19 benefits. He says that governments’ big budget misses are not just a COVID problem and that these misses are not appropriate if we think of all the stakes.
Busted Budgets: Canada’s Senior Governments Can’t Stick to Their Fiscal Plans
Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments have spent a combined total of $97 billion more than they promised in their budgets since 2000, a figure set to worsen with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2000, Canada’s senior governments have spent $97 billion – some $2,600 per Canadian – more than they budgeted and […] William B.P. Robson – Will It Take Outrage At Waste To Stop The Federal Government’s Borrowing Binge?
From: William B.P. Robson To: Members of Parliament Date: September 24, 2020 Re: Will It Take Outrage at Waste to Stop the Federal Government’s Borrowing Binge? The $343 billion deficit for the 2020/21 fiscal year, announced in the federal government’s July fiscal snapshot, was shocking at the time. Partly it was the number itself, which implied that debt […] Luc Godbout – A Quebec Model For A Fiscal Anchor
From: Luc Godbout To: The Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Finance Date: September 21, 2020 Re: A Quebec model for a fiscal anchor It’s important for governments to have fiscal targets. It’s a credibility issue for federal government, not only with the rating agencies, but also with the public. To guard against a downgrade of rating agencies, the federal […] What Will Stop Ottawa’s Debt Binge? – Globe And Mail Op-ed
The $343-billion deficit for this fiscal year, announced in July by former finance minister Bill Morneau in his fiscal snapshot, was shocking at the time. Partly it was the number itself, which implied that debt would top $1-trillion before year-end. And because, with no budget or even a fiscal plan out of Ottawa this year, the tally was incomplete. Now Mr. Morneau is gone, and his replacement, Chrystia Freeland, has signalled at least another $40-billion in new spending – which will push the borrowing higher yet.
The 2015 election commitment to run “modest deficits” was a politically clever wedge issue – a pledge the Conservatives did not want to make, and the NDP dared not make. And borrowing in the depths of the COVID-19…
Ken Boessenkool and Miles Corak on The Agenda – Basic Income and the Future of Work
Ken Boessenkool and Miles Corak, Research Fellows at the C.D. Howe Institute, join TVO’s The Agenda to talk basic income and the future of work.