Alternative BC Budget

I'm a big believer in the idea that a there are certain minimums of infrastructure and social justice that need to be in place for democracy to work. But I also believe the government of a democracy shouldn't be striving simply to meet those minimums. It instead should strive to constantly improve the quality of all aspects of the public good. Those improvements go well beyond the need to create a positive environment for private business and investment, although that is a huge and vital part of the public good.

Unfortunately, in the name of deficit reduction, successive Canadian governments have ignored most of the public good in favour of the quick fixes for creating a better environment for business. Taking a creative approach in creating a positive investment environment is vital. Simply depending on supply side initiatives like broad based business tax cuts is foolish short term thinking. Instead, making an effort to encourage the growth of industries with real innovative futures, by providing tax credits, loans and grants, tends to have far better long term effect; especially in the area of sustainable environment technologies, and hi-tech in general (bio-tech, software development).

But the public good reaches far beyond the business environment. Investments in an effective public infrastructure have a magnifying effect on the economy, but more importantly, they greatly improve the quality of life of the citizens who enjoy its benefits. The former is important, but the latter is frequently lost in our society's current obsession with all things economic. Easy access to inexpensive or preferably free education, early child care, public transit, and a host of other infrastructure goods and services makes a society far more effective. But it is also the right thing to do. Government and the public have a responsibility in a democracy to improve the lot of all of its citizens, particularly those who have to struggle, whether by accident of birth, or some other obstacle making their lives more difficult to live. Moreover, public delivery of these services have proven to often be cheaper and more effective than attempting to privatize them.

The focus of privately run services is to make money, not serve the public. Private services only function effectively for the public when there is sufficient competition to choose from, and little need for massive infrastructure investment both to startup and maintain the service. There is also considerable danger to the society at large if a private service is vital to the society's function (such as public health or electrical power transmission). Any interruption in such vital services could have immensely destructive consequences. It is not in the public interest to place such trust in private hands. In fact, it can be downright dangerous, as private interests always look to their own needs and advancement first. We've seen this with blatant clarity repeatedly in the last decade, with the horrifying pollution of factory farms, failures in public health such as SARS, and massive electrical power transmission failures, to name only a few examples.

In the name of providing more socially responsible public management, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative regularly provides alternative budgets for federal and provincial governments. The alternatives they present take into consideration both fiscal health and social justice, attempting to balance the two. It is in this spirit that they've presented their latest alternative budget for British Columbia (after the recent announcement of the real provincial budget). In light of the coming Olympic Winter games, they present an interesting and effective case for greater public sector investment; to improve our image to the world, to grow the economy and to provide a measure of social justice.