Guest: David Williams (economist)
On October 24th, the BC Conservative party won a decisive victory. At the top of the premier-designate’s agenda was British Columbia’s deteriorating fiscal health. Lorne Doerkson said on “day one” that he was going to launch an independent financial review panel to investigate the province’s books.
According to economist David Williams, “The fiscal situation in BC has crashed over the past five years. In 2020, we were one of the strongest subnational jurisdictions in the world. Today, BC is running up debt faster than any other subnational jurisdiction in North America. ”
Operating costs have risen by 39% and revenue is up less than half – up only 18%. Williams says, “It’s unsustainable. Everyone knows you can’t spend more than you make.” For BC taxpayers, the tax bill is currently $33,000 and rising.
We invited economist David Williams to join us for a Conversation That Matters about BC’s budget – where to from here and how?
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