Dear Editor:
The next election is inevitably going to be a discussion of what to do with what little money is left to the provincial government. We're still in a deficit as far as tax receipts and government revenue is concerned, and the almighty business gods are demanding a sacrificial balanced budget by the incoming B.C. government to demonstrate our slavish devotion to the needs of the corporate confidence fairy, which will allow businesses to start hiring again.
This view is not only wrong; it's harmful to our economy. The idea that we must slash expenditures on fundamental programs in order to end deficit spending is not going to prepare us for the economy of the future. All it is going to do is create a downward spiral where jobs will become less skilled, and wages will decrease. This will inevitably reduce tax revenue, requiring another set of devastating cuts to the social programs used by society.
The real answer to building a stronger B.C. economy is in skills training, and in producing the infrastructure needed for businesses to expand on their own.
Trevor Ritchie, Burnaby
