The government took on debt the same as households, using low interest rates to lever themselves up. Now that rates are rising due to aging demographics we are forced to look at our debt burden.

This is why what Trudeau Sr did was stupid, and why what Trudeau Jr did was stupid, all that spending is future austerity. The only way its not is if you debase the currency further using QE, and you shift those bonds to the FX market via a depreciated currency, which ends up in even higher interest rates.

Taking on debt is normal in a government budget. In fact you have to take on debt to be able to develop your country. As long as it remains below a certain percentage of the IGP, we’re fine.

What this government fails to do, as all previous government failed to do for the past 40 years, is to tax the super wealthy and close tax loopholes.

Not disagreeing the Trudeau jr years were awful financially, but not all spending is future austerity.

If spending results in higher revenue or higher income for Canadians, then that does pay a return. Infrastructure is expensive but it’s a great enabler of other commerce and economic activity.

But when the government takes on debt it does need to take that seriously for exactly the reasons you mention

This [public service cuts, government financial austerity and all the other stuff in the first bunch of paragraphs] is a descent into fascism. By defunding the state and over-funding the military, Canada is careening towards disaster. And unsurprisingly, the voices that are paid by the corporate class, are cheering this descent on.

Come on, let’s get specific. Call out our fascism where the descent into fascism is happening under Carney’s government: Bill C-2, Trump ass-kissing, parts of Bill C-5.

I am diametrically opposed to wanton public service cuts, but let’s be targeted and accurate at what we are calling the descent to fascism.

That sounds like Keynesian ideology, which means investing in infrastructure. Which is not what we spent all that debt on.

What? Taxing the super wealthy?How does that sound like keynisean ideology???

I didn’t even mention infrastructure in my comment so how did you get to that conclusion ???

Well spending money to grow requires the money be spent on infrastructure, if you’re simply giving away money using borrowing then its obviously not going to have a yield greater than the input, and you’ll be paying interest in perpetuity.

I still. don’t see the link with having some normal debt levels and taking the super wealthy as a new source of revenue.

We had two choices among those who could get into power.

We took the least-worse one, by far.

Cool article.

Trudeau Sr. was, as far as I know, the last PM to land a budgetary surplus, back in the early 1970s. Since then, every single PM regardless of name or party affiliation has added to the national debt. If you’re going to attempt to sling mud, please at least make sure that everyone involved gets their deserved level of coating. (As for whether your thesis is valid in the first place, everyone else seems to have that discussion well in hand.)

I’d like to add another comment to your reply.

As far as infrastructure spending goes, there is PLENTY of work to be done. There are so many BIG issues that need to be addressed in Canada.

• Government built public housing
• Reduction of automobile dependency and building rapid mass public transit across Canada, at least between major metropolitan areas, that is independent from existing rails where CN and CP have priority over public trains.
• Reduction of oil & coal electricity production and increasing wind, solar and nuclear powerplants.
• Nationalizing communications network and deploying them to the farthest populated areas of Canada giving everyone access to reliable high-speed communications.
• Fixing the drinking water in many regions of Canada where the water has become undrinkable due to pollution or deteriorating infrastructure. Especially around native residential areas where they have been requesting this for ages now.
• Fixing abandonned fossil fuel extraction areas that are polluting the country and releasing toxic crap and greenhouse gasses.
• Speaking of greenhouse gasses, we should start planting a fuck ton of trees, as our government had promised to do a few years back.

Those are the ones that come to mind for now.

Well I’d say the issue with housing in Canada is zoning obviously, land values in our largest cities are far too high that government inserting themselves into the bureaucracy is silly. We need to break the sprawled zoning and force the municipals to lower the development taxes that have been increased thousands of percent and are being passed on to new home buyers. Greenbelt is another issue, as we have a lack of space to build and yet we want to continue to massively grow the population.

Mass transit would be great too if we actually built it, we are still the only country in the G7 without high speed rail. All we ever get is lip service on climate change, things like EV subsidies for the rich to consume more by replacing their 3 year old Lexus with a sports car, likely in order to artificially grow GDP so that the liberals have a better chance at winning elections.

I agree with a lot of what you’re saying I just dont ever see those results, I see massive waste and plunder.

We need to break the sprawled zoning and force the municipals to lower the development taxes that have been increased thousands of percent and are being passed on to new home buyers.

This is not going to work. You know what’s going to happen? They’ll remove the tax, and the prices will remain the same, and the housing promoters are going to pocket the difference. If people are already paying the insane high prices that we have now, why should they lower them if they can maximize their profits?

Greenbelt is another issue, as we have a lack of space to build and yet we want to continue to massively grow the population.

I don’t understand what point you’re trying to make here. Also this is very Toronto specific.

Mass transit would be great too if we actually built it, we are still the only country in the G7 without high speed rail. All we ever get is lip service on climate change, things like EV subsidies for the rich to consume more by replacing their 3 year old Lexus with a sports car, likely in order to artificially grow GDP so that the liberals have a better chance at winning elections.

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I agree with a lot of what you’re saying I just dont ever see those results, I see massive waste and plunder.

Well that’s because we need to stop electing the Liberals or the Conservatives (who are basically the same party, fiscally speaking) and finally give the NDP a chance. Canada is a rich country. Except all the money’s in the hands of an elite few and they have ways to avoid paying their fair fucking share while they reap all the benefits of our social services and infrastructure. Once we fix that, we’ll be able to move ahead with these projects. It’ll make Canada grow so much, too. The returns will be very big.

I know you’re right, and yet it still feels like we lost.

Tbh I’m starting to think Carney is worse, if only because so many Liberal supporters are unwilling to criticize his actions, despite how much they align with Conservatives’ goals.

If Poilievre was the one ramming through things like Bill C-5, these same folks would be livid!

The NDP supported mass immigration into the housing shortage, I’d call them complicit.