Millennials don’t fear debt like Boomers

Dear Editor:

The forthcoming Throne Speech and mini-budget puts Conservatives on the spot.

Either they support the government’s plan or vote no-confidence. Without the

Bloc and NDP, the Conservatives don’t have enough votes; also, it isn’t wise for Erin O’Toole to get ahead of himself—he still needs to unite his party and heal divisions left from a mean spirited leadership race.

O’Toole said right off that he is pro-choice and supports gay marriage. This is good to hear, but it’s not what social conservatives want to hear. For them, O’Toole was their second, even third, choice and if he leaves them feeling ignored, how long before their frustration grows to seek its own reward. O’Toole needs the social conservatives just as much during an election.

The Conservatives consider fiscal restraint as part of their brand, but this creates problems. O’Toole has promised “a path back to a balanced budget and a payas-you-go approach,” but this would require significant cuts to social and environmental programs.

But COVID-19 is still with us, now is not the time to call for fiscal restraint, nor is it the time to blame Canadians because they need financial aid. People just can’t just pull up their socks and get on with it.

Older politicians tend to have a blind spot when it comes to Canada’s new millennial constituency they hope to attract. The consensus on balanced budgets and lower debt that existed 20 years ago is not there. Baby boomers lived through high interest rates and personal debt.

But today, millennials have lived their entire adult lives disenfranchised by under-employment, huge student debt and expensive accommodations and housing priced out of reach—they don’t have the same learned fears. Millennials differ radically with boomers about debt and any new policy needs to reflect this.

Jon Peter Christoff

West Kelowna