Standing firm on spiralling debt

Re: More upheaval on deck in 2020, Opinion, Dec. 28, 2019 Don Braid is predicting that the UCP government’s approach to cost reduction will result in major labour conflict.

He foresees demonstrations and walkouts and possibly a general strike. I would guess the average taxpayer in Alberta might say, “Bring it on.”

When the NDP took over in 2015 Alberta’s debt was $11.9 billion. In March 2019 the debt was $85.9 billion and it is forecast to reach $93.2 billion by 2023. Taxpayer-supported debt per capita is forecast to reach $16,386 at the end of the current fiscal year.

One source says that Alberta has the highest per capita deficit and fastest-growing debt of any province or state in North America.

One would hope that the unions and their members would recognize taxpayers cannot support the continuation of this trend to ever-higher debt costs.

We are relying on the government to stand firm in delivering that message and to do whatever it takes to get spending under control.

Gordon Goodfellow, Calgary