It would be so nice if the Finance Minister would put some effort into communication . With all the technology today , there is very little effort needed to use it to show the taxpayers anything , either the big picture or the detail . You try to find the simple revenue and expenses for any one department on their website and it is just not there . Charts and graphics can easily show budgets and actuals and trends .Surely there is a finance manager in each department looking at what’s going on . So show us .
Standardize the accounting system across all municipalities, and all the websites , and then blend them all together and then watch the bureaucrats shiver as the taxpayers start to see the waste .
It’s convenient to keep blaming health and education for our mess, but the mess is likely in every department and with so little audit work happening , it’s hidden year by year .
People want to know what these numbers mean to them at their personal level . To say $100 million in debt doesn’t tell the taxpayer anything . If s/he was told you now owe $ 50,000 of the provincial debt and have 10 years to pay , so your taxes might increase $5000 a year , people would then better understand this mess.
Maybe someday the general public will realize that budgets are only educated guesswork completely at the mercy of many things over which we have absolutely no control. This is why the political parties should not crow about surpluses; it just means they were lucky. And the opposition should not crow about the party-in-power’s inability to reach projected balanced budgets; they are just lucky that they were not in power at a time when all the projections went haywire through no fault of their own.
Under sec. PVA
“– which will only be partially offset by better performance in foreign markets”
I think you may wish to substitute “will” with “may”.as I don’t see any particular foreign market our pension funds are or should be invested in that look that rosy (excepting possibly India)
We have simply been to generous with our pension plans and that is a direct result of governments”playing” with other peoples money
Some may call it socialism, others a lack of fiduciary duty and others a buying of elections and the ensuing egregious MLA pensions.
I have had the dubious benefit of witnessing the bath on the International markets today before writing..
It would be so nice if the Finance Minister would put some effort into communication . With all the technology today , there is very little effort needed to use it to show the taxpayers anything , either the big picture or the detail . You try to find the simple revenue and expenses for any one department on their website and it is just not there . Charts and graphics can easily show budgets and actuals and trends .Surely there is a finance manager in each department looking at what’s going on . So show us .
Standardize the accounting system across all municipalities, and all the websites , and then blend them all together and then watch the bureaucrats shiver as the taxpayers start to see the waste .
It’s convenient to keep blaming health and education for our mess, but the mess is likely in every department and with so little audit work happening , it’s hidden year by year .
People want to know what these numbers mean to them at their personal level . To say $100 million in debt doesn’t tell the taxpayer anything . If s/he was told you now owe $ 50,000 of the provincial debt and have 10 years to pay , so your taxes might increase $5000 a year , people would then better understand this mess.
Peter S | January 5, 2016 |
Maybe someday the general public will realize that budgets are only educated guesswork completely at the mercy of many things over which we have absolutely no control. This is why the political parties should not crow about surpluses; it just means they were lucky. And the opposition should not crow about the party-in-power’s inability to reach projected balanced budgets; they are just lucky that they were not in power at a time when all the projections went haywire through no fault of their own.
Ron Gilkie, Ph.D., P | January 4, 2016 |
Under sec. PVA
“– which will only be partially offset by better performance in foreign markets”
I think you may wish to substitute “will” with “may”.as I don’t see any particular foreign market our pension funds are or should be invested in that look that rosy (excepting possibly India)
We have simply been to generous with our pension plans and that is a direct result of governments”playing” with other peoples money
Some may call it socialism, others a lack of fiduciary duty and others a buying of elections and the ensuing egregious MLA pensions.
I have had the dubious benefit of witnessing the bath on the International markets today before writing..
Bill | January 4, 2016 |