Budget

So the budget will pass. No surprise.

In fact, this wasn’t really a budget. The economic update delivered last fall was the budget; this is just a repetition of the same.

It’s long been the practice of governments to under-promise and over-deliver. Chrétien was a master in that art. But this time, the government has effectively under-promised and under-delivered. Really, there was no other way. The GST cut is has cost so much that, with the current economic woes, the government has simply run out of cash. And even though this was a very thin budget, they’ve already had to break the 3 billion dollar cushion which was traditionally inserted in the budget as a defence against unexpected economic disasters like 9/11. It’s unlikely, but, by the end of the year, the Conservatives could be in deficit.

The sad note of this budget is the environment as the Conservatives have clearly decided that it would not become an election issue. All they’ve included is a 500 million dollar plan for building public transit (needless to say, it’s peanuts), 300 million for nuclear research and 240 million for a “clean coal” plant in Saskatchewan. To put things into perspective, the GST cuts will cost 12 billion dollars a year.

So it looks like we’re destined for the status-quo. Let’s wait for the next budget!