Using his words #nlpoli
Politicians are usually very careful about the words they use.That’s why it’s important to notice the words Premier Dwight Ball used this weekend in an interview with Tom Clark for…
financial mismanagement
Yes. The government has big financial problems #nlpoli
Yet another academic paper emerged on Tuesday that pointed out that the provincial government has a big financial problem caused by following the flawed policy of spending all the money…
Better more, and better #nlpoli
The provincial government has a very serious financial problem. The forecast deficit for the current year is the second highest on record at $916 million. No one knows how big…
Worry more about next year #nlpoli
Provincial revenue from oil will be $791 million less than forecast in the spring budget, according to the provincial budget update. A few other expenses are less than forecast and…
Welcome to the bottom of the rabbit hole #nlpoli
Putting a freeze on any discretionary spending is the very least that the provincial government could do in light of the dramatic – but entirely predictable – volatility in oil…
Oil and the budget #nlpoli
Lots of people are wondering what the changes to the price of oil will do to the provincial budget. It will have an impact: no doubt about that. But trying…
Political Mummers’ Parade on Monday #nlpoli
Finance minister Tom Marshall will present his mid-year financial update on Monday. It is supposed to be a way of bringing everyone up to date on how the annual budget…
Taxing the Imagination #nlpoli
What is it about the provincial Conservatives and income tax? Kathy Dunderdale rabbited on about it last fall and again in January. Last week, the provincial Conservatives were at it…
Rentierism at the national and sub-national level #nlpoli
_______________________________________________ This is the third in a four part series on the current financial crisis the provincial government is facing. The first instalment – “The origins of rentierism in Newfoundland…
Other People’s Money #nlpoli
_______________________________________________ This is the second in a four part series that offers an interpretation of the current financial crisis the provincial government is facing. The first instalment – “The origins…
The Origins of Rentierism in Newfoundland and Labrador #nlpoli
______________________________________________ Over the next four days, SRBP will offer an interpretation of the political underpinnings of the current financial crisis. This series goes beyond the immediate to place recent events…
Hobson’s Choice #nlpoli
The provincial Conservatives love to spend public money. That doesn’t sound very conservative and it isn’t. Politically, the provincial Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador are more like Republicans than the…
The Wrong Tool #nlpoli
About two thirds of the people in the province who file tax returns earn less than $35,000 a year before taxes. It’s the kind of detail that you cannot banish…
If the next two years are bad… #nlpoli
No surprise that on the day after natural resources minister Jerome Kennedy talked about looming deficits of pre-1934 proportions that the ruling Conservatives did two things. First, backbencher Paul Lane…
Time to Break the Cycle #nlpoli
Jerome Kennedy told reporters on Wednesday that he and his officials are forecasting that the provincial government will rack up almost $4.0 billion in deficits over the next three years.…
A Manufactured. Right. Here Mess #nlpoli
The Premier, the finance minister, and their favourite economist are talking about tax increases, layoffs, and spending cuts. They are talking about cuts and layoffs at a time when the…
A Crisis. Or Not. #nlpoli
“Muskrat Falls is a project that will not impact net debt by a single dollar,” finance minister Tom Marshall said in a provincial government news release. Unfortunately for taxpayers, they…
Not exactly, there, Tom, b’y #nlpoli
As part of the orchestrated campaign to attack the people making the comments instead of the comments themselves , finance minister Tom Marshall trotted out in front of the news…
Reality Check: drops and buckets version #nlpoli
Via labradore, a chart that plots Conservative unsustainable public spending since 2003 with recently announced controls on discretionary spending. -srbp-
The Bow-Wow Parliament lacks bark and bite #nlpoli
In the wake of the latest revelations of financial mismanagement in the provincial government, SRBP has been looking at some of the possible contributing developments over the past decade or…