$18.9 billion
I don’t write about political issues very often on my blog, but this is one that’s been nagging at me for a while.
Earlier this month, Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer issued a pre-budget reporting predicting the Federal government would have an $18.9 billion structural deficit in 2013-14. Government ministers say the number’s not right, though the PBO has been good at predictions in the past. Regardless, there’s going to be a big deficit.
What bugs me is not that there’s going to be a big deficit. Rather, I’m annoyed at the idea that we can eliminate such a deficit by tightening our belts a little bit. Getting rid of an $18.9 billion deficit will be very difficult. Neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals is willing to mention tax increases (and understandably, as voters don’t like the idea of paying more). But it’s something that should at least be in the discussion as we choose from a variety of unpalatable options.
$18.9 billion is a lot of money. With the large numbers thrown around over the last couple of years in stimulus spending in Canada, the USA, and around the world, it’s easy to lose sight of how much a $18.9 billion deficit really is. Remember, that’s $18.9 billion in the hole, every year.
I did a little bit of research and found some examples of how much $18.9 billion is. I’m not promoting any one of these options — many of them are ridiculous on purpose — I’m just using them to exemplify how big that number is.
Click on the graphic below for a high quality PDF version.
If you find an error in my calculations or better data, please let me know and I’ll be happy to correct it.
