My province (BC, Canada) is now $100 billion in debt, and just announced the plan to go even deeper to "support people". Financial ruin disguised as mercy.
Let me start this off by asking... when did we give government the mandate to "support" us? I'm serious, where? Here's a hint... it doesn't exist. We never created, hired, or elected government to do 90% of the things they're doing now. Where in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (our Constitution) or our legal framework does it say our government's role is to fix the economy, or to financially support people living here? It doesn't. Government has slowly taken on that role over the decades. But not because they love us and just want to help - they do it because it allows them to justify an increase in their size, budget, and power.
Here they are again today, telling us how they need to ruin our finances and take away our rights in order to "support" us (something they aren't meant to be doing at all).
Increasing our debt and simultaneously causing rampant inflation is not supporting anyone, it's temporarily delaying a grim financial reality. We overspent, for a very long time, and now we're completely bankrupt. Compounding interest on debt is not something you want to increase when you're in this dire situation! Printing and borrowing money has caused the crisis we're in now, and certainly won't be the way out of it. But check out the rationalization in the announcement:
British Columbia's finance minister says the government will continue to spend to support residents facing hardship over the cost of living in the province, even though that will mean a rise in provincial debt. "We will see an increase in our deficit because it's the right thing to do right now... it's just not the right time to be making cuts," said Katrine Conroy today.
She said even though B.C.'s economy is expected to cool this year and next, the provincial government would find ways to support people in the province. "It is not the right time to make cuts to people, it is not the right time to make cuts to services, it is not the right time to increase taxes. It is the right time to support people," she said.
She pledged more homes for first-time buyers, eviction protection for renters and more rental units, along with legislation to address bullying, cyberbullying and online safety, and new laws to protect students from disruptive protests at schools.
In other words, she pledged to increase the government's control over the free market, increase censorship online, and further diminish the right to protest. Three hallmarks of authoritarian governments, right out there in the open, worded like they're nothing more than kindness.
The province is sitting with over $100 billion in gross outstanding debt. (And forecast to add another 10 billion this year.) The consumer price index showed that while groceries are still getting more expensive, prices grew at a slower rate in January.
The takehome phrase there is "groceries are still getting more expensive". All the money printed in the past few years has decimated our economy, and inflation has only just begun. In 2020 we were told it would be mild and transitory, but it has been severe and ongoing, which I have documented substantially. This will only exacerbate inflation, and groceries will continue to rise at 1% every month. To do this, we will go into debt further.
It's a lot like an individual saying "I'm going to borrow more on my credit cards this year, because I'm in debt and the interest payments are getting nasty. It's the right thing to do, because I need money and don't want to tighten my buckle."
You could even imagine a family making such a decision about their finances. Or a small business. Or a larger business. Or a government... which is what you just read. It's the same principle, on a larger scale. They are literally saying they don't want to put down our credit card, so they're just going to spend more and make the problem worse. Financial incompetence laid bare for all to see. Bankruptcy, as government policy... announced with a smile.
The new face of tyranny isn't the same as the old face, but it says and does the same things.
DRutter
Here I've seen prices of food double since 2020, and some foods are triple the prices from then. My vehicle insurance has more than doubled. Most prices are twice what they were just 4 years ago. Rather than getting better, I'm expecting it to get a lot worse. Theouterlight reports the average home price in NZ is now ~$1M, and a kilo of ground beef is ~$27. I don't think it's done getting worse there either, but it's already much worse there than it is here. My gambit has been to avoid money insofar as I could arrange it, so a variety of expenses I would otherwise pay in cash are agreed to be exchanged for particular services. This effectively keeps my return for my services at parity with inflation, which is serving me well.
The effect of inflation is to concentrate fiat in the walled gardens of the inflators of currencies, the usual suspects, and to rapidly shrink the value of the services and wages of honest folks. We are amidst the most dramatic transfer of wealth from those with the least of it to those with the most of it that has ever occurred in history. It will take folks seizing means of production and eschewing fiat to the degree possible to be able to afford such goods as they manufacture, and this definitely includes food. I hope your efforts in that regard continue to serve you well, and that your health and happiness increase and improve going forward.
Thanks!