cover image: Putting the Alberta Budget on a New Trajectory /

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Putting the Alberta Budget on a New Trajectory /

2 Nov 2017

However, what is different this time is the scale of the deficit spending, the riskiness of the assumption that a rebound in oil prices will restore the province’s finances and the government’s unwillingness to make any significant spending reductions. [...] The longer the government continues to run large deficits and accumulate debt, the more painful the choices that future governments will need to make to right the province’s fiscal ship. [...] The size of the current deficits and the growth trajectory of the debt underline the fiscal challenge. [...] The Scale of the Fiscal Problem The 2017 Alberta budget was released on March 16, 2017 and within hours the credit rating agencies pointed to the seriousness of the province’s current and future fiscal situation. [...] The difference in the Alberta and Canadian forecasts is important since every one-dollar drop in the price of oil means $310 million less in revenue for the Alberta government (additional interest costs to service a higher deficit are included in estimates) (Government of Alberta Budget, 2017c, 38).
health government politics economics economy taxation fiscal policy economic growth employees employment interest prices earnings social sciences health care carbon tax health-care alberta deficit government budget balance salary expense business finance deficits deficit spending alberta government balance the budget
Pages
25
Published in
Calgary, AB, CA

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