Federal finance minister Flaherty yesterday dumped a bombshell on the future of health care funding, almost every other provincial health minister slammed the funding formula with zeal, Flaherty has stated that the Federal Government will continue maintaining current annual health care funding increases, however, at a time when baby boomers have just started entering their senior years the formula fails.
Flaherty wants to tie future health care funding levels to the rate of economic growth and that is indeed a problem, entering their senior years is a meaningless figure because the vast majority of health costs accrue in later senior years, people are living longer than ever before and people in their 60`s aren`t the real problem, it`s people in their 70`s and 80`s, that`s where the costs really start piling up...
And of course there is no guarantee that Canada will have positive economic growth in the future, who knows what the increase in percentage the GDP will be, 1%..2%..3%...What if it`s negative growth? Who knows, and just like how Governments calculate the rate of inflation, they toss out housing and energy costs and report an inflation rate that doesn`t reflect the reality on the ground, GDP can be manipulated just as easily, and what happens if there are continued Wall street related recessions and growth rates go negative, then what, a whole bunch of boomers reaching their more senior of senior years and health care funding collapses, couple that with population growth....
Here in British Columbia our politicians keep blathering on about a million more people in our province by the year 2020....Well that alone is an increase in our BC population of about 25%.....And yet those people/ immigrants would have contributed very little in taxes, British Columbia is talking about the ramping up of existing quotas and bringing in more foreign workers with skills Canadians don`t possess, the argument that we don`t or do need them is an argument for another day....
First off, it riles me to no end when politicians talk about what they will do in years that go well beyond their mandate, recessions, depressions, Gordon Campbell lied about our deficits going into the last 2009 election, he stated there would a deficit of $495 million when the real number known to him and the finance ministry was closer to a $4 billion dollar deficit, Stephen Harper and Flaherty did the same thing in second to last Federal election, here in British Columbia we have a legislated balanced budget law, a law that states the BC Government can`t run deficits, this is a sick joke because the BC Liberals almost every year have removed the law(putting the law aside) citing special circumstances only to immediately put the law back on the books in some sort of twisted dog and pony show.....
Now, where is Kevin Falcon right you might ask, Falcon is talking about snowbirds, retirees, down in the US of A countless Americans, at least those with wealth migrate and retire to warmer States like Florida, however in the USA there is no public health care, it`s private self-supported health care, those who can afford get it those who can`t, who knows....
But in Canada we have the Canada health act, a National health care plan that`s universal, regardless of what province you live in you get health care...
So here`s the problem, provinces on the east coast are very affordable and the weather is far more temperate, and of course British Columbia, especially the Southern half and the lower mainland, by far more wealthy Canadians retire in British Columbia than any other province in Canada, who could blame them, the gorgeous wild west coast with fresh air, pristine coast line free of pollution and oil spills, beautiful beaches in Tofino, Victoria on Southern Vancouver island is ideal for retirement, warm all year round, Cortes island, Saturna island, from the Georgia Straight to world class skiing at Whistler mountain British Columbia offers everything a retired Canadian needs(except good Government)...
But here`s the problem, Canada`s youth, the unemployed and foreign workers head to the Alberta Tar sands, the Yukon, they go to the manufacturing hubs in Ontario, the boys in the Tar sands work hard and play hard, Canada`s farmers in the prairies work their bodies and hands to the bones, ranchers, truck drivers, the big industrial oil n gas sectors in the Northern half of Canada, places where the winters are long and often bitterly cold, ever been to Winnipeg in January, I spent a year the one month in the 80`s, it`s not exactly pleasant, the point I`m making is this, thousands and thousands of workers make a lot of money and pay a boatload of taxes to other provinces and the Federal Government but when their clock winds down and their bodies give out they take their loot and migrate to greener warmer pastures and therein lies a fundamental problem because the Federal Cons are wanting to tie Federal health care funding and transfer payments to the rate of economic growth and pure population demographics...
A population of 1 million workers aged 30 to 50 can`t be compared with a population of 1 million Canadians aged 60 to 80....There is no comparison and on that particular issue Kevin Falcon is 100% correct, yes indeed it does pain me so to admit that, however the name and motto of this blog is and always will be ...The Straight Goods.
It`s just not right for a warm province like British Columbia to pick up all the health care costs of migrating seniors who contributed next to zippo to our provincial kitty, we need a Federal funding formula that takes the demographics of age into consideration....
(Let me be clear, come all, seniors especially, come to BC and bask in our beauty)
However Kevin Falcon, Christy Clark and all the BC Liberals are kowtowing to the Federal Cons because of one reason, the dreaded HST that the Liberals saddled BC with, and I just don`t understand that, Flaherty after his speech yesterday fielded a few questions, one reporter from BC asked Flaherty if BC has to pay all or any of the HST bribe money and Flaherty stated absolutely yes, BC has to pay back all of the $1.6 billion dollars, Kevin Falcon took the stage after the Federal finance minister and confirmed that BC must pay back all the HST money.....Flaherty also stated that the Federal Government MIGHT allow a little more time to pay back the money then the July 1st 2012 deadline....Are you kidding me!
The HST was a 5 year deal, BCers are getting hammered with the regressive tax, home builders and restaurants are continuing to bleed cash and jobs over this tax, we`re still paying it and will continue to pay it well into 2013, meaning the Federal Government is reaping a huge tax windfall and will continue to reap this ill-gotten cash while harming BCers both personally, provincially and economically and the gall of the Federal Conservatives to demand ALL the bribe money isn`t right, it`s morally wrong on so many levels and for the sake of a "possible" longer pay back time-line the Christy Clark Liberals are prepared to kowtow to Stephen Harper and sell all British Columbians down the river...
Families First, more like kissing Stephen Harper`s feet first!
The Straight Goods
Cheers Eyes Wide Open
2 comments:
These bullshit funding formulas that Harper Cons and Christy Libs come up with are always ways to offset large corporate tax cuts. The tax cuts keep on coming and we keep on paying.
Flaherty has a gall to ask the BC people to pay back the HST, Harper and Campbell thieved from us. The BC citizens said, no to the HST. They forced it on us anyway.
The gall that we, also pay that useless twit Flahery, for his $1,300 per night luxurious hotel suites. Along with MacKays and god knows who else. Harper's travel expenses, would choke a herd of elephants. A total waste of money, the other country's have no use for Harper and his bullying and, his co-operating with no-one They are now shunning him. He causes trouble at every meeting of the Nations. He lost Canada's seat in the U.N. He embarrassed Canadians in Copenhagen. He pulled out of Kyoto, country's are angry at Harper for that too.
Neither Harper nor the BC Liberals, are worth the powder to blow them to hell. Christy won't even call for an election, she of course would lose. I think the world, is pretty much fed up with Harper.
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