Is it any wonder that Kathleen Wynne wants you talking about how Doug Ford is just like Donald Trump, or just about anything else, as long as it is not Ontario’s credit rating.
Moody’s downgraded Ontario’s credit rating today from “stable” to “negative” and how some warnings about the books in the future. The reason for this downgrade? The Wynne budget that ramped up spending in a bid to stay in power.
While this budget may not be implemented post-election, in Moody’s opinion it highlights growing spending pressure that will need to be addressed in the near future. As the economy is expected to slow, with real GDP growth forecasted to fall from 2.7% in 2017 to 1.7% by 2021, revenue generation will be slower than previously recorded, limiting the province’s ability to rely on revenue growth to balance the spending pressure.
Higher spending, slowing economy, that means lower government revenue and more borrowing. Check out what Moody’s said about the province’s debt levels.
The province’s debt is expected to measure 233% of revenues in 2017/18, up from Moody’s previous estimate of 227%. Financing to fund deficits and capital spending will continue to push the debt burden higher, with Moody’s expectations that it could exceed 240% by 2021/22. Moody’s assesses this level of debt to be elevated compared to similar rated peers. Increased debt financing will also occur during a time of rising interest rates, which will accelerate the increase of the province’s interest expense.
What is scary is that right now the province spends 8.3% of all revenue on servicing the debt, that is expected to rise to 9% within two years. That means 9 cents of every tax dollar collected in Ontario goes to paying the interest charges on the debt, not the debt itself, just the interest charges.
Imagine what could be done with that kind of money if it were free to spend on programs or give back to taxpayers with a rate cut.
Kathleen Wynne isn’t just robbing you and everyone in Ontario blind, she is robbing the future generations of Ontario at a time when they don’t even get a say.
Doug Ford is revamping his campaign strategy with that information as we speak.
Gee! If only there had been signals in the last fifteen years that the Liberals were nothing but a bunch power-hungry liars who were quite prepared to bankrupt the Province to gain the support of the selfish and the stupid.
The problem is … is that there are so many stupid and selfish liberal supporters that don’t care about your future, their future, their kids future or anything else but what they can get for free that your/my vote no longer means anything. They call themselves “progressive” but they don’t care what we are progressing towards.