Dear Sir:
As I read the paper and watch the local news, I see a wave of problems seemingly unconnected but all resolved by Canadian citizens understanding the following:
Canadians paid $165 million per day in 2010 in unnecessary interest on federal, provincial and municipal debt. We pay these costs through taxes of all kinds and fees for public services. We pay in kind through cut-backs in public services such as education, health care, and support services. We pay through the deterioration of infrastructure such as roads, sewers, water lines and affordable housing.
The 1.5 million unemployed pay through the loss of their jobs. Public debt interest amounts to a little under $5 ($4.85) per day for every man, woman and child in the country. For a family of four that’s about $20 ($19.40) per day or $136 per week, every week, all year long.
The federal government could reduce the interest paid on public debt by borrowing more from the Bank of Canada, at near zero cost, and less from private sources. This would lead to a reduction in the profits of the commercial banks and less income for holders of government bonds, but most Canadians would benefit. More importantly the savings could be used to reinstate those services which have been cut back and to create good jobs for at least some of the 1.5 million Canadians currently walking the streets looking for work.
Government’s indebtedness to private financiers gives that sector undue influence. The federal government is up to its neck in debt ($519 billion, March 31, 2010) and when you owe that much it’s not so hard to choose between the wants of your creditors and the needs of ordinary Canadians.
It is not in the interests of banks and wealthy bond holders for government to borrow from the Bank of Canada, and because government has become dependent on private sources of capital for most of its financing it gives precedence to their opinions.
There is hope, but only if we reduce the influence of private financiers by voting for politicians who support using the Bank of Canada for financing public debt to invest in public services and infrastructure. It is up to each one of us to act.
Maggie Braun,
Canadian Action Party National Secretary,
Terrace, BC