You are a voter who thinks that governments should live within their means.
asserted
governments → think → means
You see them spending far more than they take in, year after year.
asserted
they → see → year
You worry about the burden that their rising debts are placing on our children and grandchildren.
asserted
debts → worry → children
Who do you vote for?
asserted
you → vote → Who
Most of them professed to believe in limited government.
asserted
Most → profess → government
They said that, if elected, they would restrain their spending and balance the books.
asserted
they → say → books
Not all of them actually practised what they preached.
asserted
they → practise → what
Not all left-leaning governments were drunken sailors, either.
asserted
governments → lean → ?
Generally speaking, though, right-leaning parties were the best bet.
asserted
parties → speak → ?
Voters can’t count on that any more.
asserted
Voters → count → that
He berated the incumbent, Olivia Chow, for hitting residents with big increases in property taxes.
asserted
He → berate → taxes
He promised to hire 1,000 police officers in his first term and to start work on an expensive new transit line while at the same time freezing property taxes in his first year and eliminating a tax on less-expensive homes.
asserted
He → promise → homes
Cutting taxes while hiking spending is, of course, a recipe for deepening debt.
asserted
Cutting → cut → debt
Toronto has prudent limits on how much it can borrow.
asserted
it → have → much
Not to worry, said Mr. Bradford.
asserted
Bradford → worry → ?
He would simply blow up the city’s budgeting system so the city could borrow more.
uncertain
city → blow → more
Fortunately for the city’s finances, he lost.
asserted
he → lose → finances
Three days later, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy rose in the legislature to reveal that Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government was forecasting a record budget deficit of $16.9-billion.
asserted
government → rise → billion
That would put the province further in the red than it was at the height of the pandemic.
asserted
it → put → pandemic
Mr. Bethlenfalvy blamed economic conditions and U.S. tariffs, which have forced the government to spend close to $30-billion on relief for industries and workers.
asserted
which → blame → industries
But the source of the red tide goes way further than the recent trade assault from our once-friendly neighbour.
asserted
source → go → neighbour
In his days at Toronto City Hall with his brother Rob, Mr. Ford styled himself as a tight-fisted manager of the people’s money who would “stop the gravy train.”
asserted
who → style → train
Since he became Premier in 2018, we have seen a whole different Doug.
asserted
we → become → Doug
He has spent big on everything from hospitals to highways to public transit.
asserted
He → spend → transit
A splashy revamp of Ontario Place on the Toronto waterfront is projected to cost at least five times the original estimate.
asserted
revamp → project → estimate
The bill for the Ontario Line subway has more than tripled to $34-billion.
asserted
bill → triple → billion
Undeterred, Mr. Ford is thinking about building a tunnel under Toronto’s 401 highway to carry more car and public-transit traffic.
asserted
Ford → think → traffic
Experts warn the cost would be in the tens of billions.
asserted
cost → warn → billions
While he doles out dollars hand over fist, he has been giving breaks on electricity and gas prices to those hard-working taxpayers that he claims to champion.
uncertain
he → dole → that
The inevitable result is budget deficits as far as the eye can see.
asserted
eye → see → ?
Mr. Bethlenfalvy’s economic statement this week pushed back the date when the government says it will balance the books for the fourth time since 2024.
asserted
it → push → 2024
Ontario’s debt is set to top half a trillion dollars next year.
asserted
debt → set → dollars
By 2028, Mr. Ford will have added $200-billion to the debt mountain since taking office.
asserted
Ford → add → office
That is quite an accomplishment for a guy who condemned the reckless spending of his Liberal predecessor.
asserted
who → condemn → predecessor
Even the right-leaning Fraser Institute says the Ford government has “failed to back up its past rhetoric about the importance of balancing the budget, and instead continues to demonstrate that its word means very little.”
asserted
word → lean → little
Sadly, the change is not confined to Ontario.
asserted
change → confine → Ontario
In the United States, fiscal conservatism went out of vogue under Republican President George W. Bush.
asserted
conservatism → go → Bush
Today, with another spendthrift right-winger in the Oval Office, the annual deficit is close to $2-trillion and the debt recently topped the $40-trillion.
asserted
debt → top → trillion
This is what happens when you cut taxes while ramping up spending and pretending it adds up – the new math of right-wing populism.
asserted
it → happen → populism
Parties of the right still insist they and they alone can be trusted with the people’s money.
asserted
they → insist → money
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
