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Originally Posted by ken0042
Then why are we running a deficit even when you factor those mega projects out? The obvious answer- we are spending more than we are bringing in. That's the problem I see; we need to get our spending under control. It would be one thing if we were borrowing a billion or two here or there for a major project that has long term benefits. However we are talking about the day to day expenses of running the province are costing more than we make.
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That's an entirely separate issue though; we're talking about the budget for capital expenditures here, and you're talking about the operating budget. I'm not advocating borrowing for operations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bizaro86
Infrastructure spending isn't a one-time deal. We'll never be "done" building/renovating.
Also, the south hospital was necessary for reasons of location whether or not the General was kept. Otherwise the further south hospital in the city was rockyview. How many people live south of that, ~400,000?
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Well its true that we have ongoing needs, look at this new hospital. The major expense is the initial build and furnishing. Of course down the line we have to maintain and renovate this and there are operational expenses. I'm not for a second saying that we shouldn't consider those expenses (and we all do that for our homes as well). All I'm saying is that to fund the initial $1.5B (or however much it cost to build and get the hospital running) that we are better off borrowing that money.
I feel the same way about highway 63 being twinned, although my hope is that they would get a private company in there to toll it and maintain it.