Election and National Debt

While I can agree that we are definitely at the point where we should, as a country, be considering how we will pay for our pandemic debt. And possibly even past the point where we should be implementing remedies. It is a total fallacy to pretend that there is anything particularly inept about the current Canadian government's spending.

Take a look at this article.

There is a chart which shows pandemic spending compared to GDP. Canada isn't even on the list. 

While I suspect we are only "just barely" not on the list, the fact remains a good many of these countries are not countries which are considered, by any margin, to be fiscally irresponsible. In fact, with Germany and Sweden on the list, this is actually a list containing some of the more well respected economic powers. This is good company to be in. And, it is a good sign that we haven't outspent any of them.

I wanted a chart which compared to GDP because I didn't want someone wasting their breath arguing that "of course the US spent more than Canada, they have a larger population". While comparisons to GDP aren't perfect, we are at least talking about some fairly reliable economic measure to compare to.

So, if your premise for voting Conservative was because you felt that the Liberals were loose with your tax dollars. I would say that the objective evidence is overwhelmingly against you.

Yes, they spent a LOT of money. Historically record breaking sums. But, so too did virtually every major country on the planet. And for good reason. It was what was required to get through the pandemic. Rational observation of the evidence will tell you that, at present, we have not, as a country, acted recklessly with our spending. 

Our economy is actually doing a lot better than many others, and we have spent significantly less than many other countries to do so. This combination means we are better situated than a good deal of those other countries to repay the debt we incurred.

Does that mean that we should keep spending? That is certainly less clear. But, analyzing pandemic spending without looking outside of your own borders when this is a global crisis is just willful ignorance.