N.S needs to get moving on debt: Atlantic economic group
Posted Mar 17, 2010 04:05:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An economic group says the Nova Scotia government is not doing enough to reduce the province’s debt.
Fred Bergman, a senior policy analyst with the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, says the government is coming up with some ideas, but non are good enough to balance the books.
One idea to reduce expenditure growth to 3 per cent from 5 per cent, saving the province $531 million, gets a thumbs up from Bergman.
“If they do nothing by 2012, 2013 the deficit will balloon to $1.4 billion, so cutting spending by 2 per cent alone will not get you to eliminating the deficit,” says Bergman. “It takes you in the right direction and it certainly puts a sizable dent it in.”
He points also to a few of the government’s suggestions to increase revenue, but says all of the revenue and expenditure measures won’t even put a dent in the mammoth deficit.
