Letter from a New Brunswick Ex-Pat

On behalf of the thousands of New Brunswick ex-pats who would someday like to return home, I would like to thank Shawn Graham for making that a fantasy.

I left New Brunswick just as the Graham Government came to power and raised taxes back in 06/07. I am only viewing this government from afar.

Thankfully.

Looking at the latest budget it looks like he is actually just giving back some of what he took a few years ago and he had to go borrow money to do it. Awesome. You should all feel really good about that one.

As it stands right now, New Brunswick has a debt of approx $8 billion dollars. That will rise to $10 billion before the liberals finish this term. That means the debt is more than what the government takes in on an annual basis annual revenue is approx $8 billion).

Add to this that a very large chunk of what the province pulls in for revenue comes from Ottawa in the form of transfer payments, and that equals a province that will be teetering on the brink of bankruptcy around 2009. Great place to live. Your great grand kids will be paying interest on this decision.

I am not an economist but when you spend more than you make that normally spells trouble.

I seem to recall that the New Brunswick debt was going down, albeit slowly, throughout the late 90's and into 2006. Well goodbye to ten years of fiscal stability - IN A BIG WAY. In one budget Shawn is borrowing 10% of what the province spends on an annual basis. He has completely erased years of prudent financial management.

Thanks man.

The self sufficiency vision sure is taking a licking in this budget. How can anyone stand in front of a mirror and say New Brunswick is on a path to self sufficiency? This is a joke of the highest magnitude. A province that will have a debt that exceeds its annual budget cannot ever dream of self sufficiency.

It is now official – New Brunswick has now become the new Newfoundland. There are little to no job opportunities, small business is taxed to pieces, the province is almost crushed under the weight of a ballooning debt and there is no vision or leadership that would entice anyone to come home or for any young person to stay. Just check the stats of out migration from New Brunswick, they will only accelerate in the coming years thanks to this budget.

The only part of Shawn’s self sufficiency agenda that will become a reality is that thousands of young New Brunswickers will become self sufficient when they leave. The province has already established a great reputation for its great young people that go live somewhere else.

On the plus side - years from now there will be a fantastic retirement business to be had when we all come back from a successful life somewhere else.

I really love New Brunswick. It is my home and I would like nothing more than to move my family back. This will not happen with buffoons like Shawn Graham ruining a once great province.

Folks - do yourself a favour and chuck this bartender/substitute teacher who calls himself a premier out