Which of these things is NOT allowed on Parliament Hill - smoking drugs, or the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's (CTF) National Debt Clock?
You guessed it: the Debt Clock has been banned from Parliament Hill. The bureaucrats in the Department of Canadian Heritage have given the thumbs down to the CTF Debt Clock, calling it a 'prop' and citing fears of leaks from the generator.
The government should let the clock on the Hill. Better still, in the upcoming federal budget Finance Minister Flaherty should make the Debt Clock unnecessary and undertake real plans to reduce spending, balancing the budget over two years instead of waiting until 2016.
It is not clear whether the Minister of Canadian Heritage had anything to do with the original decision banning the clock. However, when asked to reverse the ban, he has done nothing. The Prime Minister's Office also has refused to help get permission for the clock to get on the Hill.
The clock itself isn't all that scary. It's only 300 pounds, twelve feet long, five feet high and 8 inches wide. It sits in a modified horse trailer pulled behind a SUV. All the CTF wants is to drive the clock onto the Hill, just like the buses and limos that drive there every day.
But what is scary is the message that it displays. It shows the federal debt at over $560 billion and climbing by $1,429 per second or $124.4 million a day.
The point of the clock is clear and simple: to send a message to Ottawa ahead of the federal budget on March 22nd that the targets of the Harper government to balance the budget in 2016 are too timid. Even if they meet their targets, according to last Fall's economic update, there will have been seven years of deficits, adding $171 billion back to the federal debt. Experts expect them even to miss these timid targets.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has issued reports indicating the government's plans are based on overly-rosy revenue projections and too few spending reductions. He projects that deficits will continue longer than planned, with a deficit of $10 billion in 2016.
Not all politicians are afraid of the Debt Clock. Christy Clark, incoming Premier of B.C. recently had her picture taken with the clock. Paul Martin did too when he was federal Finance Minister, ahead of balancing the budget in 1997.
The Debt Clock visually reminds the public of the impacts of prolonged deficit spending. If it is not curtailed sooner, Canada may see a return to the problems of the 1990s when 38 cents of every federal tax dollar went to service interest on the debt. Today that number stands at 14 cents - a far cry from the 1990s, but still the single largest expenditure of the federal government each year. Moreover, interest rates will likely rise, having a substantial negative impact. As well an aging population will mean more expenses and fewer taxpayers to deal with this problem going forward.
What also stings about banning the Debt Clock from the Hill are the examples of things that are allowed. Flags, megaphones, banners, signs and drums are all allowed. Thousands of people illegally smoke drugs on the Hill every April 20th. In 2006, a Christian youth group held a rally with a giant video screen suspended by a giant crane. Even coffins were once paraded around the Hill.
But not the Debt Clock.
What makes it easier for the Harper government to ban the Debt Clock from the Hill is that the opposition parties don't oppose these deficits. Liberal leader, Michael Ignatieff, hasn't asked a single question about why the Debt Clock has been banned on the Hill. Nor has he asked the government to balance the budget sooner.
In fact, part of Canada's financial mess is due to the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois joining together in 2008 threatening to topple the government if Mr. Harper did not undertake giant deficits. Unfortunately, the Harper government knuckled under to these demands, choosing to keeping power over financial restraint.
What is needed now is more financial restraint. Having the Debt Clock on the Hill could only serve to help that.
