Spend The Excess Dollars On Immediate Financial Relief Says The Economist

Richard Saillant said if higher prices bring the province more money, those dollars should go to people who are struggling to pay their bills. “The big priority right now should be addressing the pressures of the rising cost of living, which disproportionately affects people on relatively low incomes,” Saillant told Information Morning in the Summer. On Tuesday, the Higgs government said rising sales tax revenue was a factor behind the surplus. Finance Minister Steves said the provincial cabinet is considering tax cuts, but did not reveal further details. But enacting tax cuts takes time, Saillant said, and relief is needed immediately. “Tax cuts won’t solve the current crisis we’re living in… It’s not much immediate relief for people who are facing big, big pressures in terms of adjusting to the rising cost of living.” Finance Minister Ernie Steves said the cabinet discussed the tax cuts. (Ed Hunter/CBC News) This summer, the province provided emergency inflation relief checks for people already receiving low income or housing benefits from the Department of Social Development. But $225 for individuals and $450 for families, including seniors, was a drop in the bucket, according to anti-poverty advocates. Janelle LeBlanc works with the Common Front for Social Justice, a provincial anti-poverty organization. He said he has heard frustration and anger from the people he represents when they hear news of this surplus. “They’re just upset and a little bit frustrated because they’d like that money to go back to the people, to the communities, because people are struggling, communities are struggling, health care is struggling,” he said. LeBlanc said the province needs to find a balance between immediate relief and long-term changes like raising the minimum wage. While the finance minister said it would be irresponsible for the province to make changes based on the assumption that this surplus will continue in future years, LeBlanc said there are other ways to fund it if future years are not as lucrative. “In order to improve working conditions for everyone to raise the minimum wage, we can raise taxes on big corporations by a percentage point or two and we’ll be fine,” he said. Saillant agrees with advocates and said the province should also recognize that rising prices likely won’t drop for a while. “We are more and more [seeing] people paying big cities with smaller city wages. So I think we need to review our social policy to reflect the fact that a lot of people in New Brunswick are hurting these days,” he said.

What about debt repayment?

Green Party MLA Kevin Arseneau represents people in the largely rural Kent North region, which includes Rexton, Richibucto, Rogersville and Saint-Louis-de-Kent. He said even constituents with full-time jobs are struggling and come to his office asking for help “every day.” Green Party MP Kevin Arseneau says debt repayment should not take priority over helping people struggling with poverty. (Radio-Canada) He said he hasn’t even heard the province hint at where the surplus will go. However, the prime minister said the priority is to pay off the provincial debt. Arseneau said that’s misguided because provincial debt shouldn’t be treated like household debt, where you have to pay it off to be financially stable. He said the priority should always be people. “The ability of a province to borrow money to make sure everybody’s doing well right now, I think it’s going to go a lot further if we attack poverty and precarious situations,” he said. Saillant said it is possible to spend money on the province’s social health and gradually pay off the debt. “It doesn’t make sense to fixate on a falling debt-to-GDP ratio when you’re already in a strong position and your population is hurting.”

title: “Spend The Excess Dollars On Immediate Financial Relief Says The Economist Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-01” author: “Melanie Simmons”

Richard Saillant said if higher prices bring the province more money, those dollars should go to people who are struggling to pay their bills. “The big priority right now should be addressing the pressures of the rising cost of living, which disproportionately affects people on relatively low incomes,” Saillant told Information Morning in the Summer. On Tuesday, the Higgs government said rising sales tax revenue was a factor behind the surplus. Finance Minister Steves said the provincial cabinet is considering tax cuts, but did not reveal further details. But enacting tax cuts takes time, Saillant said, and relief is needed immediately. “Tax cuts won’t solve the current crisis we’re living in… It’s not much immediate relief for people who are facing big, big pressures in terms of adjusting to the rising cost of living.” Finance Minister Ernie Steves said the cabinet discussed the tax cuts. (Ed Hunter/CBC News) This summer, the province provided emergency inflation relief checks for people already receiving low income or housing benefits from the Department of Social Development. But $225 for individuals and $450 for families, including seniors, was a drop in the bucket, according to anti-poverty advocates. Janelle LeBlanc works with the Common Front for Social Justice, a provincial anti-poverty organization. He said he has heard frustration and anger from the people he represents when they hear news of this surplus. “They’re just upset and a little bit frustrated because they’d like that money to go back to the people, to the communities, because people are struggling, communities are struggling, health care is struggling,” he said. LeBlanc said the province needs to find a balance between immediate relief and long-term changes like raising the minimum wage. While the finance minister said it would be irresponsible for the province to make changes based on the assumption that this surplus will continue in future years, LeBlanc said there are other ways to fund it if future years are not as lucrative. “In order to improve working conditions for everyone to raise the minimum wage, we can raise taxes on big corporations by a percentage point or two and we’ll be fine,” he said. Saillant agrees with advocates and said the province should also recognize that rising prices likely won’t drop for a while. “We are more and more [seeing] people paying big cities with smaller city wages. So I think we need to review our social policy to reflect the fact that a lot of people in New Brunswick are hurting these days,” he said.

What about debt repayment?

Green Party MLA Kevin Arseneau represents people in the largely rural Kent North region, which includes Rexton, Richibucto, Rogersville and Saint-Louis-de-Kent. He said even constituents with full-time jobs are struggling and come to his office asking for help “every day.” Green Party MP Kevin Arseneau says debt repayment should not take priority over helping people struggling with poverty. (Radio-Canada) He said he hasn’t even heard the province hint at where the surplus will go. However, the prime minister said the priority is to pay off the provincial debt. Arseneau said that’s misguided because provincial debt shouldn’t be treated like household debt, where you have to pay it off to be financially stable. He said the priority should always be people. “The ability of a province to borrow money to make sure everybody’s doing well right now, I think it’s going to go a lot further if we attack poverty and precarious situations,” he said. Saillant said it is possible to spend money on the province’s social health and gradually pay off the debt. “It doesn’t make sense to fixate on a falling debt-to-GDP ratio when you’re already in a strong position and your population is hurting.”