It鈥檚 not particularly easy for governments to take the long-term view, given that they are not guaranteed survival beyond the next election, but the stability and well-being of the province should come before any political party鈥檚 prospects.
The B.C. auditor general鈥檚 report on fiscal sustainability says the aging population, rising health-care costs and climate change pose significant risks to B.C.鈥檚 long-term financial health, and the province needs to do a better job of planning for them.
鈥淭he choices we make today will impact the province for many years to come,鈥� auditor general Carol Bellringer told reporters. 鈥淩egardless of the government in power, it must look beyond the three-year budget cycle and beyond the four-year election cycle.鈥�
In its response, the government says it agrees with her recommendation and will work to improve public reporting on long-term fiscal sustainability.
It鈥檚 not easy to look 10 or 20 years into the future and make accurate guesses. Governments making long-term plans 20 years ago would not have been able to predict the massive recession that began in 2007 and lasted through 2009. It was a big hit on the economy and government revenues, and those impacts are still very much with us.
But recession or not, we know some things for certain.
We know bridges are getting old, highways need repairing and public buildings are deteriorating. It is not enough to hope those things will hang together until someone else has to deal with them.
Delaying action on such things does not save money but only defers costs.
We know the aging of B.C.鈥檚 population will mean higher health-care costs, as well as fewer people working and paying taxes. Therefore, governments should be focusing now on training and education that will help strengthen the workforce.
Social-welfare programs should not be neglected. People with decent housing and good health 鈥� mental and physical 鈥� are more likely to become contributing members of society, rather than being burdens. Continuing efforts to raise the graduation rate of aboriginal students and young people in government care will enhance the workforce and reduce the costs of support programs.
The effects of these and other steps cannot always be measured immediately in dollars and cents, but they are all pieces of the whole and need to be considered in long-term calculations.
鈥淢onitoring long-term fiscal sustainability helps a government to better respond to long-term pressures and risks in a gradual manner, instead of being forced to adopt sudden and disruptive policy changes,鈥� says the report.
The obligation to take the long view does not fall only on the party in power. The opposition, too, has a responsibility to crunch the numbers and formulate policies.
Every decision, every policy should be examined not just for how it will play in question period or the next election, but how it will affect the future.
