Sounds good, and I hope in the full budget there is investment in Green jobs and energy!

And any minute now, the conservative right will start with the "tax and spend" mantra, invented decades ago specifically for stupid people.

Tax and Spend? Yep. That's what governments do folks, and that's why we have governments. They collect taxes and spend them on things we collectively need or want.

A better insult to the NDP might be "tax and waste". A better insult for the Lib/Cons might be "tax and cheat".

But "tax and spend"? Don't be so ridiculous.

More like "taxes we don't need spent on programs we don't need". I don't think anybody is surprised the New Debt Party proposes more taxes. Here's a thought - why not make do with the extremely high taxes we already pay. Little things like balancing a budget, and not taking $70,000 dollars in severance pay when you resign in disgrace for forging government documents during a police investigation. Yeah, we all know governments tax and spend. But the spending part should be balanced and not just given to those unions and such who support your party. We all pay taxes regardless of political affiliation (well, most of us), so why not spread the spending around evenly?

@cuz

You can balance a budget quite easily: do you prefer to eliminate the fire department, schools, highway renovations, what?

As for unions, they are not the cheapest labour, of course. But they may be the best value, if they do indeed provide quality work, pay good wages that retain experienced skillful workers, and support mentorship and apprenticeship that will create the next generation of skilled workers from the youth of own province, rather than having to import skilled workers from abroad.

However you are pointing out a very strong argument, which is that the NDP is historically feeble at making a rational business case for its actions. The most able and passionate voices of the Left are those who advocate for pure justice matters, as if you can win an election getting anyone to give a shit about mental illness.

If your going to expand the carbon tax then give the people living outside the lower mainland the same transit that they have in Vancouver as we have no other way to get to work other than our own cars.

Looks like the people that are affected by the tax hike will just have to move to Alberta. Then who will pay for all you free loading Liberals?

So Daniel Veniez in the Straight...
"Daniel Veniez: NDP Leader Adrian Dix bears no resemblance to B.C. Liberals' caricature
by Daniel Veniez on Mar 1, 2013 at 7:10 pm

"He told me that he has no plans to increase personal income taxes beyond what was just announced in the provincial budget."

The BC Libs raised the rate from 14.7% to 16.8% in their last budget for those making over $150k/y.
The NDP under Dix would raise this to 19%!

So much for Veniez accountability and Dix's word...

The NDP have purposely manufactured an unbalanced budget to cover themselves for the excessive spending to come.
If you remove revenue from a budget of course its going to run a deficit - that's all the NDP have done.
Mark my words - the NDP have massive amounts of money earmarked for programs, union wage hikes and other back room promises. The $790 million that is supposedly a shortfall of the current budget is actually the NDP's spending cushion.
Ask yourself one question... if there really was such a big hole in the budget then why are they not addressing this problem? They plan to raise taxes right? wouldn't it make sense to use these taxes to fill the apparent gap in spending?
NO...because there is no deficit.
They simply plan to run one themselves and blame it on the liberals...they'll probably call it the burden that they have to carry.
This NDP is no different then any other NDP - Lies, manipulation and deceit.
One more piece of info for you all to mull over - right now most major employers and planning to pack-up and head east. They are not scheduling any new projects in BC. There will be no new economic development in the province of British Columbia, its much cheaper to do business where an NDP government is not taking away profits.
No big business = no jobs = no economy
The NDP are playing on your hopes and dreams but the funds for those dreams are mobile - think twice on May14th.

So many thumbs down for my post asking Veniez to come clean... I would have expected the Straight editor at least to require their Op ed author to come clean...
So much for integrity.

Ali Said:

So you expect every word in someone else's OPINION piece to conform to your political and societal expectations and threshold for accountability?
And an editor's job is to police other people's writing for YOUR expectations?
And that is your definition of the Straight's "integrity"?
And you are NOT living on the Bizarro world?
There is your explanation for the thumbs down, monsieur.