Thread by @JohnPeate5

1. My letter to the Toronto Star.
Mr. Bethlenfalvy's oped "Ontario budget is math not ideology" is a fine example of Fordian math. Have a conclusion and the facts of the equation don't fit? Omit the inconvenient facts.

2.Does Ontario have the largest sub national debt? Yes. Does that mean anything? No. It has the largestsuch debt becausethere is nowhere in the world except Canada where junior jurisdictions have the fiscal and social responsibilities the Ontario has.

3. Education, Health, Welfare are national in others. The only comparisons are with Canadian Provinces and those are all much smaller than Ontario. The debt to GDP ratio is the proper measure. There Ontario is higher than some and lower than others. At present, it is about 37%

4. and has been relatively stable and reducing slightly over the last few Liberal years.
Debt to GDP is higher than in the Harris years. It is because Harris dowbloaded many responsibilities onto Municipalities and drastically cut services but still increased the debt by

5. alomost 50% That because he also cut revenues through irresponsible tax cute to corporations and the wealthy. Those cuts are the heart of any problem that Ontario has and they are being exacerbated by Ford who has also reduced revenues.

6. The reality is that total Public debt rose sharply under the Conservatives as it will rise under Ford with his round of cuts to everything and offloading to Municipalities. Debt under the Liberals was incurred in taking back some of those responsibilities from the

7. the Municipalities and easing their burden and in restoring services. It is not a true increase in Public Debt since it reduced that of the Municipalities.
Much has been made, though not on Mr. Bethlenfalvy's article of the fact that interest is 8 cents on the dollar.

9. Forgotten is the fact that it was 9 cents when Wynne took office and reached a peal of 15.5 cents under Harris. Under the wise stewardship of the Liberals, the debt has become more manageable as they locked it in to long term, low interest rates.

10. The fact is that Ontario has the leanest, meanest government in Canada. It has the lowest revenues per capita and the lowest social spending in many areas. Ford is making it meaner but not leaner as he shifts the burden to lower jurisdictions to struggle with as they may.

11. The rest of Mr. Bethlenfalv's article is a litany of errors and misrepresentations: a shameful self-indictment of the Ford government. It is to be hoped that the Star will publish a full refutation since that is not possible in the space of this letter.