Defend Public Healthcare

As reported a few days ago, the Ontario government (quietly and) retroactively, revised the 2009-10 budget deficit downwards another $2 billion when it released the Public Accounts.  And as reported way back on July 12 (before any public mention of the current consultations with unions on a compensation freeze), Finance Minister Dwight Duncan had predicted that the 2009-10 deficit would decrease. But he also predicted  that the 2010-11 deficit estimate would be revised downwards too. “If you're starting off with a smaller deficit for the year ended, presumably if you follow the plan we've laid out, then the numbers will improve down the line — assuming no cataclysmic or unanticipated event”. While the revision for the 2009-10 deficit has now happened, the revision for the 2010-11 deficit has not.  Or at least not yet.  The deficit is now forecast to be higher this year (when the economy is growing) than it was last year (when the economy was shrinking).  I'm

Of the provincial deficit and Dwight Duncan, the provincial Finance Minister, the Toronto Star suggests that the “spectre of looming shortfalls … helps bolster Duncan’s case for a planned wage freeze for more than 1 million public servants, including nurses, teachers and bureaucrats.” Well, that argument is weakening. The Public Accounts for the province have now come out for 2009-10 and the deficit is a lot smaller than Finance Minister Dwight Duncan and the Liberal government forecast. In fact, another $2 billion was lopped off the provincial deficit. The Liberal government also reduced its deficit estimated by $3.4 billion the day before the March provincial budget. That makes the 2009-10 deficit $5.4 billion less than the Liberals had estimated it to be half way through the year. (When I see discrepancies this size, it does make me wonder if I've put too much faith in Finance Ministry forecasts.) In any case, the government will not get one-tenth of $5.4 billion t

Holding the line on those salaries .... is a linchpin of the government's plan to eliminate Ontario's $21.3-billion deficit.  ( Windsor Star -- See here .  My emphasis.  ) This seems to be the  notion  behind the government's compensation freeze proposal. I use "notion" advisedly here:  this doesn't really qualify as a full fledged 'idea'. Here's why. Some have suggested the wage freeze might 'save' $750 million next year. But that is a gross exaggeration.  The government (and government backed employers) have already signed contracts with the major public sector bargaining groups for this year, next year, and, often, beyond that. So any savings aren't going to happen for these groups any time soon.  And, of course, decreasing the real wages of a large chunk of workers will have a negative impact on the economy and local jobs. The incomes of working people support local economies - more so than corporate profits (that are ge

Just as the government of Ontario proposes a compensation freeze for the public sector, the government of Ontario reports that 43,160 Ontario construction workers settled their contract negotiations, with their collective agreements effective 1 May 2010. The average annual wage increase for the construction settlements is 2.5% (according to the government of Ontario). Good for the construction workers. That's a well deserved real wage increase. It seems that at least some parts of the private sector are making a come back. And that is certainly consistent with Finance Minister Dwight Duncan's bragging earlier this month about Ontario economic growth and declining deficits. In May 2010, private sector wage settlements were two and a half times the size of public sector settlements.  According to the government of Ontario. So, as we move forward, it is worth remembering that after the last recession (in the 1990s) it took some time for public sector settlements to catc