Downgrading of province's debt rating is disturbing
For this edition of Spin, I would like to focus the blog on how the US media is covering New Brunswick.
I was very disturbed by a story that appeared on Bloomberg.com earlier this week: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=afzm7ohRqwF0
The picture the story paints of the state of New Brunswick's finances is shocking. I knew it was bad but this story paints a sobering picture. This reality shows that we are now in a similar financial situation to many former communist countries in Europe and they have been forced to introduce severe austerity measures to cut spending and reduce debt. The ordeal has been bad for their citizens and the image of these countries. New Brunswick now faces the same problem regardless of the spin government officials will put on it: http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/fin/2009e1234fn.htm
Let's face it. Record deficits and quickly mounting debt will have a very negative affect on our lives in the future, especially with no real plan from our political leaders to inject new life into the New Brunswick economy. Our population challenges plus this debt will result in such things as higher taxes and/or signficantly reduced government spending in the near future. It is going to happen.
Our province needs to take a totally new direction. This starts by having our political leaders get government finances under control and showing New Brunswickers that there is a clear way for New Brunswick to emerge from the hole that it is now in. Sugar-coating the situation will not work.
Our future and our image depends on New Brunswick getting its financial house in order and doing so in a way that gives New Brunswickers hope.
We must change and we must change now because our children deserve the best future possible and the world is watching us.
I hope to see the day when Bloomberg.com and other US media will be reporting on good news in New Brunswick.
Mark Taylor, a communications specialist and former journalist, is founder of Delora Media.
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How does this news release deal with this terrible reality? it deals with it by ignoring it. But reasonable people know that this approach does not address the problems that we in New Brunswick are inevitably about to encounter. In fact, we are beginning to encounter them already. The train we needed to be on has already left the station without us. It makes little sense, indeed it is nonsense to stand on the platform trying to convince ourselves the train has not yet arrived when we could be running after it and attempting to catch it.