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Social and Political Sciences Most Important Issue in (Canadian) Politics Today
Introduction
Over the years, political issues have increased, especially issues concerning elections and governance. Some of the contemporary political problems include flat tax, war on terrorism, national endowment for humanity, AIDS research, discrimination of drugs., and government deficit spending. The 2020 election in the united states has been one of the tops, and hot political issues have hit almost all media houses worldwide together with congress’s battle. Another political issue in the united states includes voting during COVID-19, primarily through the mail, campaign finance, and Donald Trump’s impeachment. In this paper, I will look at government spending and deficit, where I will argue why the problem is one of the most important.
Option 1: What is one of the most important topics in politics today, and why is it important?
Government spending and the deficit are among the most important political stories that have affected most countries globally. During the COVID-19, most countries have spent billions on health care, which has affected the economy, mainly due to several business failures. For example, the united states budget deficit has risen due to the impacts of COVID-19, which has affected the public. The united nations’ national budget is considered more prominent compared to the gross domestic product. Canada is one of the countries that has been affected by deficit spending and debt cases, especially in Alberta.
The Alberta debt history has been a powerful and top political story in Canada. Since the 1990s, Alberta’s debt has been growing tremendously, causing political pressure towards the government. The Alberta, after the liberal, came to power. The Alberta debt story became real in the mid-nineteenth century after the liberals came to power. During this time, the government started going bankrupt, where the government had a debt of thirty-eight and a half-billion dollars. The issue became a bother to the government, mainly due to a rise in political and social problems due to the outstanding debt. Alberta’s economy was balanced, but in the mid-nineteenth century, the prices of oil went down, making the economy drop, therefore borrowing finances more than before.
Deficit spending by the government is the most important political story because it provides information on how the government spends revenue collected from the public and how it affects the people. The Canadian deficit spending is the most important political story because it began long ago in the nineteenth century. The case having originated from poor governance, constant rise and falls of gas and oil prices, management of finances, and how to save and separate savings from government budgets and spending is significant. Government spending is an important topic, especially in economics principles, and in learning the impacts of different leadership types in deficit spending.
a. Who (i.e., which groups or individuals) is affected by the issue?
The debt has increased over the years, wherein 2019, the debt had reached seventy-one billion dollars, where the leading cause of the rise is a misuse of funds by political democrats. According to the current news and reports, the government balances its book in the next one to two years. According to the Canadian taxpayers, inheriting the debt is not a good thing, especially to young Albertian, which are the most affected, according to citizens, it is not fair. However, the government is spending a lot of money, which is also known as deficit spending, which needs to be cut for the government to reduce and prevent more debts. Alberta’s federal alimentary budget officer has raised concerns concerning the massive budget and the long-term challenges it will cause to the country’s economy.
Alberta’s economy varies according to the prices and production of fossils, wherein case of the low output and sale, and the government goes through a deficit. The increasing rate of debt is affecting the citizens of Canada, both directly and indirectly. A fall in oil and gas prices forces the government to cut or slash spending on health and education, which are critical areas of investment in a country. Additionally, the decisions concerning the introduction of sales tax may affect the citizens by adjusting the tax revenue system. The citizens are affected by the government deficit spending and raising taxes to meet the country’s economic demands.
The Canadian taxpayer’s federation urges the fiscal conservatives to speak out and create awareness concerning the deficit spending to avoid an issue in Greece in 2015. According to Greece, a political story, the government was in a total financial mess due to the high rates of debts, hence forced to cut the health system, which is the most critical system. The Alberta debt story is a vast and top political level in Canada, considered a snowball was going down a hill because the debt issue is going from bad to worse daily.
The debt issue may be solved in the future, especially with a rise in oil production and an increase in the number of people moving to Alberta. The movement and oil production may lead to increased revenue, which may be used to pay the enormous debt. Alberta living beyond its means is a significant problem, where the country is expected to apply the compassionate belt-tightening once the economy starts to improve. Also, dealing with short-term deficits will Help the government deal with long-term debts to avoid worse debt recession in the future. The finance minister of Alberta, known as Joe Cecil, said that deficit spending is essential, mostly due to the drop in oil prices. According to Ceci, deficit spending is better than cutting down spending, especially in the health system and education sectors. The government, however, accepted overspending and is working on getting back to balance.
It is devastating to learn that Canadian households in the leading in world debt. At the same time, Canada’s deficit is the most significant risk to Canada’s economy, as stated by Canada’s bank. Despite the rise in oil prices, Alberta’s increase in loan interest rates might encourage the government to borrow more, primarily because Alberta no longer uses gas and oil. The business community has criticized Canadian in its recent federal budget for overspending about eighteen billion dollars in 2018-2019. According to research carried out in Canada, seventy-percent of citizens want a balanced budget over over-spending.
b. How are they affected by it
During the pandemic, Canada’s government spends a lot of money on health care, which has affected the country’s economy. Additionally, the rise and fall of gas and oil prices have contributed to its long history of debt, which may force the government to broaden its revenue system towards the citizens. The call for sale tax is one of the strategies that have been developed to deal with economic issues in the country. According to the Canadian association of petroleum producers, the oil and gas industry supports or covers thirty percent of its economy.
Although there has been a piece of strong evidence for change, through applying the new government bill 36 and the increase in volatility in the last thirty years, the country has received advice from top financial managers and international organizations that the government needs to regulate its spending and apply the sales tax to raise more money. Also, economists’ bits of advising Alberta to save thirty percent of its revenue from the sale of fossils, which has affected its financial budget. The Canadian province is forced to reduce the budget gap. The most effective solution for the Canadian government is to save the revenues gained from the sale of oil and gas and avoid including the government budget’s finances. The Canadian government needs to develop a fiscal rule that will keep the government disciplines, mostly avoiding deficit spending’s.
References
Béland, Daniel, André Lecours, Gregory P. Marchildon, Haizhen Mou, and M. Rose Olfert. Fiscal federalism and equalization policy in Canada: Political and economic dimensions. University of Toronto Press, 2017.
Brown, Douglas M. “The financial crisis and the future of federalism in Canada.” In The Future of Federalism. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017.
Ferris, J. Stephen, and Marcel-Cristian Voia. “Elections, economic outcomes and policy choices in Canada: 1870–2015.” Applied Economics (2020): 1-16
Hallstrom, Lars. “Rural governmentality in Alberta: A case study of neoliberalism in rural Canada.” Revue Gouvernance 15, no. 2 (2018): 27-49.
Hanniman, Kyle. “COVID-19, Fiscal Federalism and Provincial Debt: Have We Reached a Critical Juncture?.” Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique 53, no. 2 (2020): 279-285.
