The 2013 Nova Scotia Alternative Provincial Budget invests in good jobs, strong communities, and participatory economics. It is a comprehensive budget that involved 30 plus collaborators and makes strategic investments to boost the sluggish economy and expand opportunities for all Nova Scotians.
View coverage of the NSAPB by Global Maritimes (start at 2:08).
Read coverage by the Chronicle Herald.
Read coverage by the Cape Breton Post.
Read coverage by News 95.7.
Read coverage by the Halifax Media Co-op.
Read commentary about the NSAPB on behindthenumbers.ca or the Progressive Economics Forum.
The 2013 Nova Scotia Alternative Provincial Budget invests in good jobs, strong communities, and participatory economics. It is a comprehensive budget that involved 30 plus collaborators and makes strategic investments to boost the sluggish economy and expand opportunities for all Nova Scotians.
As was expected, the provincial budget released by Nova Scotia's ruling New Democratic Party is characterized by a fixation on getting “back to balance”. With a debt to-GDP ratio of 35%, there is no need to prioritize fiscal balance to the exclusion of other important needs. What is being further unbalanced in the government’s rush “back to balance”? Our rural communities are struggling against a tide of out-migration, and many people among us are struggling to make ends meet.
Persistent inequalities and inequities across our province require our government to lead the way by reframing this debate so that it is about our collective future.
For a budget that would move the province Forward to Fairness through targeted investments in Nova Scotia's future, funded by fiscally responsible progressive taxation, see our Nova Scotia Alternative Budget, which can be downloaded here.
Click the image above to see footage of CCPA-NS Executive Director, Christine Saulnier, reacting to the budget.
Read Saulnier’s blog post, “HST cut in Nova Scotia: Detracting from real debate about our future,” here.
CBC covered reactions to the budget, here.
The Chronicle Herald covered reactions to the budget, here.
Today, the provincial government is releasing its budget. While there has been much talk about getting "back to balance," CCPA-NS has advocated for a budget that more accurately reflects the province's real fiscal situation. Our fact sheet, "Twelve Things You Should Know about nova Scotia's Fiscal Situation," explains that the deficit and the debt aren't really urgent problems for Nova Scotia. The province's debt-to-GDP ratio and the portion of GDP going towards debt servicing costs have declined dramatically in the last few years.
Instead of making cuts that will slow our economic recovery and jeopardize our quality of life, CCPA-NS has offered and Alternative Provincial Budget that makes targeted investments, paid for through progressive taxation, that will move the province "Forward to Fairness."
An entire press release, "Understanding the Provincial Budget," can be found here.
"Twelve Things You Should Know about Nova Scotia's Fiscal Situation" can be downloaded here.
The Nova Scotia Alternative Budget 2012 can be downloaded here.
Read a blog post that explains the Alternative Budget by Research Associate Jason Edwards, here.
CCPA-NS brings together academics and community partners to assemble its Alternative Budget for 2012. This document shows Nova Scotians that minor changes in government spending could have a major impact on the health and wellness of its population. Putting the welfare of the province's citizens first, the NSAB projects a potentially balanced budget by 2014 without sacrificing services that Nova Scotians rely on. The NSAB's prescriptions would move Nova Scotia in the right direction: forward to fairness.
“Our budget protects programs while increasing revenues, primarily through increased upper-end income taxes. This budget does not pose a risk to the province’s delicate recovery by imposing austerity measures that will result in job losses. Rather, it continues to build our social and physical infrastructure and invest in our communities and our people where it is most needed.”
Read the full Nova Scotia Alternative Budget 2012.
The following media outlets covered the NSAB: Global Maritimes (start at 7:00), The Cape Breton Post, The Chronicle Herald, The Canadian Press (Hosted by Ipoitics.ca), The Halifax Media Co-op, and the Halifax Media Co-op (on youth).
Accomplished author Stephen Kimber also commented on the NSAB, here.
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