Federal Debt To Reach $600 Billion today

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Canada’s federal debt will reach the $600 billion dollar mark today at 11:19pm.

CBC news published an article on this topic yesterday using the same rhetoric that has been used for decades. The same rhetoric that has allowed the federal debt to soar to this milestone.

Federal debt hits $600B tomorrow, taxpayers group says
CBC news

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the federal debt will pass a milestone tomorrow, and used that to call for the Harper government to begin spending within its means.

Federation director Gregory Thomas said the national debt will reach $600 billion just seconds before 11:19 p.m. ET.

That works out to nearly $17,200 for each person in the country.

At the current rate, Canada’s national debt is rising by $74.6 million a day, or $863.27 every second.

The federation said it applauds finance minister Jim Flaherty’s commitment to balance the budget before the next election.

Still, Flaherty acknowledged last month that the fallout from the recession will prevent Ottawa from erasing the national deficit as early as previously promised.

The minister said the government continues to search for ways to cut spending as he prepares a 2013 budget.

But as with previous budgets, Flaherty has ruled out both tax increases and cuts to provincial transfers.

Thomas said Canada would not have a deficit had the Conservatives not decided to spend billions of dollars to dig the country out of the recession that began in 2008.

The stimulus spending was unnecessary, Thomas told a Friday news conference.

“The economy bounced back and … we’re going to be paying those stimulus dollars 20, 30 years from now if we don’t get our act together.”

But much of it was wasteful, said Thomas, who took particular aim at the government’s advertising spending.

“You can’t sit through a football game without seeing all this propaganda about what a terrific job the government’s doing,” he said.

“They’re borrowing money to sell Canadians on themselves.”

The federal debt last peaked in 1997 at $563 billion, a figure that then represented almost two thirds of the country’s economic output. Adjusting for inflation, that number would be worth almost $760 billion today.
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Notice how CBC will tell you the exact numbers for how much is owed, how much was owed, how much it breaks down to on an individual level. But does not mention how much we have payed towards this debt a single time. Probably because every tax payer would be up in arms after they read it?

In 1997 the federal debt was $563 billion, with adjustment for inflation it would be an estimated $760 billion today (a massive reach, but I’m going to use the number provided). That would mean that we would be ahead ruffly $160 billion in the last 15 years.

Now the estimated amount that we pay into the federal debt yearly is $33.3 billion. So we have paid $499 billion in that amount of time. Paid nearly $500 billion to be head only $160 billion?

That’s right! For every $5 dollars that we have payed. $1.6 dollars of the debt has been removed.

Where is that other $3.4 going you might be asking?

Lets begin with who the federal debt owed to. Life insurance companies, pension funds, Mutual funds, investment dealers, Non-residents Chartered banks and “near-banks”. Account for 72% of the debtors with the remaining being held by “other” financial institutions.

Everyone of these “lenders” loan money to the government of Canada with compound interest added to it. That $3.4 dollars out of every $5 dollars that seems to just disappear from the taxpayers ($330 billion in total over 15 years). Is the payment towards that compound interest.

(if you are unfamiliar with compound interest please watch this documentary that explains it)

Now I know many of you might not be to angry about being robbed of $330 billion over 15 years (Canadians seem to love being apathetic). But maybe this will.

The Bank of Canada from 1938 until 1974 issued a large portion of these loans with little to no interest added. Meaning that the $5 dollars payed towards the debt. Actually went towards the debt. In that 36 year period our debt rose to $18 billion. Even after funding Canada through the second world war. Funding major infrastructure programs like the St. Lawrence seaway, and the trans Canada highway.

Can you name one infrastructure program of that scale in our nation since 1974? Have we had to get through a major war?

By loosing 68% of the tax money that we pay, what are we getting in return? The simple pleasure of allowing some bankers to get richer and richer?

Now this is where we should be all up in arms. The Bank of Canada Act. was not abolished in 1974. In fact it is still in place today. The Act allows the Bank of Canada to loan up to 50% of our currency interest free. Our politicians just side step it, and allow the private institutions to continue robbing us blind.

This “milestone” today only highlights the dire need of restoring the proper use of the Bank of Canada! If we do not, our future generations will inherit this corrupt system of debt enslavement.