Editor's note: The following letter is in response to Northern Life Managing Editor Mark Gentili's column, “Why is no one talking about debt?”
I appreciate this article, Mr. Gentili.
As I understand it, the problem with governmental debt is less about the size of the debt itself and more about the ability of the government to raise revenue to pay it off.
Regardless, I’ve noticed over the last 20-30 years, regardless of political stripe, the general current here and abroad, in developed and developing nations, is ever larger governmental debt.
This concerns me.
We know that the costs of dealing with the negative impacts of climate change such as health issues, heavy rains and floods are rising and will continue to escalate in Ontario. This money, of course, comes right out of our pockets.
We have one party, the Tories, that outright has no plan to lower our greenhouse gas emissions. That’s the same thing as saying, “We are choosing for this problem to worsen and so, by default, for the money to bleed out of your pocket.” Not talking about debt and not talking about climate change: unconscionable.
Surely Adam Smith’s famous words holds true for both persons and governments: "What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience.”
Carole Lavallée
Chelmsford