The flurry of spending activity included in this year's budget was about as surprising as Gary Bettman's announcement that the NHL season was, in fact, over. No one expected to watch the Canucks play this year, just as no one believed the Liberals could resist handing out some election goodies in their budget. But, just how much spending was motivated by getting votes and how did taxpayers fare in the budget

Generally, taxpayers should be watching three things in every budget: spending, taxes and debt management. A good budget is always balanced. That is, spending or expenditures do not exceed revenue. This has been the feather in the Liberal's cap. They should be commended for bringing in their second balanced budget in a row. However, managing to keep expenses lower than revenues is not a de facto fiscal bill of health.

Taxpayers should also be looking closely at the a) pace of spending, b) type of spending and c) areas of spending. This year's budget forecasts overall government spending, which includes universities, schools, health authorities and transfers to crown corporations, to jump by 4.75% or $1.47 billion. Government spending is increasing more than twice the 2% rate of inflation.

More troubling is the rate of increased ministerial spending. The 2005 budget reveals that in one year alone department spending will increase 7.8%! Once given, these budget increases are almost impossible to take back-- witness the Liberals struggles in their first two years. And what is all this money for, who are the lucky recipients

The budget continues the government's trend to spend. Tax dollars have been shoveled off to the arts ($28 million), industry (film credits, tourism, mining, forestry, oil and gas and aquaculture), the BC Treaty Commission, the Olympics ($16 million in a legacy funding), health, education, housing, fencing for roads, trails for hikers and funding for mosquitoes. Treasury decisions are clearly being made to impress voters, not taxpayers.

As disappointing as the budget was for taxpayers it wasn't all together surprising. The throne speech traditionally sets the fiscal tone for the government and is delivered one week prior to the budget. A simple review of the throne speech reveals that the word, "debt" appears three times, "taxes" twice and "taxpayers" aren't mentioned at all. However, "funding" has 25 hits, "government" has 83 and "new" appears 122 times. Spending was the priority of the throne speech, and spending was the priority the budget.

The budget's much ballyhooed tax relief plan will mean very little, if anything, to most taxpayers in the province. The government is boasting $484 million in reduced taxes but upon closer inspection, much of that 'relief' is from reversing the government's 2002 sales tax increase and increasing the refundable (cashable) tax credit for the film industry. There was some marginal relief offered to low income earners in the way of a non-refundable (non-cashable) tax credit up to a maximum $360. In comparison to the planned $777 million in "economic development initiatives" [read: corporate subsidies], the government's tax relief plan is certainly style above substance.

As for the debt, well, the budget plans for a one time balloon payment of $1.7 billion but also forecasts the debt to rise over the next few years. The province's mountain of debt has grown $3 billion under the Liberal's watch and they have no plan to keep it from growing. Even with the big payment, the debt will be at $36.1 billion by the end of the 2005 fiscal year, in 2001 the debt was at $33 billion. With millions of taxpayers' dollars being spent on interest payments each day, the government needs a scheduled- preferably legislated- debt payment plan.

After balancing the books, streamlining regulations, reducing taxes and bringing investment back to BC, this year's budget was a precipitous one: crank-up spending for votes or stay the course and reign in the debt. Unfortunately, taxpayers were hit with a government that is trying to get re-elected for the exact opposite reasons it was first elected.