This op-ed was published in the Edmonton Sun on Saturday, March 26, 2016.

Kids are deceptively perceptive. They might forget to brush their teeth morning after morning, yet they’ll eternally remember a broken promise to take them for ice-cream. The things we think they’ll never notice can have long-term consequences.

The government has now broken its balanced budget promise to Albertans for at least the third time. Last year, the government said it would balance the budget in 2018. A few months ago it said it would be 2019. Now it says setting a date to balance the budget is “wishful thinking.”

Now the “path to (budget) balance” Finance Minister Joe Ceci mapped out in October has been completely thrown out the window.

It’s as if the lack of accountability from Tuesday’s federal budget wasn’t enough. Ottawa’s deficit is nearly three times what the Liberals promised with no balanced budget date in sight. Yet the province is even worse.

Perhaps when governments talked about “social license” they actually meant the feds would abandon their balanced budget commitments so the provinces could follow suit.

This is the problem with electing governments that run on deficits – give them an inch, and they’ll take billions of miles.

We all know what would happen if you spent with reckless abandon in your household and had no plan to pay off your debt. Your credit cards would max out and the debt collectors would come a-knockin’.

The government can borrow at more irresponsible levels than you can. Why? They have a big pool of cash to draw from: taxpayers. In that, Albertans should take no comfort.

Debt comes at a cost. By going on spending spree, borrowing billions and racking up debt with no credible plan to repay it, the government is further compromising our credit rating, while also throwing away $779 million this year on debt interest payments alone.

Major bond rating agencies have already given Alberta red flags and a credit downgrade.

At the same time, the government plans to borrow for operational spending. That’s like borrowing to buy groceries in addition to getting a loan to buy a car.

By risking our credit rating, the government is taking the risk that paying for important social programs such as education and health care will become more expensive – and therefore more difficult.

The government is currently planning to leave future generations with a massive pile of debt, making important services more expensive.

The worst part is that the Alberta government continues to take zero responsibility for its $10.4 billion deficit.

The finance minister says he doesn’t want to rely on oil prices, yet, like PC finance ministers before him, he is constantly blaming the price of oil for his government’s deficits and claiming there’s nothing he can do.

He (now) says a balanced budget date would be “wishful thinking.”

The government cannot control the price of oil, but they do control the how they react to it. Deficits are a policy choice.

Nearly one of every two dollars spent by the province goes to government employee compensation. The government should take a cue from the private sector and roll back salaries and lavish expense accounts. A rollback of 10 per cent of compensation would save an estimated $2.5 billion.

Billions can be saved by bringing Alberta’s program spending in line with the national average. For example, University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe suggests Alberta could save $3 billion if total health care spending matched that of Ontario, BC and Quebec.

For now, however, the government is charting a course for further credit downgrades and screwing over future generations.

We know how this story ends. Saskatchewan plunged into debt in the 1980’s and when it came time to pay it back, taxes went up and services were slashed. Kids noticed. We know that because thousands of them moved to Alberta.

If we don’t balance the budget soon our kids will face the same consequences.

Paige MacPherson is Alberta Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.