Opinion

Could You Be Finance Minister? Take Our Quiz!

And learn how Carole Taylor made $446 million seem like nearly $2 billion.

By Will McMartin, 3 Oct 2006, TheTyee.ca

Carole Taylor

Taylor: Special way with numbers.

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A new school year has begun, and across British Columbia thousands of students are pondering career opportunities that await them upon graduation.

Some will have their hearts set on a profession such as the law, accounting, teaching or medicine. Others will be eyeing a trade, perhaps bricklaying or carpentry. A few will look to administrative or service positions, and many will become self-employed. A handful may even dream of joining the circus.

But some are not certain of what they might do upon leaving school. To these individuals the Tyee poses a question: have you ever thought of being B.C.'s minister of finance?

Consider the life

The pay is attractive. Your workplace will be a spacious office in a historic building in Victoria with a lovely view of the city's inner harbour. Best of all, you will be treated with courtesy and respect by a wide array of people.

Your assistants and staff will bow and scrape and call you "minister" (to your face, at least). Cabinet colleagues will be courteous and respectful because they won't want you to cut the funding for their departments or pet programs. Lose funding, lose face. Backbenchers will do anything -- seriously, anything! -- to get your attention. And members of the news media, nearly all of whom react to numbers the way Superman does to kryptonite, will gaze at you in open-mouthed wonderment as you effortlessly recite statistics or confidently refer to a PowerPoint presentation. (Some may even swallow their gum.)

To find out if you have the intellectual capacity and math aptitude required for this unique career opportunity, The Tyee invites you to participate in our exclusive quiz: "Do You Have What It Takes To Be B.C.'s Finance Minister?"

A perfect score means that you are an ideal candidate to be minister of finance; you really ought to consider a career in politics. A single incorrect answer, however, means that you are unlikely to succeed in this field. You may want to get some practical work experience as, say, a stock promoter or a casino worker, to prepare you to take the test again a few years from now.

1. Aptitude

Here is the first section of our three-part quiz. It will determine if you have the traits needed for the job. Just answer each question with a simple "yes" or "no"

  • Do you like to fiddle with numbers?

  • Does the notion of bamboozling the public fill you with trembling excitement?

  • Can you feign indignation, disappointment or anger when someone accuses you of "fudging," even when you did?

The correct answer to all three questions is "yes." If you answered "no" even once, you failed. And these were the easy questions! You'd best forget about having a career in politics, ever. Those who answered each in the affirmative, please continue to the second part of the quiz.

2. Fiscal History 101

This section deals with notable examples of fiscal fudging in British Columbia. Again, please answer each question with a simple "yes" or "no."

  • Can you picture yourself shooting a flaming arrow toward a lake-barge loaded with old bonds to symbolize B.C. becoming "Debt-Free," even though all you did was rename the debt as "contingent liabilities," which were transferred to off-the-books government agencies and Crown corporations, and therefore was still owed by the people of B.C.? (W.A.C. Bennett did this in 1959.)

  • Do you have the creativity to devise a budget that claims $839 million in magically-new revenues, even though the monies came from an empty Budget Stabilization Fund and therefore did not exist? (As John Jansen did in 1991.)

  • Would you have the intestinal fortitude to ignore dire warnings of deteriorating forestry revenues from non-partisan bureaucrats, and instead craft a pre-election budget that you claimed was "balanced" with the injection of hundreds of millions of imaginary dollars based on "revenue optimism," so that your party could win re-election to government? (Elizabeth Cull did this in 1996.)

If you answered "yes" to these questions, well done! Not only do you have the skills to be a budding finance minister, at the very least you might want to consider a career as a political consultant, a lobbyist or an advertising executive. And for those who answered "no" to any of these questions, please, there is no point in continuing. You'll just be wasting our time.

3. Current affairs

You've now arrived at the third and final part of our Tyee quiz. While the first section dealt with aptitude, and the second referred to recent history, this component is based upon present-day politics and finance. It's tough. Take your time.

We call it: "Could You Manufacture a Frightening Fiscal Crisis out of Thin Air (so as to frighten newspaper editorialists and radio talk-show hosts who in turn will scare British Columbians into thinking that the government must implement dramatic changes to the public health system)?"

Or, as it's known around The Tyee office, "We're Doomed!"

Below are three multiple-choice questions. Choose the answer that you believe is correct.

  • According to the budget released in February, health expenditures last year totalled nearly $11.5 billion. In the current year they'll be just over $11.9 billion, or $446 million higher than the previous year.

    Here is the question: by what amount did the finance minister claim to have increased funding for health this year -- (a) $446 million; (b) $821 million; or (c) $1,950 million (that is, "almost $2 BILLION").

The correct answer is (c) "almost $2 billion."

Confused? Of course you are. According to British parliamentary tradition, and even B.C.'s own Financial Administration Act, the legislature only may approve expenditures for one fiscal year. (It's called the "principle of annuality," and is practised in democratic countries around the world.)

In the current fiscal year, B.C.'s Legislative Assembly approved a health expenditure increase of just $446 million. That's all.

But Gordon Campbell's government presents three-year spending plans with each annual budget. So this spring, while the budget for the current year lifts health spending by $446 million, it also outlines an increase of $237 million next year (2007-08), plus another $138 million in the year after that (2008-09).

The latter two increases have not been approved by the legislature, and they may never occur. But that hasn't stopped the BC Liberals from claiming credit for them.

Moreover, where most people -- you know, taxpayers, and other simple, honest folk -- would calculate the three-year increase at $821 million ($446 million + $237 million + $138 million), the Campbell government adds up those same numbers and arrives at $1,950 million. (See pp. 11 and 20 of Budget and Fiscal Plan, 2006/07-2008/09, here.)

That's because they figure that the $446 million will be spent this year, and then it will be spent again next year along with the $237 million. And in the final year, the $446 million and $237 million will form a base for the $138 million. You add it up like this: $446 million + $446 million + 237 million + $446 million + $237 million + $138 million.

Got that? The new, improved total is $1.95 billion.

Just like that -- presto! -- a rather modest funding lift of $446 million has been transformed into a gargantuan boost of "almost $2 billion."

(Do not try this at home. If you measured the growth of your children in this fashion, they'd be over 20 feet tall by the time they left home, and your grocery bills would be huge!)

  • According to this year's budget, health expenditures are expected to grow by 3.9 per cent in the current year, a bare 2.0 per cent next year, and then a paltry 1.1 per cent the following year. But the regional health authorities recently informed Victoria that the increases in the latter two years were insufficient to cover inflation and population growth, and so they requested additional funds to maintain existing services. (See p. 20 of First Quarterly Report here.)

    The question is this: how did our finance minister respond to the health authorities: (a) quietly and calmly acknowledge they were underfunded and thank them for their input in preparation of next year's budget; (b) at a news conference, express astonishment and concern that a budget increase of "almost $2 billion" was so quickly followed by a request for another $1 billion; or, (c) publicly announce the appointment of a finance ministry official to investigate these outrageous health expenditures?

Sorry for the trick question; the correct answers are both (b) and (c). Remember, the objective is to create the perception of a looming catastrophe.

  • Finally, B.C.'s finance minister apparently wanted to provoke the news media into a hysterical reaction to alleged skyrocketing health expenditures. To that end, government staffers concocted a chart that shows ever-rising health costs consuming an ever-larger proportion of the budget. (See Slide 15 here.)

    Here's the question: does the chart (a) use numbers from this year's budget with increases of 3.9 per cent, 2.0 per cent and 1.1 per cent over a three-year period; (b) use updated numbers from both the budget and the 1st quarterly report (so as to include the health authorities' new requests) which would be 4.4 per cent, 4.8 per cent and 6.7 per cent over three years; or peg increases at a whopping 8 per cent in each and every year for the next decade and more?

If you are this far in the quiz, you're smart enough to know that the answer is "c." Moreover, you probably know that the chart not only showed health costs rising at eight per cent annually, but it kept education expenditures to just three per cent per year, and held every other category of spending to less than zero -- less than zero! -- in every year.

Not surprisingly, the finance chart showed that health care, by 2017-18, would consume three-quarters of the government budget, while education will eat the remaining quarter. Nothing will be left for anything else.

Oh, please, will somebody save us?

You're a natural!

Congratulations to those of you who got this far in the quiz. You passed! Join the party of your choice. There's a future for you.

It is evident that not just anyone can be a B.C. finance minister. Indeed, only 42 men and three women have held the post since our province joined Confederation in 1871. A few presided over the province's finances for inordinately long periods of time -- John Hart and W.A.C. Bennett for 18 years apiece -- but many measured their tenure in mere months. You just never know when there might be a vacancy.

On the other hand, what's the point of any of us thinking about future career opportunities in British Columbia? As Gordon Campbell is saying, there's a fiscal tidal wave coming toward us. We're freaking doomed!

Veteran political consultant and analyst Will McMartin is a regular columnist for The Tyee.

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30 Comments:

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  • Grumpy

    5 years ago

    Comments on "Could You Be Finance Minister? Take Our Quiz!&

    Damn right their is a fiscal tidal wave heading our way and Campbell & Co. have booked seas on the Queen of the North to get out of the way.

    For fiscal responcibility, I'm afraid Clark was more responcible than Campbell and that is saying alot.

    Campbell and his CORUS fibbing brother have created an atmosphere of pure greed and hate, that Herr Goebels would have been proud.

    Who is not afraid to bell the cat? Not CORUS, not the Asper press, not Global or the CBC, no one!

    This is a province where casinos are built to launder drug money, transit is built to suit political whims, highways are built to fill the pockets of political supporters, fish farms ,which are allowed to operate and destroy our environment, are tolerated and expanded. On and on and on it goes.

    Evil is as evil does and Campbell & crew have been the most evil govenment we have had!

  • Fiat lux

    5 years ago

    Since bank deregulation, money ceased to exist as an instrument of trade and has become a licence for energy control, issued by a special interest sector for its own benefit. (My definition)

    Big business doesn't use their own funds for investment, but borrow, because it is tax deductible and cheaper on the long run to borrow capital, freshly created by the banks from thin air, to expropriate the resources and lives of anybody on Earth.

    Then the banks use the collateral they created the money against, to create more. In other words, they use their own imaginary capital for collateral to create more worthless money.

    When banks can create incredible amounts of imaginary capital to ruin the lives of millions and destroy the environment, it is legalized colonization and forced collectivization with the perceived power of imaginary money.

    Therefore, what our finance ministers are doing is nothing more than a game with imaginary figures, because monetary values disappeared with bank deregulation.

    The same applies for all business transactions, because we live in an era of super inflation used for overcapitalization for expropriation, the same way the Soviets used bayonets for the same purpose, for the benefit of a special interest sector.

    On account of this super inflation with imaginary money, economic calculations can no longer be made with monetary values, because they mean absolutely nothing and the figures used by the finance ministers are fraud.

    Ed Deak, Big Lake.

  • G West

    5 years ago

    Are Martha Piper and Carole Taylor related?

    They appear to have the same disingenuous smile pasted firmly on the lower half of their faces. It always helps to smile when you're hiding things.

    Nice to read you again, Ed. Did you pick up on the 6.5 Billion $ collapse of the that hedge fund late last week? Primarily in oil futures I think.

    With the housing finance mess coming to a head in the US it's going to be interesting what actually happens after November.

  • Cynic

    5 years ago

    Ah yes, living our lives by the numbers. Astounding isn't it? We have vast resources and the intelligence to do almost anything, yet we're stopped in our tracks by elitists spouting numbers. When will we wake up to this nightmare of a banking scam?

  • Fiat lux

    5 years ago

    What we have to remember is that big business and the military exist and survive on secrecy and lies, usually blessed and legitimized by religions.

    This is not a conspiracy theory, but the fact of the same, repetitious conspiracies through hunan history.

    Show me a corporate CEO and a general who doesn't lie as part of their jobs and I'll show you a miracle.

    Ed Deak.

  • Tieleman

    5 years ago

    Brilliant and hilarious at the same time! McMartin for Finance Minister!

  • Name

    5 years ago

    Brilliant, Will! You made my morning coffee break!

    Having made it all the way through, I guess I should go find me some Guccis and start updating the old resume!

  • Name

    5 years ago

    ...Oops, not "updating", I mean "embellishing" the old resume.

  • Frank

    5 years ago

    You're doing better than me Name, damn, I keep failing. I blame it on the commie BCTF for teaching Generally Accepted Ways of Adding.

  • verso

    5 years ago

    I think I'll send this to Bill Good... I don't think he got the memo.

  • mcdull

    5 years ago

    Bill Boring is just letting the premier give his own version to the converted. No hard questions just the Lieberal Slant. When he wnts to sell something tous what better cheerleaders than his publicist cheerleaders Bill and Mike.The morning and evening crews.

  • Grumpy

    5 years ago

    Bill Boring (a.k.a. I'm Bill Boring and you're not) will get his order of Canada, just wait and see. Good god they are giving to Peter Jennings......for what?

    He was a Canadian born US news reporter and by all accounts a all around nice guy, but and I repeat but, what did he do to earn one?

    I see the Dow Jones is rising, strange because the American ecconomy is tanking and with mid term elections only a month and a bit away, could it be bush and his neocon friends perverting the stock markets to try to save their political asses?

    As for Taylor, a dried up has been, why doesn't she take hint and piss off and pretend that she is important somewhere else!

  • maestro

    5 years ago

    One of Lifes' few " Givens" , at least in the past few decades, is one cannot really " trust " WHATever Gov't is in power ,..and especially WHOever is the Finance Minister.

    It seems to all revolve around becoming Gov't and having the power to distribute the filthy lucre $$$'s.

    Gov't is effectively becoming a programmed and increasingly - ravenous Cash -Grabbing machine, then the ugly job of RE - bribing us with our own money $$$.

    The simple formula seems to be GOV'T "X" gets in power, but then its " job" is how to re-invest the tax dollars to retain power, after the core issues have been funded..ie Health, Education etc. etc.

    Gordo and others sem to remind me of the rogue MBA's (ie identified by Harvard as a major pox on economy, hence much of society) that have taken charge and into a combined swashbuckling Errol Flynn changes /fiscal Houdini acts...(though I will go on record as not even remotely a fan of the NDP)...

    Thank God for the Auditor General , who actually do their jobs and do it very well. The AG's objective accountng creates acountability etc. In musing on this, I'm not sure why an Auditor General," in theory" should not also be the Finance Minister and be much like the Lieutenant Governor model...neutral and non -partisan in the OVERALL analysis of THE " best bag for the buck ".

    This would avoid the all- too -common shallow and cheap politics and the equally cheap and shallow agendas that go hand -in - hand with it.

  • NoLeftNutter

    5 years ago

    I have a suggestion - why not support a government that actually takes less and spends less? It's the only rational and most honest approach.

  • Logjam 603

    5 years ago

    Gotta love Will . . . his preconceived socialist filters proves to all sane peole why the voters of BC kicked the bums out - The NDP aka the sock puppet for the BC Fed couldn't organize piss-up in a brewery let alone run the provincal economy.

    Banished to the opposition was and is an appropriate place for all Slick Willies pals and NDP buddies.

    Keep going Carole, we love what you are doing for all us ordinary taxpaying BC'ers

  • maestro

    5 years ago

    Grumpy;

    Re Order Of Canada:

    In the scheme/scam of things, if John Gotti(when alive) became a Canadian, the Canadian higher purposes people system " mafia " would in equally typical Canadian fashion try and "stickhandle on O fo C " for him...something about contributing as a major economic generator..etc etc.

    Actually,I came across an application for a citizen via the nomination by another.

    Now, many O of C recipients are truly worthy candidates. However, some achieve them from very dubious aka political reasons as a perk for past subjective service...which then further undermines it credibility, and the rest get tarred by association under the same O of C umbrella .

    Rafe used to talk about the Canadian elite mafia "drinking of their own bath water"...which includes much of the toady Press.

    Besides media concentration aka Can West, one should also take note of how journalists get recruited, plucked and placed into nice cushy PR jobs ie "Communication Directors" ,..not to mention our last (2) Governor generals had ex CBC -media roots?

    Other media types tend to wind down, mellow, step on less toes...awaiting future honours for personal legacy and immortality...(if not a Senate seat)

    Always funny to see them switch to the Gov't PR dark side and how they change their tune..often embarassing to watch. All they do is claim to speak for Gov't which should be US, but all they do is catch spear and bullets fired their way, and protect whoever in Gov't of the day hired them , and act increasingly less in OUR best interests.

    Its becoming epidemic....and for various reasons.

  • Tieleman

    5 years ago

    Logjam 603 obviously isn't aware of Will McMartin's political history.

    A staff person for Social Credit under Premier Bill Bennett.

    A Social Credit candidate who ran against Dave Barrett.

    A Conservative Party candidate in North Vancouver in 1993.

    Socialist? NDP buddy? Will McMartin? Get real.

    The fact is that McMartin is that exceedingly rare commodity - an honest right winger.

    I disagree with McMartin on many issues but I respect his accuracy and refusal to suck up to politicians who just are not truthful with the public, regardless of whether they claim to be free enterprisers, right wingers or conservative thinkers.

    The fact the old Socreds like McMartin and Rafe Mair are denounced by the BC Liberals for their commentary only show how far to the right that party has become, not to mention how far from the truth it regularly strays.

    - Bill Tieleman

  • Frank

    5 years ago

    Oh c'mon Bill, why'd you have to butt in, I was sitting back enjoying hearing Will being called a socialist.

    You can't buy that level of entertainment.

  • Grumpy

    5 years ago

    Logjam, you can't see the forest from the trees, your endemic hatred of the NDP, as shared by many, has blinded you to the realities of this carpetbagger government.

    At least WACky Bennet thought of BC first, Campbell & crew think of American investors first and his own west side creme de la creme sexond, and BC comes last.

    Clark & Co. were inept; Campbell and Co. are corrupt!

  • Capitalism

    5 years ago

    Tieleman - this province (outside of your little urban hole) is comprised primarily of Conservatives.

    They are truly voice of the people - and I for one, hope the continue down the road they are on. Truly a business friendly party - and good on them.

    Opportunities are endless. You just have to stick your neck out there.

  • Frank

    5 years ago

    Actually Cap, the Conservatives don't make up a majority of the voting public do they? Non-NDP doesn't mean conservative.

    BC has a large segment of federal Liberals.

    Its also why the NDP don't get 44% of the vote during federal elections.

  • ubiquitous

    5 years ago

    Quote:
    Truly a business friendly party

    Says cappy regarding the Conservatives and thus this becomes his first factually correct statement since coming to The Tyee.

    I'm not sure how 37.7% of the (B.C.) vote represents "the voice of the people" (you sure like speaking in cliches don't you) if you're going by the most recent federal election. The federal Liberals and NDP, both, it could be argued, sit on the left side of the spectrum, and combined for well over 50% of the vote. Do you ever check facts?

  • JIm

    5 years ago

    Quote:
    The fact is that McMartin is that exceedingly rare commodity - an honest right winger
    Quote:

    It’s rather hilarious that the former NDP spin master for Glen Clark and the fudget budget crew is claiming all right wingers are liars.

    You know a governing party is doing well when the opponents are complaining about surpluses that are too large.

  • thomas49

    5 years ago

    Quote:
    You can't buy that level of entertainment.

    [/B]No kidding

    As I said in a previous post the followers of Carole Taylor are really not very bright and the gospel according to the mean spirited liberals is easily spread by the voices heard here.

    It reminds me of Jim Carey's...BUTT TALKING .

  • thomas49

    5 years ago

    Quote:
    commentor: Capitalismposted: 1 Hour AgoTieleman - this province (outside of your little urban hole) is comprised primarily of Conservatives.

    If I remember correctly,mabelbc/capitalism ,you are a white boy who likes to drink and gamble.

    So i would say your addled mind ought to check the numbers and you should really sit down and find reason why this province lurches from one EXTREME PARTY to the next.

    Most of us in this province want a road that ALL MAY TRAVEL and you don't find that with your miserable friends in the Kampbell Klan .

    Then again,that road to WHISTLER is a real boon to all of us...isn't it ?
    You up north need this ,you in the interior,you in the kootenays ???

    I hope they innundate that road with the police,radar and their BREATHALIZERS.

  • Name

    5 years ago

    Logjam, you're hilarious.

    Oooh, Carol! Please lie to me some more. I love it when you talk like that.

    No, wait! That's not enough! Please walk all over me... Yeah, in the Guccis... Aaaahhh!

  • DPL

    5 years ago

    Thanks for reminding us about the flaming arrow episode. We were living in Quebec at the time and still remember that comedy item. Old Wacky sure knew how to play to the supporters. when we retired here, for the first time, in BC in the early 70's. I met the old bugger. Everyone around me was calling him Mr. premier. I asked why because he was no longer premier. Oh but in our minds he is. That's the problem with Socred/ Liberal folks. Everything they hear bad about anyone else is gospel, especially if the person they are slagging is NDP. Taylor is right in the fold. She sees the tsunami coming as well because if Gordon sees it, well she better see it too. Hope everyone got the huge, glossy piece of mail today so we can discuss issues around budget. Some more trees gone and of course should anyone actually bother to reply it won't prove anything anyway. Cynical? Me? you bet.
    Bill Tielman is right Will is no lefty and is credible, something a lot of the present gang is not.

  • alive

    5 years ago

    Seems to me that Carole Taylor is aiming for the leadership?
    Gordo certainly is on self-destruct, so she should have a good chance,since the party member prefer BS to facts.
    Maybe the next election will be Carole v/s Carole?
    Vote Taylot if you desire more distortions, and vote James if you want more equal distribution of the goodies!

  • Booker

    5 years ago

    Mr McMartin, I hope you continue to keep Taylor's feet to the fire, you socialist, you.

  • Passaglias Left Foot

    5 years ago

    The Tyee hasn't been so transparent for a while. Hack journalism anyone?

    Let's rename this site The Leftwing Circlejerk.

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