Canada's National Debt Just Keeps Growing!

Canada Needs 55 Of These To Pay Our Debt

If you are like me, the concept of even one billion dollars makes your mind wobble and your eyes go in circles! The above picture graphically shows what ten billion dollars would look like if it were actual cash on a wooden skid. It would take 55 times as many if we were ever to pay off our national debt.

Canadian Debt Has Historically Just Kept Growing

The following data comes from the Canadian Taxpayer Federation and shows how our debt in Canada has grown at a steady, and alarming rate since 1961. In the past fifty years we have gone from spending $15 Billion more than we have taken in by way of taxes, to a projected total of $522 Billion.

Looking at it another way, in 1960 the total population of Canada was 17,870,000 with a total national debt of nearly $15 billion. By 2011 the population has approximately doubled to 34,308,000 and the total national debt has increased 35 times. As a nation in that past 50 years we have witnessed our great country becoming more and more dependent upon our creditors to pay the bills our government keeps wracking up at an alarming rate.

Are We Any Better Off?

I am a man in my early 60's and can remember life as far back as the late 60's from a young adults viewpoint and I have to honestly say I do not think our quality of life nor the services provided by government to the people of Canada has improved one little bit in spite of the massive amounts of money being spent.

Of course, that begs the question, "what in blue blazes are governments spending so much money on?". It also begs the question "is anyone actually ever going to pay off the debt, and if not how much interest are we saddling future generations with, to pay for our drunken spending spree?".

Where Does Our REAL Wealth Come From?

As a nation we, like the USA, have become less and less a nation which actually makes things of value which fill a need for someone they are willing to pay for. The auto industry for all intents and purpose simply went bust a few years ago and if it were not for you and I via huge government loans would be out of business now, and all those auto related jobs would have vanished offshore.

It is nearly impossible to pick up anything these days in a store that is not made in China and the fact a Canadian company was still making  coats in Canada actually was considered a news worthy story! So, what actually underpins the Canadian economy? Our grandkids future fortunes surely aren't tied to jobs at Timmies and the Golden Arches are they?