Business Senator Criticizes Barrow Budget

Mark Lizarraga

Business sector Senator Mark Lizarraga had a lot to say about the Prime Minister’s budget today, particularly where borrowing is concerned. The Opposition coined the phrase ‘Borrow and Spend Budget,’ and today Lizarraga cautioned that when the government comes down off this borrowing and spending high, the hangover will be unbearable.

Mark Lizarraga, Senator, Business Sector

“While government pays lip service to accountability and transparency and the handling of the people’s money, the discipline of program budgeting, the actually spending that occurs has been and will continue to be driven by short term political expediency as revealed by the prime minister’s budget speech and confirmed by the constant amendment of the rules and laws of our country to feed their borrowing needs. Any politician, Mister President, any politician or government whose primary focus is political triumph rather than sustainable national growth and development will continue to rely on borrowing and spending while asserting that such borrowing and spending equals growth and we know this to be on sound policy, which is largely illusionary. Unbridled borrowing eventually brings nothing but pain and misery. In looking at the budget numbers presented, we noted of course that this administration continues to live on the buzz, this high, elixir, borrowed money, pretending Mister President that we will never have goma, we will never suffer hangover. No sobering period in sight. Trust me, Mister President, our withdrawal and goma when we come down from this temporary high will be nothing nice. The sad part, the sad part is that the ones who will suffer this most from this hangover and from this goma are not the ones who get the most high. The persons who will suffer the most are the ones who get the shish, the crumbs that they scrape off the table of these favoured few and those who feast in this intoxicating spree.”

We’ll have more highlights from the Senate in Tuesday’s newscast.