surplus

Friday May 28, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 28, 2021

As world grows desperate for COVID vaccine, US sits on tens of millions of unused doses

Despite offers of lottery winnings, amusement park tickets and even cold hard cash, unvaccinated Americans are leaving tens of millions of unused doses for COVID-19 sitting on the shelves.

May 11, 2021

Federal officials told state governors that as of earlier this week up to 53 million doses were still waiting to be ordered by the states – a staggering amount that, depending upon the type of vaccine, would offer protection against the virus to some 25 million people.

That federal surplus is in addition to an unknown number of vaccine doses waiting for arms at vaccination sites and pharmacies in states like Wyoming, Idaho, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama that have the lowest vaccination rates.

The potential glut comes as the world’s poorest countries are still waiting on vaccines to protect their health care workers and elderly. Only 0.3% of vaccine supply is going to low-income countries.

“We are right now in possession of a supply that could be shared, that we’re worried about expiring,” Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson told the White House in phone call on Tuesday with other governors. Audio of the private call was obtained by ABC News.

The Biden administration insists that the number of wasted doses in the U.S. is extremely low and that the vast majority of supply is not at risk of expiring. But the idea of a growing vaccine surplus is a new dilemma for the White House, which took control when supply was scarce and the federal government still hadn’t purchased enough vaccine for every American. Now, with nearly 60 percent of eligible Americans having one shot, the pace of those shots has been cut in half in the past six weeks to 1.7 million a day.

April 28, 2021

Meanwhile, global outbreaks have prompted concerns of new mutations of the virus that could chip away at the effectiveness of vaccines and leave vaccinated Americans at risk.

“We are going to have this embarrassing accumulation of surplus,” said Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Morrison, who predicted as many as 30 percent of Americans will refuse the vaccine entirely, said the primary concern for the Biden team will be ensuring any U.S. recovery is “durable” before diverting supply.

“At the same time, we have this wildfire raging beyond our borders that they will have to address or else it will come back and bite us,” he said.

The Biden administration has pledged $4 billion to Covax, the global vaccine effort, and promised to donate 20 million doses of the vaccines currently available in the U.S. by the end of June – a fraction of the 800 million the U.S. says it is buying from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The administration also plans to export 60 million doses of AstraZeneca, a vaccine used overseas but not cleared yet by U.S. regulators. (ABC News) 

 

Wednesday September 16, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday September 16, 2015 Harper riding high on surprise surplus Stephen Harper was hanging 10 on the crest of a surprise budget surplus Tuesday, showing off his fiscal bona fides as the federal election campaign prepared to convene in Calgary to debate the state of the Canadian economy. In British Columbia, the Conservative leader boasted about the latest Finance Department numbers, which show a $1.9-billion surplus for 2014-15 instead of a predicted $2-billion shortfall. At an event in North Vancouver, Harper wasted no time using the opportunity to mock the money-management skills of both Rachel Notley, Alberta's new NDP premier, and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. "We know why there's a recession (in Alberta) Ñ it's not because the government ran a $2-billion surplus," Harper said. "There's a recession because oil prices have fallen by half, and the recession has been made worse because the NDP government came in and followed up by raising taxes on everybody." Trudeau Ñ who has linked the economic slowdown to the government's relentless pursuit of a pre-election balanced budget Ñ seems to think that $2-billion surplus provoked a worldwide fall in oil prices, Harper continued. "I mean, seriously," an animated Conservative leader said to laughter from the partisan crowd. "They think that somehow under these conditions, plunging the country back into deficit for years to come would be a good thing. Canadians get that, given the turmoil in the world, the fact that we have a budget balanced Ñ and we're going to keep that balanced Ñ is a good thing for this country." Trudeau has criticized the surplus as a product of underspending on vulnerable Canadians Ñ an accusation the Conservatives deny. A Liberal government would stick with its plan to run deficits for the first three years in office, making investments in infrastructure and seniors despite the surplus, Trudeau has said. Monday's surpl

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 16, 2015

Harper riding high on surprise surplus

Stephen Harper was hanging 10 on the crest of a surprise budget surplus Tuesday, showing off his fiscal bona fides as the federal election campaign prepared to convene in Calgary to debate the state of the Canadian economy.

In British Columbia, the Conservative leader boasted about the latest Finance Department numbers, which show a $1.9-billion surplus for 2014-15 instead of a predicted $2-billion shortfall.

At an event in North Vancouver, Harper wasted no time using the opportunity to mock the money-management skills of both Rachel Notley, Alberta’s new NDP premier, and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

Monday, November 4, 2013“We know why there’s a recession (in Alberta) — it’s not because the government ran a $2-billion surplus,” Harper said.

“There’s a recession because oil prices have fallen by half, and the recession has been made worse because the NDP government came in and followed up by raising taxes on everybody.”

Trudeau — who has linked the economic slowdown to the government’s relentless pursuit of a pre-election balanced budget — seems to think that $2-billion surplus provoked a worldwide fall in oil prices, Harper continued.

“I mean, seriously,” an animated Conservative leader said to laughter from the partisan crowd.

“They think that somehow under these conditions, plunging the country back into deficit for years to come would be a good thing. Canadians get that, given the turmoil in the world, the fact that we have a budget balanced — and we’re going to keep that balanced — is a good thing for this country.”

Trudeau has criticized the surplus as a product of underspending on vulnerable Canadians — an accusation the Conservatives deny. A Liberal government would stick with its plan to run deficits for the first three years in office, making investments in infrastructure and seniors despite the surplus, Trudeau has said.

Monday’s surplus news couldn’t have come at a better time for Harper, who will join his NDP and Liberal counterparts Thursday in Calgary for a debate on economic issues, sponsored by the Globe and Mail and Google Canada. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

(Regina) Leader Post, September 17, 2015

(Regina) Leader Post, September 17, 2015

Edmonton Journal, September 19, 2015

Edmonton Journal, September 19, 2015

Thursday January 29, 2015

Thursday January 29, 2015Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 29, 2015

Ottawa faces deficit with low oil prices, budget watchdog says

For SalePlunging oil prices will cost Ottawa billions of dollars in lost revenue but the Conservative government has enough wiggle room in its budget to weather the turmoil and still balance the books, the parliamentary budget officer says.

A new analysis released Tuesday confirms that low oil prices mark an unwelcome development for Conservatives and their pledge to balance the books this year.

In a report, <http://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/files/files/LowOilPrices_EN.pdf>  the budget watchdog assessed the shock of dropping oil prices on the federal fiscal picture and said it would mean, worst case, a deficit of $1.2 billion this year and a deficit of $400 million in 2015-16, even after exhausting a $3 billion contingency fund.

Still, officials with the parliamentary budget office said the government can tinker with its fiscal plans to show a surplus despite the oil price hit, allowing the Conservatives to keep their vow of a balanced budget

Mostafa Askari, assistant budget officer, said a balanced budget is “very feasible” in 2015-16 thanks to the government’s ability find savings by slowing spending or delaying capital projects.

“There are many ways that the government can actually find some revenues or some savings on the spending side to make sure the balance is there,” Askari said. (Source: Toronto Star)

 

Published on National Newswatch and in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Thursday November 13, 2014

Thursday November 13, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 13, 2014

Highlights from Canada’s fiscal and economic update

Finance Minister Joe Oliver delivered his annual fall update and five-year projection of the government’s fiscal situation on Wednesday.

Here are the highlights:

• A small deficit of $2.9 billion expected for the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the same as projected in the February budget.

• A small surplus of $1.9 billion expected for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, much smaller than the $6.4 billion projected last February mainly because of recent announcements for spending increases and tax cuts.

• Surpluses forecast to grow slowly every year after that: $4.3 billion in 2016-2017, $5.1 billion in 2017-2018, and $6.8 billion in 2018-2019.

• Government has set aside $3 billion in contingency funds every year, including the current fiscal year. If not needed, the money goes towards the debt.

• Lower oil prices this year translated into a $500-million hit to the bottom line in 2014-2015, and $2.5 billion per year over the 2015-2019 period.

• Federal debt will rise slightly to $615.8 billion in 2014-2015 before diminishing gradually over the next five years. As a percentage of the economy, the federal debt in 2014-15 is forecast to be 31.5 per cent of GDP, dropping slowly over the coming years to 24.3 per cent in 2019-2020.

• Overall federal tax burden drops to lowest level in 50 years for now, but personal income tax as a percentage of GDP expected to reach 7.1 per cent next year, up from 6.9 per cent this year, and 7.3 per cent in 2019-2020.

• The government has recommitted to introducing balanced budget legislation, a promise made initially more than a year ago in the 2013 throne speech.

• Economists told Ottawa to expect real growth of 2.4 per cent in 2014 and 2.6 per cent in 2015. Those projections were made in September before commodity prices tanked; the government has had to trim expectations for government revenue.

• The employment insurance account has a $3.8-billion surplus in 2014-2015, $3.9 billion in 2015-2016 and $4.5 billion in 2016-17 — allowing the government to stay in the black despite new spending and tax cuts. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5024559-10-highlights-from-canada-s-fiscal-and-economic-update/

Meanwhile, A European robot probe has made the first, historic landing on a comet, but its status remains uncertain after harpoons failed to anchor it to the surface.

Officials said the craft may have lifted off the comet after touchdown before returning to the surface.

Lander project manager Stephan Ulamec said: “Maybe we didn’t just land once, we landed twice.” (Source: BBC News)