VANCOUVER—It is astonishing given all the commentary and news stories about the "sudden" $50-billion federal deficit there has not been a single story in the mainstream media that focuses on the principal explanation: the huge tax cuts made by the Liberals and Conservatives since 1995. First it was finance minister Paul Martin with his $100-billion income tax cut over five years starting in 2000; then it was Jim Flaherty in 2007 with $60-billion over five years. Add to that the $12-billion lost each year by lowering the GST from seven per cent to five per cent and the $50-billion is no mystery—it was an inevitability whenever the next recession hit.

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