Word came this week that Newfoundland and Labrador's Equalization entitlement would be down this year by $150 million or so.
Danny pronounced the budget would have to be redone. Local media dutifully reported each of the Premier's utterances.
Now the reason for the cut is the same here as in Nova Scotia. Don't expect any local media to make a point of correcting Danny in public or private on this one:
The short answer is, Nova Scotia's per-capita fiscal capacity went up. That is, our ability to pay our own way has grown, so we need less from the national welfare system.In Danny-stan, we were treated to claims like this one:
"On a per-capita basis, there's nobody, no other province that takes a hit like we take," said Williams.Despite Williams' best efforts, the oil sector is producing windfalls for his treasury. It will keep doing so for a few more years before - as Danny's former finance minister knew - we take a tumble. Of course, Danny won't be around when the tumble comes, but I digress.
The Tory premier said it would mean recalculating his province's budget.
So Newfoundland and Labrador's entitlement to hand-outs is going down for the same reason Nova Scotians are getting less.
No plots. No shafting.
No greater a drop than it ought to be given the phenomenal growth in the economy.
Just fair treatment and, at the root of it, something we should be proud of: we need less from the national welfare system.
Many of Williams' claims need closer scrutiny.
Often, what Danny says simply isn't true. It's is factually incorrect. Wrong, even.
Other times, there is an upside he won't discuss but the rest of us might find important.
Sometimes there's a downside.
And sometimes - a lot of the time - people would prefer to know that than to get, say mindlessly backing The Leader on his latest jihad or writing an editorial that sounds so saccharine that his Mom - or talk radio's Tony or Minnie - could have written it:
"Oh my gracious, it's amazing our wonderful Danny has been able to do all the marvelous stuff he's done for the good of all us poor people, what wit' all that miserable crowd he got to work with. Now they are leaving him and he got to clean up d'ere messes. Danny, our saviour."
We paraphrase, but capture, the essence of the piece.