Paying down the mortgage

As anyone else who invested in Vancouver's hot real estate market will attest, it's a good thing to pay down the mortgage as fast as you can, in particular while times are good.

If you can't pay down your debt in the good years, when exactly will you pay it down? That's particularly true if the economy tanks or interest rates rise over the long term.

That's the situation facing Vancouverites - and in a larger sense, people across Canada.

The Conservative government just paid down our public debt by $13. 2 billion dollars (according to Reuters newswire) after racking up an astronomical surplus. They also managed to shave a billion bucks off of the whole budget.

The Liberal response (as articulated by Liberal finance critic John McCallum): "If there is already an absolutely enormous surplus of C$13 billion, then why is it necessary to cut programs for unemployed youth, for illiterate adults?"

Good question. The answer? A $481.5 billion public debt.

Yes, Canada seems to be doing okay now. But the mortgage still isn't paid off quite yet.

Tags: Vancouver real estate, mortgage payment, Canada public debt, budget deficit