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Next month, Premier Christy Clark and the B.C. Liberal government will deliver their pre-election budget. Hidden in the bluster over budget surpluses and job numbers are some very troubling economic and social indicators.

The dirty little secret is that economic growth and stability in our province are increasingly threatened by this harsh reality: British Columbians are paying for balanced budgets with rising living costs, stagnant incomes and reduced government service.

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Clark bragged at the B.C. Liberal convention last November that the province is on track for its fifth budget surplus. What she didn’t mention is she has racked up a huge social-services deficit — at a significant economic cost to the province.

The impacts of poverty and inequality are estimated to cost B.C. between $8 billion and $9 billion a year. That’s Clark’s five budget surpluses right there.

But to fully appreciate Clark’s economic record, we must start to apply full-cost accounting to the B.C. economy to get a more accurate picture of the risks we are facing as a result of massive underfunding in services.