I caught this clip around lunch-time yesterday as Nancy Wilson of CBC Today was celebrating the second largest surplus in Canadian history.

Wilson was setting up the story for business reporter Jeannie Lee and advised Canadians to pat themselves on the back for a job well done.

Translation: Hey Canada! Last year, your taxes were $26 Billion higher than necessary. You each gave away over $1000 (assuming 20 million Canadian taxpayers) that the government didn’t even use.

Why do Canadians celebrate huge surpluses as if it were some indication of profit? Even those on the left would complain that a surplus is an indication of a government under-spending while those of us on the right would complain that it represents over-taxation.

When we talk about a balanced budget, shouldn’t the balance point find itself between deficit and surplus?

I suppose that a relatively small surplus might be ideal to insure against national emergencies, but should we really be celebrating the second largest surplus in Canadian history?