BC Premier Christy Clark, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon, and their cabinet colleagues would be wise to clip out today’s Vancouver Sun editorial, and pin it up as a reference point as they fine tune their “Jobs Agenda,” due to roll out next month.

The Premier was on CKNW yesterday, laying the groundwork for a fall focus on jobs. There weren’t a lot of specifics, but she did touch on cutting government red tape (don’t forget your leadership campaign promise to address bureaucracy at municipal halls, Christy!) and building an attractive economic environment by getting BC back to balanced budgets by 2013/14 (feel free to do it sooner, Kevin—next year’s projected deficit is $440 million, well within striking distance!).

What concerns us, and the Vancouver Sun, are indications that the Province will venture out on to the slippery slope of corporate handouts. I’ll let the Sun’s writers take it from here:

Industry-specific subsidy programs are risky and costly and the value of jobs subsidized by taxpayers is open to question. Corporate welfare has a spotty record of success. Furthermore, there is little evidence that the ‘stimulus spending’ Canadian, U.S. and European governments introduced during the recession had any role in bringing it to an end.

Nevertheless, if the Clark government chooses to follow this path, it must perform a thorough cost-benefit analysis of every project. In addition, it should ensure that its policies, particularly with regard to taxation and regulation, are investment-friendly and don’t create obstacles to job creation in the private sector.

Clark should heed the warning that governments cannot spend their way out of recession, or borrow their way out of debt.

Clip that out, Premier Clark, and keep it on your desk. It’s good advice.