Most voters don't care to understand how much debt payments handcuff any gov't.

In Ontario, the expenditure is #3 after health and education, approx $1 billion per month in interest payments alone, not any towards paying down the debt.

Wouldn't that money be better spent on 1) services? or 2) keep in the hands of Ontario tax payers.

There should be some sort of legislative requirement, that gov't cannot run an operating deficit, but must raise the provincial HST portion to what ever the level required to balance the accounts.  Perhaps then, people might take notice.