Quote:
Originally Posted by WilsonFourTwo
That said, I think that I see Stelmach's thinking on this one. The AB Gov't finances are in the toilet, where's the money gonna come from? The Provincial Gov't has the duty to provide for it's citizens first, and since we're cutting health care, schools and essential services, can you really justify sending money somewhere else?
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In my opinion, he's blown this in mutliple ways. On the political side, he was going to get criticized no matter what he did in this situation but I think he failed to ask himself the following question: after I make my move do I want to be seen as a heartless or compassionate fool? I think blowing $5M is a lot easier to forget then turning your back on a country that just got flattened.
On the philosophical/moral side, everybody is feeling the effects of the credit crunch and not only does that make it more important that we contribute because the pool is smaller but I also believe that we're in a better financial position than most and more able to help. Additionally, if we matched the amount of money we gave after the Boxing Day tsunami it would be just a drop in our bucket.